Belated Birthday Interview
Posted: November 9th, 2011 | Author: kristen from motherload | Filed under: Birthdays, Miss Kate, Parenting | 5 Comments »Our friend Adam’s father used to interview him every year on his birthday. Even better, he recorded their conversations, and Adam now has all the tapes.
I absolutely LOVE this idea. I was dead-set on doing this with my kids. But along with my intention to make elaborate photo-filled scrapbooks of each of their lives, and to never feed them frozen chicken nuggets—let’s just say my plans changed.
A few days ago I was reading Millions of Miles, the blog of a lovely woman named Megan who I met at BlogHer this summer. She posted a interview she’d done with her son on his fifth birthday. And I thought, “By gum, I can do this! IT IS NOT too late!”
Sure, Kate turned six about six weeks ago. And there are those first five years that I totally missed. But instead of kicking myself that it wouldn’t be perfect, I decided to just start now.
And no, I didn’t record it. In fact, I didn’t even write the questions myself. I hope Megan doesn’t mind I ripped off her questions. If I decided to write my own, another year might pass by.
Me: If a genie would grant you only one wish, what would it be?
Kate: To only eat bubble gum.
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Kate: A ballet teacher.
Me: Do you want to get married when you grow up?
Kate: Maybe.
Me: Do you want to have children?
Kate: Maybe.
Me: Do you feel different now that you are six?
Kate: Yeah.
Me: How so?
Kate: I’m taller. Way, way taller.
Me: What is your favorite color and why?
Kate: Turquoise because sometimes the ocean is turquoise.
Me: Who is your best friend and why do you like them?
Kate: Lily. Because she’s so nice.
Me: Now that you are six, do you think you’ll have a boyfriend?
Kate: Uh-hmm.
Me: What do you think about world peace?
Kate: It should always be nice and calm around the world. No wars.
Me: What is your favorite TV show?
Kate: [pauses] Let’s see here. My favorite? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Me: What do you like most about school?
Kate: Free time.
Me: What do you like to do in free time?
Kate: Drawing and writing.
Me: What is your favorite thing about yourself?
Kate: I like to eat bubble gum.
Me: That’s your favorite thing about yourself?
Kate: No! I’m good at drawing.
Me: What is your favorite song?
Kate: Fireworks
Me: If you could have any super power what would it be?
Kate: Turn into mermaid and breathe under water.
Me: What is your very favorite thing to do?
Kate: Color. Art projects!
Me: What are you most afraid of?
Kate: Wolfs [sic]
Me: What is your favorite thing about me?
Kate: Cause you love reading to me. We love reading together.
Me: What is your favorite thing about Daddy?
Kate: He’s such a good doctor when I have boo-boos.
Me: What is your favorite thing about Paige?
Kate: She’s so fun to play with. [pause] Can I do an exclamation point after that?
Happy birthday, sweet Kate. Here’s to hoping I remember to do this again next year.
That’s soooo sweet! Can’t wait to read Paige’s! (No pressure.)
Love it! It is a great idea indeed. When my parents moved recently, we uncovered a lot of old art projects, schoolwork, and a few projects/books about me (some written by me) from my elementary school. It is so fun to see what you were up to and get a glimpse into your 6 year-old self..
Sooooo sweet! Love this idea, and while it’s too late for me, you’re absolutely right not to beat yourself up for not starting earlier. Ten and 20 years from now, you will treasure these and it won’t matter that the first few didn’t get done.
Sharing this with my peeps…it’s great inspiration!
I also did this on my son’s 6th birthday, but forgot about it until reading this post — and he turned 7 last week.
http://www.rookiemoms.com/flashback-friday-happy-birthday-to-julian/
[...] love the blogosphere. There’s just so many good ideas out there. Recently I came across this fantastic idea which is to interview your kid on their birthday, asking them the same questions year after year, [...]