Daniel stopped in the middle of Alani's braid to add a rubber band to the end. He picked up a white bow from his nightstand then clipped it onto the braid before fluffing out her curls at the end. Once he finished, he turned to look at Jakiyah beside him.
"How I do?" He asked.
Jakiyah nodded while observing Alani's braid. "It looks good. See, you're getting better at doin' her hair."
"Can you do her edges for me?" Daniel asked.
"Yes. We have to do our affirmations, anyway."
"I gotta learn those, too."
"Do you know the signs?"
Daniel stood to the side, allowing Jakiyah to stand in front of Alani. They were in the bathroom with Alani for their usual morning routine. Alani sat on the bathroom sink with her pacifier in her mouth while she got her hair done. Since Daniel needed the practice, Jakiyah did one braid and allowed Daniel to do the other. Most of the time, Jakiyah or Danielle did Alani's hair, but Daniel thought it was important for him to learn in case neither of them were available.
So far he mastered doing ponytails and twists, but braids were the most difficult for him. With help from his mom and Jakiyah, he got better. The last thing he needed to learn was how to do her edges, then he felt he could do her hair without anyone's help.
"I think so," Daniel replied.
"Okay. We only do three for right now until she can talk. She signs them, but doesn't say it yet. Sometimes she'll try, though."
"Okay."
Jakiyah reached beside Alani for the edge brush and some gel. Alani took her pacifier from her mouth and extended it to Daniel. He took it before clipping it onto his shirt.
"I am beautiful," Jakiyah said, then signed.
Alani signed it back to Jakiyah with a wide smile on her face. Jakiyah put some gel on Alani's baby hairs before making one swoop.
"I am smart," Jakiyah said and signed.
Again, Alani signed it back with a wide grin, displaying her baby teeth. Daniel smiled watching Jakiyah do Alani's hair while they went over their affirmations with each other. He loved how smart Alani was at such a young age, and he loved how much Jakiyah cared for her. Daniel owed it to Jakiyah for a lot of things Alani was able to do for her age.
