here is Julianna - Finally!!!

So I have finally gotten to writing about our eldest and how she is dealing with the changes of the past weeks. Julianna is an easy kid, she has always had an even temperament and happy smile, and that has not changed much in the last weeks, but she is struggling with the change in expectations of her. Poor baby, when she was an only child she has lower expectations, she only recently started to buckle her own seat belt, she was the center of our world, now she shares that and we have higher expectations of her. We just do not have the time to do everything for her that she is capable of doing for herself. We also do not have the time to give her 3-4 warnings anymore either, and have very little patience with her whining, so she has had a lot of adjusting to do. Thankfully she does not blame her sister or brother, though today she did say she wanted a nicer mommy, not a mean one!! I am only slightly hurt by this, but understand it too, and explained that if she would do what we asked without us having to yell at her 10 times I would have the chance to be nicer. Still though she enjoys her sister, and having a friend, and while they are slightly competitive they get along well for the most part, only minor squabbles. They play really well, and Julianna is not the one always in the lead either, they share nicely, Julianna being one of the few people MB can be assured will share back with her. Julianna also loves having her little brother, he is someone she can teach things to, and who looks up to her and adores her, and she loves this. J can spend an hour just building blocks with him or playing little people, and then reading to him too. They love to play peekaboo or tickle each other, and she is great about watching him if I have to run to get the dogs or get the phone. She really enjoys having Gabe to cuddle and play with, and MB to play dress up and pretend polly world with too.
There are very few things J is possessive of, and those things she has explained to MB are not for sharing, the rest the girls tussle over, play with and share pretty well, and they have learned that if mommy has to intervene then they may lose the toy altogether, and they are both smart enough to know that it is better to cooperate than lose the item!! Julianna really likes to show MB new things, even when MB is not interested so this has been a learning experience for J, things do not get played her way, and often the other two are not interested in learning anyway. For J this has been an adjustment, but introducing her sister and brother to others proudly, and helping them when they are shy or uncertain has been a huge reward.
Julianna loves ballet and tap, and this past month they have had bring a fiend to class, so MB has gone to 2 weeks of classes, and J stayed right with her the whole time, helping her out, and reassuring her, and even helping get shoes changed and comforting her when I was not there unexpectedly, good job Julianna!!! J also showed MB some ballet steps, because we could see that MB was frustrated by her inability to do the steps correctly and quickly with the class, so J showed her and then cheered her on when she did them correctly in class, so very sweet!!
Whenever Gabe says a new word she comes running to tell us, and is trying to teach him all sorts of new things all the time, she gets a bit repetitive but it is very funny to watch, especially when little G gets tired of it and tackles her and pins her down, since he weighs almost as much as she does she is stuck, then her tickles or raspberries her!!
Over all J is doing well, she loves her new sibs and told me the other day that she wanted to return to Ethiopia, that she missed it and liked the people and guest house too!!
Sadly right now quiet time is not going well and I have to go be the meany mom again, Ah well!!
J