How lucky they are.

The moment I tell Haven that it's time to eat, she calls for Sonja. And when I say Haven calls for Sonja, I mean that she yells out a noise that definitely means that she's calling out for someone, although it doesn't sound anything like Sonja's name. "Ahhhn-uuuunnnng" is a good example, the second syllable with a lower inflection than the first. Without fail, she calls Sonja before she does anything else. 


Often Sonja will be doing something; she'll be busy and not ready to come to the table yet. Haven keeps calling and calling, even when I'm doing up the straps on her high chair. In fact she won't really stop until I make sure Sonja is coming to the table. 


I love it because it shows how important it is to Haven that her sister doesn't miss out. 

There's a lot of sisterly love going on. Sonja makes a point of kissing Haven first thing in the morning, often whether Haven likes it or not. She also loves to hold Haven down and zurbit her big belly ...again, whether Haven likes it or not. 


Sonja is also very specific with Haven about how they should play and she always instructs her younger sister on every detail of the games they play together. Sonja means well; I can hear in her voice that she feels she is helping Haven play properly. 


And while there is an obvious physical advantage to being the older sister, Haven likes to defy that with an ear-splitting screech and often an iron-gripped pinch coupled with a welt-inducing scratch. It's funny how what originally begins as an expression of affection quickly degrades into greco-roman wrestling, toddler style.

Yet there are many genuine moments of tenderness between the girls. I'll be washing the dishes or tidying up and I'll hear some squealing, fully anticipating screams of anger from an ensuing fight. I'll open my mouth to call out to Haven and Sonja to cut it out and then all of a sudden they'll be laughing their little guts out, tickling each other, or chasing each other around the house. 


I always shake my head at how quickly they can go from sounding like they're going to kill each other to sounding like whatever they're doing together is the funniest thing ever. It takes me by surprise every time; I guess I always anticipate the worst.

The younger one idolizes the older one, the older one adores the younger one. With that much love between them, I can only hope that when they're older they can stop fighting long enough to realize how lucky they are to have each other. 

I see it; I would have given just about anything to have had a sister growing up.