Sisterly Love / Sibling Rivalry

We sometimes let the big girls (who share a room) sleep in the same bunk. I tend to think it increases closeness but I really had no idea how much! Doodle likes to sleep without a shirt on hot nights but she does have bottoms on!

This picture is really metaphorical for their relationship at this point. Doodle, always desiring to "catch up" with Muffin, would do anything for her. She can be convinced to do just about anything for Muffin's entertainment or as an experiment. Fortunately, Muffin doesn't often take advantage of this fact but I could almost hear their conversation if they had talked about this sleeping position:

Muffin: My leg is really crowded back here.
Doodle: Here, I'll scoot over.
Muffin: It's STILL crowded. And it is soooo hot!
Doodle: Here, just put it on me. I don't mind, I was too comfortable anyway!

The irony is that less than 24 hours later, they had one of their worst fights ever including name calling and hitting. It makes me sad because I can tell when one hits the other the feelings of the hit one are hurt worse than the skin. It's as if they are saying, "I can't believe you just hurt me!" even though they did the exact same thing to the other one 5 minutes earlier. Having never had a sister, it makes it a little hard for me to understand but we've tried different strategies ranging from serving one another to letting them duke it out. The latter is not as bad as it seems since Doodle, although younger and slower, is pretty tough.