4 years 1 month 6 days

Day 1497. This morning the boys were up bright and early again, at 7:15, which is when we have to get up during the week. I got up to take care of them, even though I was really tired. Thankfully the worst of the cough has subsided now, so that this was the second night where I was able to sleep. After a while Tammy got up as well, and I gave them the American cereal Randy had bought, as he was still in bed. Once he got up and made his oatmeal, Sammy got part of his food.

At 9 am we all left the house to go to the first session of this semester's swim class. We took the 9:20 train, and then the tram for two stops and walked to the swimming pool. We paid to get in, and went to the locker room to put our bathing suits on. The kids were ready to get into the water again!

They had the same teacher as last year, and we were in a class, where they had heated up the water by a few degrees to make it easier for smaller children. Our children really needed that, especially Sammy, and I sure appreciated it as well. The kids went straight into the shallow baby pool and started diving right away. Their teacher came by and saw them - Emmy, who always refused to put his head under water, now voluntarily being more under water than above. I told her that we had done a lot of swimming this summer. It was pretty obvious!

And it was also visible during class. I'd say that they are the best swimmers in this class now. Tammy wanted to have only one ring from the get-go, while Emmy wanted two, and Sammy stuck with his three. The class started with the greeting song, then she did a few songs and took Emmy to do it with him, so we each had one child to do it with. She then had them swim through a tunnel on their bellies, and then on their backs. She picked Emmy to show everyone how to do it, as he did it perfectly. Tammy had more trouble, as she was throwing her legs every which way, way out of the water, and did better after I showed her what to do. She also had them sit on the side of the pool and move their legs up and down. And then the half-hour class was already over.

The kids went into the baby pool again, but Sammy wanted to go in the big pool. We had brought our own swim rings that I put on Sammy, then I went into the big pool with him. He was having fun with me and was swimming and swimming and swimming, up and down. Then Randy came and said that Emmy was hungry and wanted to leave. Sammy was not happy, when we left the water. We showered off and went to the changing room to get dressed again. Then we left. We were waiting in the lobby for Randy, who had gone to the bathroom, and while we didn't need jackets any more, Tammy wanted to put hers on - by herself - and also button it by herselff, which didn't quite work out so well, but I left her to it.

We left the swimming pool and walked to the tram that we then took for 4 stops to get to McDonald's. I ordered, and we sat down at the table, while Randy went to pick the food up. Everyone ate really well today; it was obvious that they were hungry. And they enjoyed the toys, little toy animals. After we were done, we took the tram back to the train station, where the kids were eager to buy chestnuts for dessert. They shared them while waiting for the train. We had just missed the 12:01 train, so we had to wait for the 12:23 train. They were watching videos, then we got on, and they continued watching.

By aout 12:40 we were  back home. As there was still some time until naptime, we let them have their devices. I lay down in bed and actually fell asleep. I woke up at 1:30, when Randy was trying to put them to bed. I got up and got them to lie down, and they were soon quiet and fell asleep. I also lay back down in bed and fell asleep.

The nice thing on Sunday is that I don't teach and don't have to watch the clock. At some point the kids were up, but I did not see Randy, so I got up to take care of them. Eventually Randy came upstairs, and after a while, he took the children downstairs to play. I had some office work to catch up on and took advantage of the available time. By 5:30 pm they were already back upstairs; Randy said they had insisted to come back upstairs. And so working became a whole lot harder. Sammy put the headsets with songs on and then came to me, pulling himself up on the bed and saying "hello" to me. Eventually I went to the kitchen with him to make dinner and fed him there, while the other two sat down at the dining room table. They then continued eating in the bathtub. We then got them ready for bed, and I read them a bedtime story followed by a Bible story, as it was still early. Then I prayed for them and put them to bed. It was only 8 pm, as we had started early. And so the kids stayed awake a little while. Tammy always asks for me and is satisfied for me to come by and hold her hand for a minute and two before leaving again. Emmy wants Daddy to sit in the chair next to him, and he does. Sammy falls asleep the fastest.

I got myself something to eat, then continued working. Now it's nearly midnight, and I still have to clean up the kitchen before going to bed.