One of the characteristics of my life as the breadwinning parent is that it's pretty rare to be around Julia and Genevieve and other kids all at the same time. Obviously, it happens, but probably only as much over the course of several months as Shannon experiences in a week or two. When we had a big group of close friends, and their kids, over the other weekend, I got a glimpse of how the girls act in a group, but hardly enough to really study.
Today, though, I was able to see the girls in a big group, when some old family friends from the Cities came down with their three boys. In brief, it was fun and hilarious and confusing and fascinating. Genevieve is as watchful but insistent with others as she is by herself or just with Julia: she studied everything that was going on, but made sure to get the toy she really wanted. Properly, she groaned in annoyance when one of the boys took her ball, and then joyfully chomped on it when he was made to return it.
Julia was equally watchful, especially at first, and asked a zillion questions about the newcomers, but eventually warmed up to the visitors - especially the oldest and middle boys, whose ages bracket hers - and thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. From the younger boy, she learned how to go headfirst down the slide; from the older, that other kids, too, get wrapped up in mysterious imaginary play (in this case, scenes from the Backyardigans TV show). And she even felt comfortable enough with the boys' dad - a big guy of exactly the sort she usually avoids - to tell him all about her latest book-related hangup (a page in a new Pooh book which features clouds that look too much like scary masks).
All in all, it was a ton of fun, and I was engrossed by watching the girls try to figure out how to interact with the boys.