There's been a shift here.
1.
Talmage and Sydney started school. 
M: What are your favorite things about school?
T: P.E. and recess.
Talmage could hardly believe his good fortune that first grade affords TWO recesses.
S: [At the dinner table]: Mom, I'm going to sing a song. [starts singing the primary song, "When my mother calls me, quickly I obey". Half-way through, Talmage says ...
T: I have invisible earplugs.
M: When you're a teenager I'm going to remind you that you sang that song at the dinner table when you were four.
S: Remind me right now.
M: Syd, I remember about one minute ago, when you were four, that you sang that song at the dinner table.
S: Oh! I didn't remember that!
2. Disciplined
shopping.
Grocery shopping is now corralled to Saturday, when one of us can go
child-free. No more mid-week ingredient runs. This won't last, of course, because you can
only fit so many gallons of milk in your fridge. And we go through a lot of milk. On account of this child:
... who can easily down a half-gallon a day. Above pics show how she dealt with sibling rivalry: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. She insisted on wearing Miles' clothing. That phase, and the binky phase, are over. (but also, she's not really potty-trained).
Clara has caught on to her BIG sister role:
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| Her dollies are all named "Miles". She is careful to apply Desitin. |
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| With the real, live baby Miles. |
3. Laundry. Now there are four piles of kids' clothes. That was weird at first.
4. Name mix-up. I'm a little better now than when Miles was first born. For several weeks I kept calling him Cole or referring to him as a her. But I still am calling Sydney, Clara, and Clara, Sydney, and Talmage, Sydney, and ... you get the idea. This wasn't such a problem with 3 kids. I don't know why 4 has short-circuited my synapses.
5. I'm not bugged now when people say, "You've got your hands full" Because I do.
That's all on that topic. Below are images that have been languishing in iPhoto. Some may have already been posted. Can't remember.
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| Summer Utah trip. Outside the Dinosaur Museum with Cousin Brie. |
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| At the cabin with Great Grandma Kartchner. She's 94 and goes walking every morning. |
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| Briton took the oldest kids to the zoo one Saturday so I could be alone with Miles. |
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| Clara calls those hair thingy's "haircuts". I can't convince her to call them clips, ribbons, barrettes, "pretties", you name it. Aaaaaaand, I like her expression. |
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| In the bike trailer. Miles got out after this shot. But on a subsequent bike ride, he was strapped in his car seat next to Clara. That worked out well. |
Syd being studious:
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| How to make monsters out of TP rolls: (This is a picture tutorial, like you see on those fancy blogs): Just pinch the top and add googly eyes .. |
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| ...like this (the idea was from High Five, I think). |
Already a good little bubba, helping his mama with the laundry.
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| This was before Miles started smiling. I wonder what he makes of it all. |
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| Clara loves those polka-dot PJ's. |
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