Yesterday Gustav's friend Florian and his mom came over to the house after we picked the boys up from Kindergarten to have muffins (like tea time). Florian is adorable. He's 9 months younger than Gustav, but he's tiny. He's barely bigger than Pauline, but he looks and acts more mature than Gustav. He's a really sweet kid, and a great friend for Gustav. They play well together, but Florian has the sense not to get involved with quarrels between Gustav and Pauline, so things don't escalate the way you might expect them to. He's just too precious. He'll be at Gustav's birthday, so I'll get some pictures of him then.

Speaking of Gustav's birthday, they have the coolest thing I've seen at the toy store here. It's kind of like a gift registry for kids' birthdays, only better because you can't really screw it up or buy the wrong thing. Esther and I went to the toy store the other day to set this up for Gustav's party. How it works is that you get a plastic bin that you can fill with whatever toys or books or games or whatever is on the birthday wishlist. Then they put a sign on it that says who it's for and when the party is. When the other kids get the party invitations, their parents just need to take them to the store, grab something in the bin, and buy it. That way everyone brings a different gift, and no one needs to worry about trying to find something the birthday boy would like. I was impressed.

Last night Esther took me to the Baumarkt (which is like a home improvement store, but better) in Pullheim to buy rain boots. There actually more like mud boots, because they won't keep water from getting in the top, but they do allow you to walk through puddles and mud. They're like the ones I used to wear by the creek when I was a kid, so I kinda feel like a kid when I wear them. And, yes, that does mean that I walk through every puddle and patch of mud I can find while I'm wearing them. My walks with Amelie are much more enjoyable now because I don't have to worry about my shoes anymore.

Holy crap, am I tired today, though! I didn't sleep hardly at all last night because Gustav was screaming and crying the whole night (so, really, Pauline's the only one that got any sleep). Apparently it's common in Esther's family to suffer excruciating growing pains during the night, and that's what's been going on with Gustav. As if he doesn't whine and cry enough already, now he actually has a need to cry even more than usual. Awesome. Then, after not sleeping hardly at all, I had to get up at 6 am to take Amelie for a walk and get ready for school.

On the bright side, Amelie slept in my room for the entire night last night. That was the second time in a row. I had my door closed while I was sitting at my computer and I could hear her outside my room. I let her in and she immediately curled up in her little bed right next to my bed and that's where she stayed. I kinda feel bad, though, because it's her bed from when she was younger and it's too small for her. Last night she was all curled up inside but her head and shoulders were over the side, resting on the floor. She looked so uncomfortable, but she didn't seem to mind. It's ridiculous how much that dog loves me.

Gustav didn't give me any trouble tonight. I asked both the kids to come upstairs with me so I could get them ready for bed around 6, and he actually came up. I think that's probably the first time he's done that. Then, when I took his pajamas into the bathroom to clean him up and get him changed, he came with me. He didn't try to argue, or hit me, or resist at all, he just let me do my thing. It was great. I think Esther's probably going to wait until after the kids are ready to come up from her office from now on so that neither of us have to deal with Gustav's crap anymore when it's time to get ready for bed.

I feel like this entry is a bunch of jibberish, and like I haven't even said what I wanted to say, but I'm too tired to concentrate right now so I don't really care. If anything's missing, I'll add it later.