Day 2000. Wow! They're 2000 days old! What a number!
Sammy was up very early this morning, while Tammy stayed in bed the longest, right next to me. I then was woken up (again) just before 9:30 and got up to get ready. Given how well it's worked for Sammy to be home alone with Daddy this past week, I told Randy that there was no reason for him and Sammy to come with us, so they stayed home. At 10 am Tammy, Emmy and I left the house together.
We took the subway downtown, then walked to their music school. It was the first session of the new semester, and I was wondering whether the founder and director of the school was really going to be their teacher, as she had said that she wanted to take over their class. We walked into the school and took our coats off. We were the first ones of their class there. Soon another boy from their class arrived. Another girl arrived late, and the fifth kid wasn't there today.
The administrator came and showed us to our new room. They have now graduated from little kid keyboards to real pianos. What a big step! Tammy and Emmy sat down at the pianos in the middle row so that I could sit between them, but the one piano wasn't working, so we moved to the last row. The founder of the school then came in and told us she was their teacher. Yeah! She started with the greeting song. Then she had them do their finger exercise and focused on their body posture and hand posture. She spent a lot of time on that. Tammy's posture has been great anyway, but Emmy always plays with his hands completely flat instead of being rounded, so he had to put some effort in today.
Then the teacher called them to the front and reviewed with them where the notes are on the lines. She also played a short sequence of notes and wanted them to figure out what she had played, which wasn't very easy. Our kids had a harder time than expected putting the notes in the right places on the lines, even though they had done it perfectly at home yesterday.
And then it was time for the third and last part of the class. She taught them a new song, and they were doing great. Then she gave them stickers for their sticker books and did the good-bye song. I was very happy with the way the class had gone.
We put our coats back on and left. We walked to the subway and rode it back home. I warmed up yesterday's pasta, and we sat down to eat. Sammy had had a good time at home. After having eaten, I lay down for a nap. I was so very tired I couldn't do anything else. The kids were so loud that I did not get much sleep. I soon got up as we had to get ready to leave the house again.
At 1:30 pm we all left the house together. One of the kids in Sammy's kindergarten group had invited him to his birthday - his and his brother's as they're twins - and Tammy and Emmy were allowed to come as well. We took the S-train for two stops, then had to walk a little and arrived at the kindergarten premises they had rented 10 minutes early.
We were the first guests to arrive. Tammy and Emmy were excited, when they discovered the little gym in there and started climbing and swinging. Sammy wanted to swing as well. The one swing that he could have used easily, one like what we've got at home, was hanging too low so that he could not use it. There was another swing that he ended up using, even though he had to hold on well to stay on it. I was surprised how well he was holding on, and he kept swinging for a long time.
We went into another room, where another kid from Sammy's kindergarten group was, but didn't stay there long. There were already snacks set out, and the kids had some. Tammy was still not completely well and has not been eating much, and she only ate a little there as well. I spent some time in the reading corner with her, where I read a book to her. And they got a box of Duplos out that Emmy and Sammy played with for a little time. Daddy also played with Sammy who found a telephone, and he always likes role-playing phone calls.
Then the birthday kids' mother called all the kids together. She had the parachute out and asked all the kids to sit around it.Then they lifted it up and waved it, as if there was wind. She then asked who wanted to go to the middle, and Emmy was first. He lay there, while everyone else moved the parachute. Tammy also lay in the middle, then suddenly everyone came to the middle. Then the parents made it go up, and all the kids went under. Emmy happened to have his head go through the big hole in the middle and then put it through there on purpose, as did Tammy. They were all having fun.
They had a polaroid camera there and let the kids take pictures with it. That's something Tammy really enjoys doing, so she took some pictures. But Emmy also wanted to take pictures and took some.
They continued playing. I was really tired, just sitting there watching. Then they called the kids together to give the presents to the birthday kids. Everyone was sitting on the floor. We had three gifts, and each one of our kids had chosen one to give away. And so Sammy also handed his gift over himself.
After they were done with the gifts, it was time for the cakes. They brought in two cakes with a candle on each one of them, while we were all singing Happy Birthday. They blew out the candles, then the parents started cutting the cake and handing it out. It was pretty good.
Everyone started leaving, and so did we. But first all the children received a little gift bag with goodies. Our kids were all curious to find out what was inside, while we were trying to get their coats on. We said our good-byes and left.
We had only 7 minutes to catch our train home, and a bit of a distance to cover. With the train only running every 30 minutes, we really wanted to catch it, and we did. By 5:30 pm we were back home.
The kids had had food at the party and were not hungry yet. They got on their tablets, while I lay down in bed to rest. At 6 pm I went to the kitchen to get their fruit plates ready, and they ate those. After the bathtub, we got them ready for bed. All three were very tired, and Tammy is still sick, while it seems that Emmy is starting to get sick. I still read them a story, then they all went to bed an hour earlier than usual. They still fell asleep quickly. Just Tammy has had a rough night so far.
Now it's after 2 am, and I still have to take care of the kitchen before going to bed.
