August is a very busy month as far as birthdays and anniversaries go among our friends and family, and with Tylan's arrival in the thick of it all I'm afraid I've neglected to send birthday and anniversary wishes to many people. I should manage to do better next year, though. Cory and I celebrated our 11th anniversary last Saturday, and by celebrating I mean it was good that we even remembered it this year. Yesterday would have been Mary's 62nd birthday.

Things are going fine. It's just busy, busy, busy adjusting to life with four children and trying to function on less sleep and still recover from childbirth. I suppose once you've had four children most people just figure it's rather run of the mill and easy enough to adjust to compared with welcoming your first baby. It is in some ways, I suppose. Actually, caring for newborn Tylan is a breeze. It's making sure the other three have their needs met and don't feel left out or overshadowed by their new sibling that is more difficult.

At nine days old, Tylan is certainly more aware than she was at the start, and the kids appreciate that little bit. They love that she'll turn toward them when she hears their voices and that she'll try to focus on their faces. I explained to them that newborns usually can't focus beyond a foot at the most during the first month or two (and then it still might be rather blurry), so Cole has been carrying around a ruler so he knows how far away a foot is when he's near Tylan. I love that when Tylan wakes up and sees me that she gets this look on her face that comes pretty close to contentment. She's also trying out that voice of hers more with lots of little coos and grunts. Other than a fussy period last night that lasted about an hour, she's been a happy and content baby so far.

Accalia and Cole are always very excited when 3:30 rolls around and the neighbor girls show up. For the most part, they've been getting along well, although I definitely notice that the girls are more tired and less patient with each other after a day at school. Thankfully they go inside at 7:30 to get ready for bed, so they usually go inside before they're too tired and cranky with everyone.

Both Ella and I are worn out today. She's napping right now, so she's definitely tired. She's been up too early two days in a row, and that's left us both dragging. Hopefully tonight will be one that requires very little from me. Thankfully Cory will be home tonight, too.