20 months 27 days

Day 636. Last night it was 1 am before I made it to bed, even though I was very tired, and I was pretty tired all day long. Emmy is the only one still drinking milk every night, crying for it some time between 10 pm and midnight. Sammy still has milk 2-3 times per week. Tammy even refuses to drink any milk, when I try to give it to her.

This morning it was earlier than usual again. But this time it wasn't Emmy but Tammy who was crying, and she had also been pretty restless during the night. I picked her up and held her, and then Emmy was jealous and also wanted to be picked up and held, so I did. After a few minutes I set them down and got Sammy out of bed. Then I went to the kitchen, where I have to get some dishes out of the dishwasher first, and Emmy always helps me with that. Today he dropped a small plate on my foot which was pretty painful. When Randy comes to get him to change his diaper, he always complains loudly, as his dishwasher emptying gets interrupted.

I've been increasing the amount of cereal with milk I make in the morning, so that we have enough leftovers for the evening, before they go to bed. I still have a lot of boxes of cereal to use up before we can think of other things to eat for breakfast. After cleaning them up and dressing them, I went downstairs with them. I usually give Tammy one hand, and Emmy the other, and then I walk backwards down the stairs, helping them. They're already pretty good at it, and sometimes Emmy wants to do it alone, but then he turns around and goes down backwards.

Once downstairs I have to turn the light on and open the blinds, and then we can play or read books. Randy usually brings Sammy down a few minutes later, and then goes to make his breakfast. Once he comes down with his breakfast, I can take my computer and go upstairs. Sometimes they complain, when I leave.

Once upstairs I have to clean up first and finish emptying the dishwasher. Once all that is done, I go to our bedroom, where I turn my computer on to get to work. It's usually 9:30 by that time, if we got up at 8 am. Today we got up earlier, so it was also earlier. I have to close our bedroom door so that I don't hear them cry and want to go check what's going on. Today I heard Sammy cry for a long time anyway and did check on what was happening. At that time the other two were crying too. I usually avoid going downstairs, as it just makes it worse for them to see me, as they cry even harder, when I leave again. Today I did go downstairs though, and sat with them and held them for a few minutes, and leaving wasn't as bad as I had thought.

I was able to work longer than usual today, as I just had to warm up yesterday's leftovers. Sonja arrived at 11:30, and a few minutes later she and everyone else came back upstairs to eat. Tammy and Emmy ate everything on their plates, plus watermelon, cantaloupe and yoghurt. Then I cleaned them up and dressed them again. Sonja took Emmy downstairs, and I took Tammy to join them. Then I cleand up Sammy and dressed him, while Randy started making omelets for him and me, as we didn't have enough leftovers for everyone. I put Sammy to bed for his nap, which is usually about 12:15 pm, and then started cleaning up. At 12:40 I went to get Emmy and put him to bed. He was pretty tired, and with me staying a few minutes and stroking his head, he fell asleep fast. Then I went to get Tammy and put her to bed, and she plays for a few minutes by herself before falling asleep. By 1 pm they're usually all asleep.

After eating my omelet, I went back to doing office work, even though I was pretty tired. Randy went to the grocery store. Emmy usually wakes up crying somewhere between 1:45 and 2:15; today it was about 2:15. I picked up up and lay down with him, but he didn't sleep any more. Sammy had been woken up by his crying, as well as Tammy, but she just went back to sleep. Emmy raised up after a few minutes, and I took him downstairs to Sonja, and then picked up Sammy. But instead of taking him downstairs as well, I took him to the kitchen with me, where I started getting their afternoon meal ready - fruit and bread with peanut butter. I also gave him a few bites already. Sammy has not been eating enough.

Randy returned, and I guess all the noise woke up Tammy, so I called Sonja and Emmy to come upstairs. Emmy came running to me and into my arms. I had Sammy and let him stand by Tammy's bed. Tammy gave him a kiss through the bars. We sat there for a few minutes before going to the dining room to eat. Once again Emmy did not want to go into the high chair, but ended up in there anyway. He didn't eat much, but did eat a few cookies.

Once they were done, I cleaned them up again, dressed them, and we took them downstairs. Emmy was screaming, as he did not want me to leave. I went back upstairs to clean up once again, and then only had a short time (maybe half an hour) to work until 4 pm. At that time I stopped and went downstairs to play with them until 5 pm. Randy goes upstairs at that time to take a break.

I ended up getting a new age-appropriate coloring book out as well as new crayons, and got the table down. They all stood at the table, while I tried to teach them to color. I did it myself to show them, but I guess they're still a little young for it. They were not happy, especially Emmy, when I put it all away again. We then read some books, but Emmy was rather cranky. When I tried to leave at 5 pm, he grabbed my dress to keep me from leaving, while crying hard.

I went upstairs to make their food and half an hour later they came upstairs to eat. Sammy was crying so hard that I took over feeding him. I guess he needed Mommy's gentle hand, as he was not crying with me, but eating. It did keep me from doing other things I needed to do. Once the other two started playing with their food, Sonja and Randy cleaned them up and took them downstairs, while I finished up with Sammy and then went downstairs with him as well. We still had half an hour to play and had fun, reading books, and Sammy was in the swing for a little bit. At 6:15 we went upstairs to go into the bathtub, where they finished their food while playing. Emmy was a little cranky, especially after he slipped once. Yesterday Tammy had fallen out of the bathtub, when she tried to reach something on the outside. Since I have to hold Sammy, I cannot react the way I would otherwise. She didn't even cry long at all. Today cranky Emmy came out of the water first, and then the others. It takes a while to brush their teeth, put their pj's on, and I also put Sammy's night braces on. Then I put them to bed with a prayer, one after another. Usually they're all in bed by 7 pm. I walked away and did not have to sit with them. When I returned the first time, Emmy had one arm out of his pj, and Tammy had opened her buttons. The next time I returned, the boys were sleeping and Tammy had taken her pj off all the way. As she had a dirty diaper, I changed her, put her pj's back on, and put her back to bed. She needed me to sit with her for a while, and even though she complained when I left, she fell asleep not long after.

I made my food, ate, did the clean up, and worked on the computer. It looks like I'll be in bed by 1 am again tonight.