"Mama," a little girl tugged on Kylie's shirt for the nth time that day. She sighed knowing what her daughter wanted. She pretended like she didn't notice as she continued cooking.

   "Mama, pansin me, please," Noelle, once again, tugs on her mother's shirt.

   "Anak, what is it that you want? Mama's cooking oh," Kylie sighs as she lowered the fire and looked at her four year old.

   "Let's go to the park," she pleads.

   Kylie knelt down to her daughter's level and caressed her darling little kikay face,"Noelle, my love, we can't go today. Kuya's sick and Mama has to take care of him. Maybe next weekend, Kikay, okay?"

   She could see the sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Noelle nodded and looked down grudgingly walking to the living room when she bumped into a tall figure causing her to fall on her bum.

   "Ow!" she exclaims as tears finally started falling upon her face from the fall and the disappointment. Kylie snapped her head at her baby's cry, but was relieved when she saw her husband was about to pick her up.

   "I'm sorry, Baby. Baba's sorry. Don't cry na," Ruru coos apologetically as he carries her in his arms.

   "So clumsy, Baba!" she cried. Kylie heard that and gave Ruru a small smile and mouthed 'Sumpong'.

   "I'm sorry, Kikay. Don't cry na please. Stop it na. You know I don't like to see you crying," he says to the still crying girl while wiping the tears away.

   "Then, don't look!" she managed to say inbetween sobs. Ruru and Kylie had to stifle a laugh before putting on their 'strict parents' faces.

   "Noelle Amariah, that wasn't a very nice thing to say," Kylie scolded.

   "We know you're frustrated about something but, that is not an excuse for being disrespectful, Princess," Ruru explains in a more loving tone as he continued to wipe her tears.

   "I'm sorry, Baba and Mama," Noelle says in a small voice causing her parent's heart to melt. This was her strength, really. Noelle got her charm from her mother, the type you can almost never say no to.

   "And will you say that again?" Kylie asks.

   "No, Mama," she replied with her head still down.

   "Very good. Now, do you wanna tell Baba why you were making sumpong kanina?" Ruru says gently putting the stray hair on her face behind her ears just like he used to with Kylie.

   "I wanna go to the park, but Mama said no. Kase Kuya is sick daw," she says sounding like she was telling on her mother.

   "Kikay, Mama has to take care of Kuya kase he has fever," Ruru tries to explain.

   "But she can take care of Kuya in the park, Baba," she reasons. Ruru and Kylie let out a small giggle at her idea, "What? Why are you laughing at me?"

   "Anak, kase if we go to the park, Kuya is gonna feel worse. It's a little hot outside and Kuya is supposed to be resting," he replied kissing her head.

   "But I wanna go to the park, Baba," she says with a pout on her lips, the same pout that Ruru has, the one he can never say no to.

   "Uhm, sige pero just the two os us ha?" Ruru deals with her. Kylie shot him a 'what-are-you-doing' look. He smiled in return.

   "Okay! Yey! Help me change, Baba, please?" the little girl exclaims excitedly at her father as she squiggles in his arms.

   "Sige, I'll help you dress up. Let's go!" Ruru rides on her excitement bouncing her in his arms as Kylie watched them running towards the staircase.

   "No running on the stairs, Baba!" she reminds him smiling while putting sopas in a bowl to feed her sick son. 

   All the while, Ruru was upstairs staring at his daughter going through her tops and couldn't help but smile at how she was so much like her mother. Her eyes, nose, skin complexion, and even her sense of fashion was her mother's.

   "Baba, are you listening?" she says waving her little hand at his face

    "I'm sorry, sweetie. What were you saying?" he asks snapping out of his reverie.

   She rolled her eyes at him, "I said, can you please help me get that shirt?"

   Just like mama she is.

   He stood up to get the shirt with a horse print and handed it to her. She smiled and took the shirt. she put it on all by herself as her father watched in awe. Noelle was four years old and already could do several things kids her age couldn't such as dressing herself.

   "Baba, help me pick jeans please," she asks of him. He picks out a pair of jeans with faded flower prints. He looked at her for approval. Funny how a full-grown man seeks approval from a four year old little girl. She nodded and asked her Baba to lean down for a kiss.

   "Let's go?" 

   "Not yet. I go to Mama first," she says already walking out the door of her room.

   "Why? Mahal, Mama's taking care of Kuya. Baka mahawa ka pa," he tries to reason with her when he catches up.

   "I borrow a hat because you wearing a hat too," she explains pointing to the cap on his head. He chuckled at how much of a Baba's girl she is. Everything he ate she wanted to eat too, everything he wore she would wear too. She would wear his shirts as a pambahay.

   "Anak, you have a hat naman ah."

   "Yeah, but it doesn't match my outfit kaya, Baba," she says with her hands on her waist. She was exactly like her mother but was such a sucker for her Baba's attention.

   They knocked on Amir's door and slowly opened it. They saw a feverish Amir sitting up and eating from a bowl and Kylie preparing his medicine. Noelle ran to her brother's side as he hugged her with one arm and continued eating with the other.

   "Noelle, Kuya's sick don't stick too close please," Kylie says cautioning her daughter who pouted and stopped hugging her brother. 

   "Mama, can I borrow your brown hat? The pretty one?" she asks.

  "Why?"

   "Because it might be hot outside and it will match my outfit," she explains in a tone just like her mother. How many times has the author used that phrase? Well, the Madrids don't care cause it's THAT true.

      "Okay then, go ahead. Don't loose it though," she snorts. Before you could say 'curling candy cane', Noelle was running out the door and grabbing her mother's brown hat.

  
   "Baba, be careful!" Noelle exclaimed as she sat ever so ladylike on her Baba's bike on their way to the park. Ruru looked at her with one eyebrow up.

   "Huh? Sorry, I didn't here you there, Kikay," he replied. Then she let out an apologetic smile.

   "Baba, be careful please," she remembered.

   The  moment Ruru parked his bike on the racks, Noelle was already grabbing his hand and pointing to the playground with her helmet still on.

   "Yes, we'll go there, sweetheart. You gotta take your helmet off first," he said chuckling. She stood still as he took off her helmet. When he finished, she was running to the playground.

   "Come on, Baba! Let's go to the swings!" she turned her head back smiling brightly at him.

   Such a gorgeous smile.

   He ran after her and carried her to place her on the swing. She startedkicking her legs but couldn't reach the ground.

   Ruru giggled,"Gusto mo help kita, Kikay?"

   "Yes please, Baba," she pouted.

   "Hold on, love."

   They were at the playground for so long until Noelle finally, finally got tired and decide to stay under the shade of a tree.

   "Baba, did you bring blanket?"

   "No, but we can sit on the grass kase it's not wet naman oh," he explains squatting on the grass.

   "My pants will be dirty."

   "No they won't, sweetie. Trust me. Come on sit down," and so she did. She sat down so awkwardly and touched the grass with her colored nails.

   She looked so awkwardly cute, he had to snap a picture. He brought out his phone and took a candid picture of her and posted it on instagram.

   Post by rurumadrid8_:

My Kikay just being kikay. #Kikay&Baba #Kyliet

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   I found a picture na! Whoop whoop! Disclaimer: The picture isn't mine, it was posted by Rodjun Cruz.

And Kyliet because maliit na Kylie.

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