her best friend

The dynamics of female friendship has always amazed me. One moment a girl is your best friend and the next she (or you) can't stand her. How does this behavior develop? When does it begin?

Recently Little 'Ny has been refering to a girl in her class as her "best friend". They play together every day. Some days Little 'Ny cries when we leave because she didn't get a chance to say good-bye to her "best friend".

What is amazing about this friendship is that they are only 2 1/2 years old. At times they only want to play with each other and not include any of the other kids (especially boys).

Of course they have their ups and downs -- not equally sharing a toy, one isn't paying attention to the other, etc.

So, where did they learn this behavior? It seems that girls are just born wired this way. What I do know is that they are adorable together and I hope the friendship lasts (at least as long as they are in school together).

NOTE: Forgive the poor quality of the photos ... they were taken on my cell phone.