[man] Previously on Little People, Big World...
I think that, like, everything that we went through
definitely, like, puts things into perspective.
When it comes to what I just went through with the shunt malfunction and all that,
I feel like our kids are old enough now that they might be out of that.
But, you know, the other shoe can drop at any time.
So, yeah, we'll take it one, you know, day at a time.
Now that we're getting our home, we gotta figure us out.
But let's give it a little...
-Let's give it a little breathing room. [laughs] -Okay.
I always thought, well, once we have the house in progress,
that was gonna be the moment to really get serious about
what our relationship future is.
What's that hotel we went to years ago where every room is different?
-You went there with Amy, not me. -Oh, I'm sorry.
Get your girlfriends straight.
Well, we'll see how this fundraiser goes.
Amy and I are talking about doing a charity event,
Amy has in the past, and now,
I'm finally at that point in life where I wanna start
doing some more charitable work.
I think the biggest thing is, um, do I wanna go down this road again,
having it at the farm, and with them?
Matt offered the farm up to, you know, host this.
But Matt and I have history.
And it wasn't always pleasant. And you,
you should be a little more cautious.
[upbeat music playing]
Please be careful, okay?
Okay, I've got it.
One, two, three, four, five...
-[Zach] Ooh, but Lilah's doing it with her hands up. -[Tori] ...six, seven.
Can I tell you a trick?
It's easier to stand on one foot if you pick a spot on the ground.
So, like, if I'm standing right here, I might pick, like, this spot right here.
And you just stare at that spot, and it makes it easier.
-I'm doing it! -Good job, J. Nice, dude.
Hey, I have a plan.
You and Lilah
should go out in the garage...
..and get Mom's suitcase for her.
-[Jackson speaking] -[Zach] Lilah, help Jackson
go get Mom's suitcase.
Thank you. That's so helpful.
I recently had surgery to replace a broken shunt.
And I am still in recovery, but I'm pretty much back to 100%.
It's been over a month and I haven't had a migraine.
Hallelujah.
And so, now that Zach is feeling better, doing better,
I'm going on a three-night trip to California with two of my girlfriends.
You're gonna eat when you wanna eat, you're gonna sleep when you wanna sleep.
[Tori] That sounds good to me.
[Zach] Um, what do I need to know while you're gone?
-Should we make a list? -Make a list.
Come here, let's make a list. Come here, Si-guy.
[Zach] Tori did a lot while I was in surgery and recovering,
so she definitely deserves this.
I've never done this before, so--
Yeah, Tori's never done just a girls' trip like this before.
I'm gonna start with food.
Lasagna, okay? I would say 350
for 30 minutes.
And then what else? Homework.
Okay? Kindergarten pictures,
do Jackson's hair.
-Drop-off. Do you know when drop-off and pick-up is? -[Zach] Yeah, 3:10 p.m.
-That's pick-up. -Oh, drop-off. Um, 8 o'clock.
-8:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. -8:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
Do you know what time to feed Si-Si bottles?
-[Zach] When he needs them. -[laughs]
He knows. Thank you, that's a good one.
Zach is a great dad, you know, but I think that when you're, like, alone, on your own
with three kids is exhausting. I've done it a couple times and it's hard, for sure.
You're all on your own with three kids, like, no breaks.
Cleaning any chance you get would be greatly appreciated.
-[Zach groans] -Jackson's so good at mopping the floors.
I have zero expectations. My clean is not the same as Zach's clean.
We grew up in a very fun house.
She doesn't even know what a messy house is.
Is our house not fun?
Uh, there are times when I feel like we can't
-live in our house. -Tigers everywhere.
'Cause she'll clean it and then we just can't use it.
And then I go in the kitchen to make a sandwich
and she's like, "You know, mess up my-- I just cleaned the kitchen."
I'm like, "It's a kitchen! It's not like I'm, like, doing an art project in here."
Like, I'm using the kitchen how it's supposed to be used.
Oh, also, N-O-T-E-S. Um, they're up.
Okay.
I prewrote Jackson some notes to put into his lunchbox.
And Zach is going to put them in his lunchbox
-for school. -Good to know.
[Tori] Wait, how many days am I gone? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
[Zach] Tori writes notes for Jackson in his lunch pail every day.
And one time, Tori, I don't know what you were doing.
-I stopped because he never brought it up. -Yeah.
He never said anything about it.
So I thought, "Oh, he's indifferent. He doesn't care about it."
And I was making his lunch that day, and he's over there writing himself
-his own note, then he puts, like-- -What did he write on it?
-He wrote, like, "I love you, Jackson." -[exhales deeply]
Like, he wrote it like it was from Mom
and puts it in his lunch pail, okay? And so,
I asked him, "What are you doing?" He goes, "All the kids have notes."
-Ah. -And so, like, he wants to read the note with everyone.
And so we have continued to do that.
He'll be in therapy for that when he's 18.
Like, "My mom didn't write me a lunch note and I had to write it myself."
Are you ready for three against one?
-It's not against, it's three-- -Three on one?
-I've been alone with the kids for 24 hours, 48 hours. -[Tori] Three kids?
All three kids, yeah. How long?
I don't think you've been alone with the three kids.
I've never watched all the kids overnight like this, but there's no nervousness.
"It's not gonna be hard. It's gonna be so easy, yeah."
-[laughs] No, it's-- -"Tori doesn't know anything."
[both laughing]
[Tori] Are you gonna miss me?
[kisses] I'm gonna miss you.
J, you gotta keep this house running while I'm gone, okay?
Make sure Dad does what he's supposed to do?
-And remember, Mom loves you. -[Zach] No TV right now.
Managing all the kids when you're so used to it being a two-parent situation,
I'm not, like, nervous, it's just,
it is like, okay, you know, you're diving in for three days of, like, who knows what?
I mean, a lot of things can happen in 72 hours.
We'll see if that one happens.
Cleaning. What is that? What is that?
You don't know. You're the one who makes the mess!
Thank you. [chuckles]
Oh, my God, it's just pouring down rain.
-[Amy] It's a drizzle. -I've lived here all my life and I still hate it.
-Hi. -[woman] Hi, how are ya?
-Two for lunch? -[Amy] Yes.
-Please. -All right, have you down here.
-All right, great, thank you. -All right, thank you.
You're welcome.
-[Amy] It's been a while since I've been here. -Yeah.
[Amy] I forget about this place.
-So anyway-- -All right, well, it's good to see you. It's been a while.
-Yeah, I know. It really has, it really has. -Wow, what's new with you?
-Well, Zachary. I told you about Zachary. -That was scary.
I'm so glad that, you know, he's over that.
He's doing so much better now, the kids were great.
But I'll tell you, it doesn't matter what grandkids
-I'm with, they test you. -[laughs]
Sometimes you never know, after surgery, how you will recuperate and bounce back,
and thankfully, Zach is doing fantastic.
I just hope he doesn't have to have another surgery for a long time.
-How's the bromance going with Chris and Matt? -Oh, Lord above.
So, Chris had a guys' time with Matt
-at the little cabin that Matt built out on the farm. -Oh, wow.
-I don't know what to think about it, really. -Your whole voice
-tone changed when you're talking about it. -[both laugh]
Well, I mean,
I kind of feel stupid still having that
-intense not liking it. -Uh-huh.
What do you say to that? It's like,
the only thing I tell him is, like, don't become best friends,
-okay? That can't happen. -Yeah. Yeah.
When the guy you're married to and your ex get together, I don't know,
it doesn't even have to be bad vibes or anything, it's just
weird to me. [laughs]
But, you know, I often remind him of the fact that,
you know, hanging out with Matt, it's like, it's okay,
but it just still feels a little strange, a little awkward, a little like, "Hmm."
Just remember he is my ex. [chuckles]
So what are some things you wanna do this spring?
I feel so disconnected from people, like, life.
Like, we used to put on charity foundations, and that kept us involved.
So, I don't know. Doing something on a much smaller scale.
Yeah. That's doable.
-To kind of just test those waters. -Mmm-hmm.
Chris and I, you know, we're thinking about, as we get older in life,
to maybe give back, maybe put on a
small, little charity function.
And so, the charity we're supporting is Dwarf Athletic Association of America.
You know, we mentioned it to Matt and Caryn that we were, you know, doing a fundraiser,
so Matt offered the farm up to, uh, host the event.
And they also agreed, both he and Caryn, agreed to help out.
-Are Matt and Caryn participating in this, too? -Oh, yeah, I mean,
-the barn is an ideal place. -Yeah.
Chris and I are kind of heading this up, but we're definitely needing,
you know, Matt and Caryn's help.
And, uh, we do have to meet up with them again.
Just to really finalize on things, you know, there's a lot of details.
So, it's just making sure that everyone understands
what are those details, and can we pull it off?
What do you think about the barn?
Well, he's gonna wanna be in charge,
-that's his farm now. -Yeah.
-Who's gonna be in charge? -Me. Me.
You can't have too many cooks in the kitchen.
But it's his house, not yours.
No.
-I am running the show. -Girlfriend,
-let me tell you something. That is not your farm. -No.
Absolutely, he's in charge of the location,
but when it comes to the charity and how it's gonna be run,
that's me, falls on me.
It's not that I don't wanna hear Matt's ideas,
but if I'm to do this, we'll do it my way.
And if you don't wanna do it, great, don't do it.
It's no sweat off my back, I will find something else.
Now you have Caryn,
-who's been on that farm forever managing-- -No, when we talked, she said,
"I don't wanna head anything up. You just tell me what to do." Or whatever she said.
-Interesting. -Yeah.
-Just tell her what to do. -[laughs] Just tell her what to do.
-Well, yeah. -[both laughing]
[woman] Coming up...
[Zach] Jackson, we've gotta hurry, okay?
Taking care of the kids is, you're first up, last to bed.
I know, hang on. I'm trying to wipe the poop.
You're always on.
Okay, hold on. Just hold on.
[man] And later...
[Caryn] Charity event.
-We've got a date blocked out. -Well, from what you told me,
there's no other dates available.
They were very sparse, yes.
Well, is there any way that you can check these dates?
You put a stressed-out Amy and a stressed-out Matt
-in the same, you know, one-mile radius... -In the same box.
-...there's a combustion of smoke. -[laughs]
[upbeat music playing]
[Zach speaking]
Just while Tori's gone. Just to, like, get ahead of myself.
Start with some breakfast, when they're up, we can eat,
and then get them ready for school.
Forty-five minutes to roll.
Tori left yesterday morning, and, uh, first day and night went good.
But yeah, just taking care of the kids is like you're first up, last to bed.
You're always on. This morning, we have a tight schedule.
Jackson needs to be at school by 8:00 a.m.
And, uh, we need to be out the door in 45 minutes or we're gonna be late.
And I still have a lot to do.
I gotta feed the kids, pack Jackson's lunch, get them dressed.
I gotta do Jackson's hair, because it's picture day, get them all in the car,
but we'll make it.
I usually do, like, a 14-egg scramble thing.
If Jackson has his normal burrito, I have my normal burrito,
Josiah has his normal and Lilah has her normal, we'll put some damage in this.
I've always kind of made a big batch of scrambled eggs.
Eggs kind of take a while, and if I'm gonna make eggs,
might as well just pile them all in there.
Tori writes little notes for Jackson every morning,
she prewrote some notes to put in the lunch thing.
I need to remember to do that.
The notes are, like, super important to her, so I gotta remember today.
Or in my mind, he'll just go about his day.
In Tori's mind, in Mom's mind, he'll be devastated.
Worst day ever, all the other kids will think Jackson has the worst mom.
And blah, blah, blah.
Hey, dude. You want me to make you a burrito?
That sound good?
After Jackson's done with school,
we're gonna pick him up and we're all gonna go shopping
for a couch for the new shop.
That'll go good, like, I'm a quick shopper. So I think it'll be good with the kids.
Oh, hi. You're a mood.
Are you okay?
Do you want yogurt?
[Zach] Yeah?
[Zach] Do you have poo-poos?
Okay, hang on. Have a yogurt and then we'll take your diaper off, okay?
Let me get Jackson set up, okay?
They're up.
All right, come on, Lilah.
Jackson and Lilah both woke up kind of moody.
That particular morning, I wasn't
quite doing everything exactly how Mom does things.
Mom has a little bit more of a graceful Mom-ness, cute little morning.
Dad has a rigid, like, go, go, go.
Three minutes, you gotta go get dressed, okay?
Time is of essence.
Jackson?
Are you-- Okay, bud, you gotta hurry, okay?
I know, hang on. I'm trying to wipe the poop.
All right, Jackson. You ready to roll?
Let's go do your hair. Lilah, find your shoes.
What?
[laughs] Yeah? Why? 'Cause you don't wanna do your hair?
-Yeah. -Hold still.
-Ow. Ow. -I know, I'm sorry. Cover your eyes.
I'm more efficient than Tori just because I'll be able to let things go.
Tori can't let things go.
-That get in your eyes? [chuckles] I'm sorry. -Yeah.
[Zach] Hold on. Just hold on.
His hair's not done, but we're running late. Get in the car.
You have undies and pants on and shoes, get in the car.
Tori's get in the car, but in a certain way, you have to look a certain way.
And we have to do things a certain way.
Where are you going?
Me? Get in the car.
I packed you a bigger lunch. I gave you a whole sandwich instead of a half.
[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] Well, you don't have to eat the whole thing.
Lilah, get in your seat.
Hey, Jackson!
I'm gonna help you.
I'm more efficient, but I also let a lot-- My quality isn't as good.
Tori's quality is very high, no efficiency.
All right.
[Zach] Hey, Lilah.
Oh, my gosh.
I forgot the note.
I forgot it. [laughs] He'll get a note tomorrow.
[crying]
[sighs]
[Caryn] Shut the front door.
-Are you kidding me? [chuckles] -[Matt laughs]
-[Cary] It's, like, half built! -[Matt] Yeah. Oh, I know.
-Um-- -[Caryn] This is so cool!
-[Matt] Come check it out. -[Caryn] I'm pretty shocked.
[Matt] If you take off for a week, that's what happens.
[Caryn] This is, like, crazy.
[Matt] Caryn got back late last night.
She was down in Arizona visiting her folks and checking in on my mom.
I decided it was best if I stayed up here and kept tabs on the house build.
Look at this nice, wide hallway. I love the size of these hallways.
I really love the back of the house.
-Yep, the whole layout and plan is really... -Amazing.
...pretty, pretty amazing.
When those walls, you know,
start going up, it's very exciting.
'Cause you start to take shape.
It makes it all very real.
So this is the door to our bathroom.
-[Caryn] Wow. What is that? -[Matt] That's my sunken shower.
-So that it's no steps. -[Caryn] Nice.
I came back, I could not believe the advancement of this house.
Matt had sent me a couple pictures and I could hear the excitement in his voice,
and seeing
this dream, you know, really start to take shape. That was very exciting for me.
Wait, you left the bar in.
[laughs] Sorry, I made a call. I had to make decisions while you were gone.
I mean, I don't think they were necessary, but if they make him happy, then--
I just know that I keep him in check a little bit.
I know that this was Amy's role for a long time.
You know, as he's running full force across the street,
she's leaning out and kind of trying to get him from,
you know, having a car hit him.
You do have to have some boundaries, so it's almost the voice of reason?
This isn't lined up with that. Does this wall come out that far?
-No, the wall's back here. I could put a rack here. -That's what I'm thinking.
-Yeah. -Like, you could totally...
[Matt] Put little cereal boxes, bread, things like that.
So, if we wanted to. That's a decision we'll make downstream.
I think my
preferences that, certain things that I want
will probably come into the decorating.
That's where we'll have a struggle.
-Our tastes have always been similar but not exact. -[Matt laughs]
When I go for too much rustic, there's gonna be some friction.
Oh, boy. [laughs]
[Caryn] How do you like the bunk room?
-Do you-- Is it? -I like it. It's great. It's perfect size.
I'm real excited about this house because there's gonna be a bunk room,
so when the grandkids
come over, they're gonna see that there's plenty of space for them to hang out.
Matt always had a vision where he wanted to be able to sit between the bunkbeds
and read a story to all the grandkids before they went to bed.
-Oh. -And that's just what we're gonna do.
So that, hopefully, will happen.
-I'm so impressed at how far you got it. -Yeah, thank you.
I'm not raising a family.
Now these are grandkids, they may or may not-- They all live fairly close.
I mean, Zach and Tori are kind of an hour away,
but I'm thinking that, you know, Grandpa might get some
more babysitting duties, and if they need to stay overnight,
I wanna be able to facilitate them comfortably in this bunk room.
Well, is this all pretty exciting?
This is very, very overwhelming actually.
I honestly wasn't thinking it was gonna happen, so I'm very proud of you.
[Matt] Amy and I always had plans to build a big house.
And then we realized that the family was growing. We didn't have time
to do another big house. So we remodeled the farm house.
At that time, Amy and I were a team.
But, you know, things change, and, uh, life is that way.
-Come look at the rest of the house. -[Caryn] Okay.
I think Caryn and I are...
She's a great partner and I think
that things are all coming together now that the house is,
you know, well on its way.
And this is our bedroom door.
[Caryn] Aren't you supposed to, like, carry me across the threshold or something?
-[laughs] Watch me crumble. -Oh, my gosh, snap.
-Look at our view. Look at the view from the bedroom. -[Caryn] Stop it.
I think I'm gonna cry. That is so beautiful.
[Matt] I'm feeling very happy that it's happening.
You start kind of realizing that this is gonna be a room
that you're gonna spend
the rest of your life in.
It's dramatic.
[Caryn] Wow. You did it!
-Are you happy? Yeah. -Yeah! This was your vision.
I think the house is just, it's just a normal
step in the process of where we wanna be together.
-Yeah. -So, this will just sort of be the next step
in our evolution of our relationship,
in our future,
and we've talked about it forever.
So, I'm excited about it.
Are you?
Yeah. I'm very excited about that. Yes.
-I'm glad you're happy about it. -[Caryn] I love it!
[woman] Coming up...
Jackson and Lilah definitely are getting to that age
where they're trying to push each other's buttons.
No!
-[Zach] Lilah, Lilah! -[Lilah screaming and crying]
[Zach] Jackson, Jackson!
Guys, just chill for a second.
-[Lilah crying] -Hey, hey, hey.
Hey!
Okay. Let's go!
[upbeat music playing]
[Zach] All right. Here we are.
Let's see who finds the best couch.
We're gonna ask them, do they have cheap couches?
Tori's still on her girls' trip.
Um, so it's just me and the kids, and today we're gonna...
I'm gonna take the kids furniture shopping.
I don't take all three of them
out in the world like this often.
It's not our first, but it's pretty close to being our first.
I'm not quite sure how things are gonna go.
It'd definitely be easier with two parents.
But it's not like you're trying to shop,
you know, to couch stores.
So, I hope we'll be okay.
Let's go see what they have.
Today we're just looking at some couches.
Um, I wanna get a couch upstairs in the shop.
I think I have to do it before we get our doors in
'cause it's not gonna fit.
So, I think anything--
Okay. Yeah. Okay, okay.
-Um-- -[Jackson speaking]
[Zach] Yeah?
Ooh! Look at this one straight ahead, bud.
Do you like this one?
This one good?
[Jackson speaking]
Should we call it good? Done?
Let's see how much it is.
Jiminy crickets!
Tori and me do not have the same taste,
and so, uh, sometimes it's easier just to pick something out
when Tori's gone.
Tori just brings a lot of extra to shopping.
Extra style, taste, expense, opinions.
Tori's probably not gonna like it
because I picked it out. [laughs]
But is she gonna absolutely reject it
or will she tolerate it?
You know what I'm saying?
That's the thought process in my head. [laughs]
What are you doing?
Are you supposed to be standing on furniture
with your shoes?
I wonder what this is.
Do you know where the tag is, Jackson?
[Zach] What?
That's okay.
Jackson and Lilah love each other,
but they definitely are getting to that age
where they're trying to push each other's buttons.
Anytime we go anywhere, sometimes, like,
say I did wanna stop and look at a tag for a second,
it's like, "Guys just chill for a second," you know?
They just know to... Dad's paying attention to something other than us.
Therefore, cause chaos. [laughs]
Hey, look at me.
Chill.
Stop. Look at me.
Chill.
[Jackson speaking]
Hey, oh, oh, oh.
What? Why would you do that?
Lilah, this way. This way.
-[loudly] Oh! -[Zach] Okay. Shh.
-[Jackson speaking] -[Zach] That's pretty cool.
Yeah. Can you put those back?
-[Jackson speaking] -Oh, hey, go put that back, okay?
[Zach] No, Lilah's moving you.
[Lilah speaking]
-[Zach] Lilah! Lilah! -[Lilah screaming]
-[crying] -[Zach] Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!
Tori's very good at disciplining
the kids in public.
I get, like... I just don't like it.
But she's, like, not afraid of that.
And then the kids know,
like, "We can't do this in public,
Mom doesn't care if we have the whole world looking at us."
Hey, Lilah.
[cell phone ringing]
-Hey! -[Tori] Yay! Hi!
[Lilah screaming and crying]
[Zach] All right, let me... Let's call you back.
[Tori] Okay.
[screams]
Lilah, Lilah, Lilah!
[Lilah crying hysterically]
Hey, hey, hey!
Hey!
Okay. Come on. Let's go.
Ooh! Look at this.
-Can you say thank you? -[Jackson speaking]
-You're welcome. -All right. Thank you.
Now, look at that. You guys have a balloon now.
All right. Let's go find the car.
Taking three kids shopping,
I don't know, I had no worries.
I was a little cocky.
It wasn't like the end of the world,
but they definitely were over it.
You know, it'd be nice if Tori was here.
But she's not.
And I'm glad that she's enjoying her time with her friends.
But, you know,
I think it's a lot of work with three kids.
Still gotta go home, make dinner,
you know, clean up,
you know, but that's just what it is, you know.
It's just what you have to do.
All right.
Lilah, you come to the other side.
Hold on to your balloon.
Jackson, you get in.
I didn't find a couch today.
But, um, I'll probably come back.
And maybe I'll go by myself next time.
And then, Jackson, shut the door once you're in.
Oh!
[Zach] Lilah, did you... Did you let go?
[Lilah crying]
Lilah, did you let go of it?
Okay. Come on. No more balloon.
Say, "Bye-bye, balloon."
Say, "Bye-bye."
[Lilah speaking]
[woman] Coming up...
I'd like to have some competitions
with some fun prizes.
Can we also emphasize that this is a fundraiser?
Because I'll probably--
[Matt] No fun!
[both laughing]
Well, we can't talk with these two.
No, no, you can't.
Complete disaster.
[upbeat music playing]
[Zach] Let's go get Josiah.
[Lilah speaking]
[Zach] Hi, are you good?
Do you wanna get some lunch?
Tori's been gone a couple of days now,
and, uh, it's going well.
You know, the stuff that Josiah and Lilah wanna do
isn't usually what Dad wants to do.
And Jackson's at school the whole day,
so it's been a little low-key.
The hardest part has been that Tori left
right when daylight savings time hit.
And it's been brutal. This morning was brutal.
I had to wake up Jackson.
He's been late both days.
And I do not like being late.
Oh. Poo-poos.
Tori does a great job at dressing our kids
-in fancy, creative clothes. -[Lilah screaming]
I can't stand having to find an outfit.
I just wanna grab something.
I went to the store
and I just picked up
a bunch of basic, simple onesies.
So every single day, we just put them in a onesie.
Super simple. [chuckles] Okay?
Come on, Lilah.
This is my point to everything.
Like, everyone has way too many options in this house.
This is literally my uniform.
Black or white. I wear black or white.
And it's super simple every morning, you know.
I'm totally a fan of just simplifying the options.
And I think it'll just be a lot easier
getting out of the house on time if we did that.
-Uh-oh. -[Zach] Okay. What?
What? Did you give him a wipe?
Why'd you do that?
Are you being silly?
It's hot?
[Zach] I think I did a great job with Tori's list.
Picture day went great, the house is pretty clean,
we made the lasagna last.
The only thing I haven't done on the list
was pack the lunch notes for Jackson.
This morning, I forgot again.
Tori's not gonna be happy. [laughs]
Do you know what Mom did yesterday?
She was out from eight in the morning
to 1 o'clock at night.
Incredible. We were in bed by eight.
[Zach] Tori gets back from her trip tomorrow.
Um, and it'll be great to get back to normal.
We've really missed her.
But she deserves it.
Sounds like she's having a lot of fun,
and yeah, we're happy she did that.
You guys wanna practice some walking?
[Zach grunts]
Hey!
[Lilah speaking]
[Zach] All right, we're gonna walk all the way to the living room.
The kids and I have gotten into a nice little routine throughout the day.
After lunch, the three of us will hang out for a while
and then it'll be time for us
to pick Jackson up from school.
[cooing]
[Zach] Si's doing great walking.
He can't catch himself if he falls.
Once we're up, though,
he is doing pretty good with walking.
-[Lilah speaking] -All right.
Good job, Si-Si. Let's take a little break.
Josiah's second nap happens, like, a one to three thing.
Night, night, Si-Si!
Okay. Let's go.
Whilst Josiah's napping,
Lilah still has a lot of energy.
And so, we're finding things to do.
-[Lilah speaking] -[Zach] Si-Si is sleeping.
You wanna go walk in the water?
[Lilah speaking]
[Zach] You're excited for Mama to be home?
It's been nice hanging out with Lilah and Josiah.
Getting to spend a lot of one-on-one time with them.
This is totally Josiah's Jacket.
Oh, and your boots are on the wrong foot.
Oh, my heavens!
God help us.
-Oh! -[Lilah crying]
[Zach] Lilah, you're looking a little bit like a mess.
You're all muddy.
We have to go inside and change.
[Lilah speaking]
Tori's gonna see everything I did
not exactly how she does it.
She'll be mortified.
But, like, other dads do the same thing I do,
and... [sighs] ...we just worry about less. [laughs]
Lilah, your shoes are on the wrong feet.
[Lilah speaking]
[Zach] You're wearing Josiah's sweatshirt.
[Lilah speaking]
[Zach] Your pants are inside out.
[Lilah speaking]
[Zach] And now you're all muddy.
Let's go home. Let's change, okay?
[Lilah speaking]
How are you doing?
-[Chris] Good afternoon. -We're gonna park it there.
Hello!
[Matt] Hey, there, Daisy!
[Caryn] Daisy, hi, girl!
-She got a nice haircut. -Yeah, she did.
[Amy] She needed it.
Amy and Chris are stopping by the farm
to discuss this idea about doing a potential charity event
and to kind of brainstorm what that would look like.
I thought the idea that Amy came up with
for the Dwarf Athletic Association of America,
when she mentioned it to Matt,
we were like, "Why wouldn't we?"
-That's just such a great concept. -[Matt] Yeah.
Like, little Jackson is starting to take advantage
of the organization, and then I presume
Lilah will get involved, and then Josiah.
So, it's important to keep the organization healthy,
and if we can help out in some small way, then great.
So, I'm battling a cold and I understand that, uh,
you know, vitamin C is good for you.
So I stopped and got some lemon poppy seed donuts.
-So that should be good for me, right? -[Amy laughs] Okay.
Oh, yeah, I'll grab one.
-Oh, my goodness! That looks so good. -Thank you, Chris.
[Chris] Uh-huh.
Anyhoo, charity event.
Yeah.
We got a date blocked out. Um--
Well, from what you told me,
there's no other dates available.
They were very sparse, yes.
There was a lot of fairly,
like, seven-day stays that were back-to-back.
Well, is there any way that you can check these dates?
The one thing I wanted,
you know, make sure happens at this meeting,
we need a date because you have to let people know.
Matt has got a number of people, I guess,
renting out the farm house
that I've got to nail down the date,
and it's gotta happen now.
If we can push it to June, the weather will be better.
June 24th.
Yeah. Yeah. That could totally work.
June 24th. We're setting a date today.
June 24th. Okay.
Amy, she can cross that line
from micro-manager to, um, dictator quicker than me.
You know, and she can go right there,
and you just fasten your seat belt.
You know, she could boss people around with the best of 'em.
[Chris] What are your thoughts
about doing it in the wedding area?
Using the wedding barn and then that grass area there?
-It's got an amazing view. -Oh, I like that plan.
There's no heat, but I like it. Would you get a tent?
-I'm not doing a tent. -Okay.
-[Amy] That's way too much money. -Yep.
[Amy] Planning for anything,
you know, who's gonna take ownership?
Who's gonna lead this?
I've been there, done that.
You can't have too many leaders
and too many bosses, so...
Well, not only that. Out of the four of us,
Amy has the most experience.
So, I think it'd be better for Matt and I to kinda
do the peripheral stuff.
[chuckles]
We need to look at the wedding barn,
'cause all of the store stuff
-is all stuffed in the big round middle of it. -Oh, right.
Maybe we could just push it to the back.
So, I wanna get... Nail that down today.
So, we'll take a ride over there and get that figured out.
Okay.
There's a number of ideas being kicked around.
And, you know, Amy made it very clear
that she's in charge.
[laughs]
-Fine by us. -Yeah.
I mean, it was their idea
and we want them to roll with it
and we'll be the support.
-The co-pilots. -Yeah. I'm like,
"Amy, if you're lucky, I'll let you play on my fun ride."
[laughing]
Oh, you two.
-This is gonna be fun. -Yeah. [laughs]
[Caryn] So would it be safe to say we're gonna kinda hover around
a total of 60 people?
That's my expectation, that's my anticipation.
We're just in the beginning of the stage of planning,
but part of a fundraising event
is that, you know, there's a fee,
and that will go towards DAAA.
So, besides dinner,
we'll have some silent auction items.
Uh, we'll have some activities there.
And then, you know, after all of it,
then we'll have entertainment.
You've mentioned you were thinking, like, four to seven?
Yeah, like four to seven. I mean, what do you think?
That seems kinda quick
if we're gonna be adding, you know, a bunch of activities and stuff,
and we need to give people a reason to come here
other than just a "sit down and eat lunch and go".
-Uh-- -Why don't we do maybe, like, four to seven,
and then if people wanna stay till eight or nine,
-then we have our after-party? -[Chris] Yeah. Four to seven is too soon.
That's perfect. That's a good idea.
And then we can always have music
-from, like, seven to nine. -[Caryn] Yeah.
[Amy] Um... What?
Just... Nothing.
Just, like, okay. Let's just do it.
During the meeting,
I could tell there was a point where it seemed like
you and Amy were getting a little agitated
with each other, and I'm not ever
getting in the middle of that.
[chuckles]
Well, I don't wanna get into having to get lights for the parking lot.
So it'd be better if it wrapped before dark.
-That's the longest-- -[Caryn] Seven to nine. She just said.
[Amy] That is the longest day.
-[Chris] Yeah. -So, if it happens to be--
-How painful! [laughs] -[Chris laughs]
-Complete disaster. -[laughs]
No. I mean, any event is a little bit stressful
and you put a stressed-out Amy and a stressed-out Matt
anywhere in the same...
-In the same box. -...in a one-mile radius,
and it seems like there's a combustion of smoke that just starts.
[laughing]
Can we also emphasize that this is a fundraiser
and we're gonna encourage everyone?
-[Matt] Oh. -Because I'll probably--
-No fun. [laughs] -[Chris laughs]
Well, we can't talk with these two.
No, no, you can't.
It's a little easier to goof off when you're not the one in charge.
And so, since Amy's taken that role, then... [laughs]
Then yes, it's a little easier to have fun.
I think every 30 minutes, we have a cow bell
and we pass the cowboy hat
and everybody could throw, you know, something.
Everybody will know when the cow bell goes off,
turn around and run with your wallet.
[Matt] I don't have any apprehension with working with Amy.
I just know I can go to Chris and solve it.
-Oh, my gosh. -Figure it out. [laughs]
So, with Chris being the safety net there,
I'm pretty sure, um,
we can stay out of any conflict.
Okay. So, should we head over to the wedding barn?
Okay. You guys wanna ride with us?
-Yeah. -We'll get a meal out there. We'll go over there.
I'm sure it's a little uncomfortable for Matt
to, you know, be in a room planning an event with his ex.
I'm sure there's elements, that we push each other's buttons,
but, uh,
if I didn't think, by the end of the day,
that I could work with Matt on this fundraising project,
I wouldn't have broached it.
But no, it definitely occurs to me, like,
I did have a choice in this.
[clicks tongue]
And here I go.
[Matt] Just for the record,
I loved the idea of this, the party being out here.
[Amy] Okay. That is not the indication you gave
multiple times.
[upbeat music playing]
[engine stops]
-Gentle. -[Jackson] Oh, ow!
[chuckles] Are you okay?
[Zach] The crazy one.
Are you excited to be back?
I'm so excited to be back.
I missed my family.
[Tori] I went on a girls' trip.
It was so nice
to just spend time with my friends,
and when I got home,
Zach and the kids were outside waiting for me.
I was so excited to see you and my kids again.
[Zach] Look at Mama!
[Tori] Hi!
-[Zach] Hi. -Come here.
-I missed you so much. -[Zach] You see Mama?
How are you?
Oh, I missed you so much.
How are you?
-How are you? -Good. I missed my family!
What was the hardest part about being away?
Not a lot was difficult for me.
It was fairly easy. It was very nice.
[Zach] Did you feel refreshed though?
[Tori] Oh, yeah.
When you become a mom and you're breast-feeding
and you are pregnant,
like, you're constantly attached to someone else.
Like, someone's needing something from you.
And so, I think that was the best part of it
was just like my body's mine again.
I'm not pregnant. I'm not breast-feeding.
I'm not trying to get pregnant.
Like, it was just nice to get away and have my own time
where somebody didn't need me.
I think the kids liked having just Dad though.
Yeah, I bet they did.
We can wear whatever we wanted.
-[Tori laughing] -Eat whatever we wanted.
[Tori] Okay.
Zach did a great job while I was gone.
Everyone's still breathing. Dad's still breathing.
-They're still breathing. -The house is very clean.
Yeah. The house was fantastic.
Now you just push this all around like this, okay?
[Lilah] Okay.
Here.
Right before Tori got back, I did a clean-up of the whole house,
and Lilah helped me too.
She was probably excited that Mom was coming back,
and, uh, yeah, she was being helpful.
Sorry.
I'm probably gonna do it more.
[laughing]
'Cause you're so good at it.
So, now I'm like, "Can't wait for the next trip."
-[Tori] Si-Si! Where are you going? -I forgot
to put the notes in the lunch box.
-You forgot? -I forgot.
I thought about it every morning.
Babe, how excited would he have been
-if he read that, Zach? -Tori, I know.
It's a bummer I forgot.
The mornings did get hectic, okay.
-Yeah. -And I forgot the notes
in the lunch pail during that time.
Every day. [laughs] I just didn't do that.
-[Tori] You live and you learn. -[Zach] Yeah.
I just realized I forgot a note today.
[exhales in relief]
Happens to the best of us.
[Zach] Is my parenting style different than yours?
A little bit.
Who's, like, more chill? Mom or me?
Mom is?
I don't think you know what chill means.
Don't pat him on the head. That's kinda weird.
[laughs] No. You choose whoever it is.
Guilt-tripping to that one.
What was it like having Dad in charge
and Mom out of town?
Oh. Was the house more crazy without Mom?
[giggles]
Why?
[Tori] Hey, it's getting a little cold for Si.
We're gonna go in.
[Zach] Got it.
I fully appreciate Tori
and everything she does on a daily basis.
I think Tori and me, like, we definitely parent together.
You know, we don't have long periods of time
when there's just one of us with all the kids.
And so it makes each other appreciate each other
more that we're doing this together.
[Tori] Come on.
I'm leaving. Come on.
[woman] Next on Little People, Big World...
Amy, I gotta show you the kitchen plan.
Do you now?
I don't really have a need or a desire
to check out the house that Matt's building.
I've been through so many construction sites on this farm.
Working with him or being with him
can be very exhausting.
We're doing the wall. No, we're not.
-Right, Caryn? -[Chris laughs]
Whatever you want.
Hasn't changed.
[Zach] Here he comes.
Go, go, go, go, go.
I am coaching Jackson's soccer team.
Jackson, you're open. Jackson!
Some of the opposing kids
point out that he's different,
and he's starting to hear that for the first time.
-Are you okay? -[Jackson speaking]
We need to be very aware how we respond
because it's just... It's not ever gonna stop.
You go, Caryn. You go--
No. You do it.
[sighs]