They have liked each other from the beginning. When I brought Solanne home from the hospital, Maïa cried out, "it's Solanne!" She would often ask to hold her. We'd set her up with pillows and put Solanne in her lap. This position would last all of 12 seconds, but Maïa was always up for it. And Solanne has always tried to do everything her big sister does, and she has always watched her with keen interest and deep admiration. But what has started to happen this week is different.
Maïa now seeks out her little sister's company. A short week ago, Maïa would actually run away from Solanne, and slam doors behind her to keep her sister out. But now, when Maïa goes to the bathroom (which is a semi-public affair for her right now), she calls Solanne to join her. Last week, she would have gotten up, run to the door, and slammed it shut if Solanne even so much as walked by. The two have whole conversations in there. They go something like this:
"Yeah Solanne, that's my pee and my poo, and the toilet paper is floating in there!"
"Arr-zug-wa!!"
"Yeah! That's the toilet!!"
"Sug-ya?!"
"Don't put your toy in there; it's a toilet."
"Arr-goo!!"
And so it goes, the two of them chattering away. And the playing together is not limited to potty time. When Maïa is playing in their room and Solanne walks in, Maïa gets her sister to sit down, and she reads to her (well, she abbreviates the stories she remembers). And Solanne looks on with interest. Sometimes, she tries to grab at the book, but it has happened that the scenario has actually played out peacefully. Solanne is not really prone to staying in one place for very long, so after a minute or two, she generally walks along her merry way. But now, Maïa asks her to stay. Even shouts to her to "come back, Solanne!"
Today, when we were at the park, the two of them played together on the teeter-totter. Maïa giggled and Solanne laughed her deep, throaty laugh. And I knew that it had happened: sisters had become friends.
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