First Snowballs of the Season

We brought Michael home on Sept. 1, so it was almost the end of the summer. And somehow we must not have managed to introduce him to one of the local delicacies: shaved ice with artificial coloring poured over it--otherwise known as a snowball.

Louis used to call them iceballs, which is actually more accurate.

Either way, we made our trek to the local snowball stand for our first snowballs of the season--and Michael's first ever.

Michael can show some trepidation, but apparently not with anything this sweet, almost totally un-nutritious, and colorful.

He dug right in.

Louis, meanwhile, plugged away at his lemon snowball.

Our bigger boy's relationship with the snowball has been a work in progress. His first encounter...well, it wasn't exactly love at first taste.

But that was almost two years ago. And Louis is now quite a fan.

 
 

Perhaps because of his brother's enthusiasm, perhaps because he has a sweet tooth, or perhaps merely because he would always have been a snowball fan, Michael embraced the whole shaved ice experience.

He even deigned to use a spoon.

One thing I may not have mentioned about Michael is that he is a slow eater. This will likely serve him well in life, though it makes for an impatient Mama when we are trying to get out the door in the mornings.

Anyway, as Louis was reaching the bottom of his snowball and Michael still had 90 percent of his left, Baba and I started to worry we might never make it home.

 

So Baba asked for a taste--and received the tiniest portion imaginable.



Louis took his father to task.

"I'm concerned," said our boy, who never uses a short word if there's a longer one he knows, even if it might not be quite the right one (though it is here).

"Why?" Baba asked.

"If you eat all of Michael's snowball, he won't have any left."

I can't say I shared my older son's fear, especially as Michael slowed down and the snowball loomed large.



But Louis keeps a close eye on his brother. And on the food situation.

Somewhere in the transition to big brotherhood, a sense of what's "fair" must kick in automatically. I really can't pinpoint when it happened, but it's there.

Nine months ago today these boys met for the first time. And what a transition it has been. In some ways, I think Louis was totally blindsided. And we are still figuring some things out.

Suddenly having to share your parents, your toys, and almost everything else in your life is hard--even when you love your little brother, which Louis does.

But we're proud of how far Louis has come over the past nine months. And we're proud of how he sticks up for his little brother--and vice versa.




And yes, even though Michael didn't finish the whole snowball, we did eventually get to go home.

Summer is officially underway!