I Heart Faces Photo Challenge - Friendship

This week's photo challenge at I Heart Faces is Friendship. I sifted through a lot of smiley group shots with Z and her "favorite" cousins, since when I think of the word "friendship" in relation to Z, I think of those three silly girls together. There were shots of them splashing in a wading pool. Shots at various birthday parties. And shots of them all trying to fit onto the same tricycle at once! But the one that struck me the most, was of Z and Pilu, blowing bubbles one morning while Tually was at preschool. Z doesn't consider Pilu to be her "friend" (in fact, whenever I'd mention that we were seeing them, Z would invariably point out "I only like Tually. I don't like Pilu.") But they sure get along great! Tually is 15 months older than Z, but Pilu is only 8 months younger, making them a closer "match," age-wise. And actually, now that she's 3, Z is warming up to Pilu (2.) Now, whenever I say we're going to see Tually, or going to Tually's house, Z always adds "and Pilu."

At their ages, most cooperative play is really just parallel play. That is, doing the same thing near each other, rather than sharing a single toy, or playing house together, for example. And this photo is a perfect example of their parallel-play friendship. These two get along fantastically with their own set of crayons and paper, or their own pile of Play-Doh and tools, or, in this case, their own bottle of bubbles.

I love the intense concentration they each have, totally oblivious to their surroundings, and to each other. But only really good friends can enjoy being near each other without some kind of interaction. Good friends, enjoying the day, side-by-side.

This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces weekly photo challenge