Today they are exactly 18 months old biologically.
Last night I went to bed a quarter past midnight, and this morning we already got up at 7:45, as they were crying, and a few more minutes were helpful. It turned out that Tammy was crying for her doll that she couldn't reach from her bed.
After breakfast we dressed them, and got ourselves ready. Yesterday some bows and stuff for Tammy's hair arrived, and I put one into her hair - not once, but several times, but she always immediately took it off. I think it's cute, and it keeps her hair out of her eyes.
At 9 am we walked out the door to take two subways to the zoo. It's quite far, and so it was 10 am when we got there, and Sonja was already waiting for us. I was already carrying Emmy who was unhappy in the stroller. It's time to put him in the single stroller and Sammy on the bottom of the double, as Emmy also wants to see what's going on around him. I put him on my shoulders as it was still quite a walk to the entrance of the zoo.
Our first stop was the aquarium and terrarium house. I was carrying Emmy, and he was scared of everything in there and did not want to get close to the glass, whatever the animal behind it was.
Next we went to the giraffes, then the kattas, and elephants. They were feeding the elephants, including the baby elephant, and the kids were watching them closely. Next came the penguins and sea lions and the polar bears. One bear came all the way to the glass where we were standing!
We walked on to an area we didn't go to last time. This was their second time ever in the zoo. We saw rhinos, and goats, and then there were chickens running around on the path which fascinated them. One hen had little ones, and Tammy was looking really closely. One stayed behind close to her, and I thought she'd touch it, but she didn't. Emmy was once again really scared of the hens and roosters. We walked on and saw a sleeping tiger, but no lions. But then we saw the hippos, and again, one came all the way to the plexiglass wall and greatly impressed us. Walking towards the exit, we still saw kangoroos and koala bears. And then we walked through the exit.
I tried to put Emmy into the stroller, but he wasn't happy. There were ducks that weren't even afraid of us, and they looked at them closely. As we walked on to the subway, I had to carry Emmy again. It was already 12:30 pm (an hour later than their lunch time), and Sammy had already been asleep for a while. Emmy was also tired and therefore pretty cranky, while Tammy was perfectly happy. Emmy was even getting unhappy sitting on my lap in the subway, but he was REALLY happy, when he had the opportunity to push the button to call the elevator, as well as the one inside the elevator. I guess every kid loves that!
Once we got off the second subway, I let him walk by himself again, until we got close to the street. He wasn't happy, when I picked him up again. It was after 1:30 by the time we walked into our apartment. Instead of using the warmer, I put their food into the microwave to just get it warm. I don't think I've ever seen Tammy eat so fast! I thought they'd be full from the snacks they'd had on the subway, but that was not the case, and so they ate all three jars. Plus watermelon, banana and yoghurt.
When I put Emmy to bed, he fell asleep really fast. It was 2 pm, and he was exhausted. However, Sammy did not. He'd already had quite a good nap in the stroller, so I finally got him back out and took him downstairs to Sonja. Tammy went to bed only minutes after I had put Emmy to bed, and she also fell asleep fast.
Randy was making omelets for the adults, and I had just started eating mine, when Emmy was already waking up and crying. He'd only slept about 45 minutes, so I knew he wasn't done. I put him back on his belly and stroked his head, but as soon as I walked away, he started crying again. I couldn't lie down with him, as I hadn't eaten yet. I finally took him downstairs as well.
It wasn't long before I heard both boys cry downstairs. They were both really tired, and so we put them to bed once again. I didn't think it would work, but they both fell asleep. So all three were sleeping at the same time for a while. Randy left for the grocery store, while I went to work on the computer. I was getting VERY tired myself. When Tammy woke up, I took her downstairs to Sonja and returned to work. I was getting so tired myself that I finally lay down for a little bit, and then fell asleep. Normally I don't let thems after 4 pm, but knowing how tired they were, I made an exception. I was woken up at 4:40, when they woke up. I picked them up and both took them downstairs and sat down a little bit, as they still wanted to be with Mommy. Not having had the chance to work in the morning, I really needed to get some work done. I had already decided that we'd do everything half an hour later today, as they had eaten and slept late. So I had a little more time to work before 5:30, when I started making their food.
At 6 pm they came upstairs to eat. There was no crying, no crankiness, no tiredness, which is not typical. Only Sammy finished his food in the bathtub today, not the other two. When Tammy turned the water on in the bathtub, it scared Emmy who started crying, and so he was the first one out of the water. When I put them all to bed, I was surprised that there were no complaints, when I walked away, and that the boys were quiet. I had thought they'd be partying tonight. I finally returned after a while, and found all three still awake. I put the boys back into their sleeping positions, and gave Tammy her dolls back that she needs to sleep. I didn't have to come back after that one time.
I finished the April photobook, and for the first time since we moved to this apartment last summer, I'm caught up with the photobooks. I had always been about 6 weeks behind, but no more. Thank God! Now I can move on to all the office work on my to-do list. Tonight, though, I did not have enough time to get everything done before midnight, so it'll be closer to 1 am, before I make it to bed.
