A Different Salon Experience

Juliana decided that her work bench and tools are now a salon - a full-service salon for hair and nails.  She welcomed my mom as her first customer this week and I was happy to be watching instead of participating.

First Juliana used the power saw to "cut" her hair and the hand saw to trim her bangs.

Then it was time to soak her fingers and toes.

The next step was to clean and trim the nails and the apply some polish. 

Finally it was back to the hair for a special treatment and a pink clip to finish it off.

A few minutes later I heard "Mommy hurry, Ruslan has the bang cutter".

Juliana and Ruslan

Early on it was clear that Wyatt was Juliana's favorite brother.  She told me that Ruslan was my baby and Wyatt was her baby.  Recently she is just as interested in Ruslan.

And Sometimes She Helps Out

One evening last week, I was about to give the boys a bath and Juliana announced that she wanted to help. I wondered if she would actually be a help, but decided it was a good idea to involve her. She ran to get the bathtub and bring it into the kitchen and then went to get the changing pad and put it up on the kitchen counter. The bathtub has a sling that completely supports the boys so they are very secure.

We started with Wyatt and she carefully washed his arms and legs with the washcloth - I told her I would wash his face and head. When we were done washing Wyatt she rubbed the lotion on and helped me dress him.

Then it was time for Ruslan's bath, she took a break to model the lion towel and then wore it througn part of the bath. She did a good job of washing Ruslan except that she did want to wash his face as well (you can see his surprise in the picture with his arms flying about). By then time he was washed, she was done helping and had run off to play. But she actually was a big help. I hope this is the beginning of her being more helpful rather than the norm of just making a mess...

Juliana and Ruslan

Now that the boys are more interactive, Juliana enjoys playing with them. She gets so excited when she smiles at one of them and they smile back. Ruslan is much quicker to smile and laugh than Wyatt (he has to stare at you for a few minutes first) and Juliana loves that when she sticks her tongue, he does the same in return. On this morning he had just eaten so he was very happy. Juliana had just come downstairs and when she hopped up next to him, she was greeted with a huge smile. The two of them smiled, laughed and stuck their tongues out until Juliana got bored (it takes Ruslan a long time to get bored of this game).

Want More Pictures?

Do you have a toddler/preschooler who is no longer happy to participate in photo shoots, or simply turns away when the camera comes out because she has had her pictures taken thousands of times in her short life? Here's how to fix it - have another baby. Now whenever I am taking pictures of the boys, she comes running - "I want to be in the picture!"

Note: this does not guarantee that she will smile or even look at the camera, especially if The BackYardigans is on TV.

The Big Sister

Juliana met her brothers Tuesday afternoon. She was very excited to see them and hold them. She climbed right up to get a good look and then sat down ready to hold them. As soon as Wyatt started to cry, she tried to push him away, saying "Daddy take Him!" Later she had a snuggle with Ruslan before going home for the night. She is very excited to be a big sister and loves her new brothers. She was not so excited that Mommy was staying in the hospital and that she was not allowed to climb on me and that I can't pick her up.

She came back to the hospital to visit again after school on Wednesday. She was excited that people had been to visit and left presents for her as well. One of the gifts was a tea set which she immediately set-up and then while she was holding Ruslan shared a cup of tea with him. 2 days old and already being included in tea parties.