Favourite

She has been too shy to admit it for a good 2 years. Whenever I asked her who her favourite is, she would say it is me but only if we happened to be by ourselves. When my wife is around, she would whisper it to me and then run to my wife and sheepishly tell her that she is really the favourite, instructing my wife not to tell me. But most times, Mei Mei would diplomatically declare that my second son is her favourite, knowing full well she isn't answering the question. 

I tease her when she wishes my wife loudly "Bye bye Mommy, I love you" as we leave for the kindie. She only manages a soft "Bye Daddy" when she is about to go to her kindie classroom. Last week, without me asking, she said to me "Children love their mommy more because they give birth to them." Well, how could you argue with that? She sounded like she was narrating an episode of National Geographic. I kept myself from laughing and asked her who told her that. She just said "Ya, because children are born from their mommy" as if to say that nobody needs to tell her that.

That night, when the 2 younger kids were in my room, I played back Mei Mei's claim to my son and asked him whether he felt what she said was true. He found it funny but precarious, so all he did was laugh. Mei Mei continued to defend her position with "Ya, my friends say so". So now it has become a universal truth amongst all kindie-going kids.

Today Mei Mei wanted to have baked apple for dessert. It is something I have made twice in the recent weeks. I remove the core of the apples and stuff them with sliced banana, blackberries, blueberries, a small slice of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup. I really needed a nap after lunch so I told her that I would do it after a short rest. When she saw me falling asleep, she protested. Awakened, I realise that she was nudging my face with her still tiny and soft feet.  A sign of her affection.