Lima beans were at the center of the girls' lunches today. Julia is perhaps her generation's greatest proponent of lima beans, and moreover someone who just yesterday properly pronounced two Ls when she repeated my question, "Do you feel lazy today?" For lunch, then, she polished off about two cups of lima beans while struggling good-naturedly to repeat L-laden sentences like, "Larry loves limas, salami, and lettuce for lunch in July."
On the other hand, I tried with crashing futility to sneak a few mushy lima beans into Genevieve's mix of shredded cheddar cheese and chunks of bagel. The first bean went down accidentally, lost in an early, eager mouthful. The second bean went in, but immediately came back out with a grimace and a shudder. The third bean, a few minutes later, elicited another grimace and rapid expectoration, plus retribution: shrieking with disgust, Gigi reached out with her little fists to smash the fourth bean into pulp
They may squabble now about stuffed animals and dolls, and in the future about clothes and CDs , but I don't think Gigi will ever try to steal Julia's lima beans.