“You think of the best ideas,” I say.

“Love and pink and red everywhere,” she adds.

“That would be quite a world,” I say.

“So, today- like right now- can we make heart cookies?” She turns her head to the side and bats her eyes.

“You are four! What are you doing with those eyes!” I bend down. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“What?” She smiles.

“Four year olds don’t bat their eyes. I knew you were up to something!” I stand up and wipe the kitchen counter.

“Oh, please, mommy, I really, really, really want to make heart cookies. It’s my favorite thing to do.”

“I thought your favorite thing to do five minutes ago was to color dogs, and five minutes before that your favorite thing was to play ‘Feed the Kitty,’ and 5 minutes before that I thought making puzzles was your favorite thing to do?” I put my hands on my hips.

Her shoulders relax. She sighs. “Mommy.” She twirls toward a stool. “I would like a spot of tea.”

“A spot of tea?” I laugh. “You make me laugh little girl! Okay, I shall make us tea with honey.”

“Oh, goody.” She raises her arms and hugs me.

“I guess we’ll need some cookies to go with the tea, huh?” I say. “Heart ones?”

“Yes.” She nods like she’s adding an exclamation point. “Pink and Red.”