Phew – I say it every year, but this time of the year is crazy busy! It kicks my butt every time. I’m back at work (I run an after-school program at a TK-8 school) and the last month has been tons of prep and yesterday was our first day of school. Hideko is also an educator so work has been super busy for her as well, and smack in the middle of it all is Yuki’s birthday. I seriously wish I could change her birthday – maybe June? July? Even early August would be fine – she’s too young to notice, right!?
Well, somehow we have a 4 year old now. It’s pretty unbelievable. I had this idea last year to do an interview with Yuki when she turned 3 and then we’d do it every year and we could look back and see little snapshots of what she was into or some of her thoughts at the time and how she changed over time. I never actually got around to doing it last year, but I was pretty determined to do it this year. So I came up with some general questions to ask her and then I wrote up her responses exactly how she answered. I’m really excited to do this with her every year! And eventually with Kaya too.
And I’m pretty impressed with her answers . . . I’d say that most of them are pretty accurate. Except for the ones about her favorite food/dinner. Those are total BS.
Interview with Yuki – Age 4
What’s your name?
Yuki
How old are you?
4
Where do you live?
In San Francisco
Who is in your family?
Mama, Mommy, Kaya, Yuki
What’s the best thing about your family?
Because I have four people and I always wanted to!
What’s your favorite color?
Huh. Blue! I mean yellow!
What’s your favorite song?
When the moon hits your eye
What’s your favorite food?
Green Beans! Green Beans! Broccoli. I mean, carrot sticks and broccoli.
(the kid does not actually eat green beans)
Really? Well, what’s your favorite dinner?
Carrots, broccoli, avocado!
Ok, that’s what I’m going to make for you every night!
What’s your favorite dessert?
Ice cream on a cone.
What’s your favorite TV show or movie?
My favorite movie is My Little Pony.
What activities do you like to do?
Play with My Little Pony, play kitchen, build toys and jump!
Do you like school? What’s your favorite thing about school?
Yes! Because of all my friends and they like to play with me.
How would you describe yourself? What kind of person are you?
Yuki! Happy, silly, jump, flips. Yuki!
What do you want to be when you grow up? What kind of job do you want to have?
Clean the kitchen.
What are you looking forward to this year?
Go to school.
What do you think is the most important thing in life?
Go to school.
(Those were all the questions I had originally thought up, but when I told Yuki we were done, she said she wanted more. So I quickly googled “toddler interview” for more ideas and we continued . . . )
If you could go any place, where would you want to go?
To a park.
If you could learn to do anything, what would you want to learn?
Swimming. Ballet.
If you could grow any type of food in a garden, what would you grow?
Carrot sticks, apples, lemon, that’s all.
What is something that makes you happy?
Playing My Little Pony.
What is something that makes you sad?
Lost my balloon.
What is something you’re really good at?
Doing scooters.
What is something you want to do better?
Rollerskating.
What’s your favorite animal?
Giraffe.
What is love?
It means you think about people.
🙂 I love this girl. Happy Birthday, kiddo.
you and mie 
So sweet! Kids say the cutest things sometimes!
love this! so sweet! You’ll love to be able to look back on this with her. 🙂
So great! She’s adorable!
I hear you on having a child with a birthday during the busiest times of the school year! My two daughters have birthdays at the end of the academic year, which is an insane time at high schools and colleges. We often had to punt when it came to parties, or I’d beg them to postpone the celebrations until summer break. Fortunately they were very understanding—most times. (Don’t ask me about the teen years. Both kids are adults now, but my stomach still churns when I think about the time my oldest wanted a sleepover for her 16th birthday. With boys.)
Happy birthday to Yuki! Hope you enjoy your day!
This is actually the cutest thing ever.
Aww, so sweet. I’ve always wanted to do this with my kids but never got my act together.
It’s not too late!
After reading this, I just told Elsie I was going to interview her so she could tell me all about herself. She said, “OK, I have bones.” haha, thanks for the idea! Yuki is awesome.
Haha. I love her. You should definitely interview your kids.
Oh my gosh! I love this interview! I love the idea. She is pretty cute! ❤
❤ I seriously love that when you asked her to describe herself, her first and last things were simply… HER. Her name! Little kids are so untarnished about simply being WHO THEY ARE!
happy birthday, Yuki!
Haha, it’s true. She didn’t really understand the question in the way that I meant it – but really, her answer was perfect.
LOVE her response to the question “What is love?” So true and simple.
What a great idea! Why didn’t you celebrate her birthday in July so I would have had time to copy you. Lol! Maybe I still will since I haven’t posted about her birthday yet.
It’s definitely not too late! I kept meaning to do this when she turned three and 1-2 months after her birthday I still thought I’d do it – it’s not like she’s changed THAT much in the last month, right? 😛
Also I love her eyeball pic
My Little Pony was my daughter’s favorite, too! It’s such a fun toy.
great interview – kids are fab 🙂
Beautiful girl! Happy birthday Yuki!
So sweet! Love this.
FAB IDEA TO INTERVIEW YOUR DAUGHTER EVERY YEAR AROUND HER 4th BIRTHDAY! YUKI”S “happy, silly, jump, flips,” describes herself! So she wants to “clean the kitchen” when she grows up– WOW! Love Yuki’s facial expressions on your photo shoot. THANKS so much for sharing your clever idea. Sarah Helene in Minneapolis
So incredibly cute & thoughtful at the same time. I love this idea, too, may steal this to interview my 3 y.o. Happy Birthday, Yuki!!
Happy birthday Yuki! Guess what? I like giraffes too!
This is just priceless! I love that she wants to grow carrot sticks, not a whole carrot, but sticks! Haha
Haha, I know! Someday we’ll have to explain that to her.
What question was it that went with the last eyeball pic?
I didn’t actually take these pictures while doing the interview. She was just being silly and I told her she could make whatever faces she wanted.
Ok Thanks.
Such a great idea – it´s so amazing to watch these little ones grow in every way, and I find it a nice way to document that beyond taking pictures. By the way, I adore your last photo of your daughter!
Too adorable! Really enjoyed this post:)
Happy birthday, Yuki! She’s so darn cute. Love that she will only have three items in her garden.
super super cute. i love this idea! i love how kids make random stuff up, too. 😉
She is so Cute! This is adorable! It’s cute that she wants to clean the kitchen when she grows up…. 🙂
Haha – yeah, we’ll see how she feels about that in a couple of years!
Love the watermelon and strawberry dresses but most of all the birthday interview idea! Wish I’d heard of that when all my kids were younger.
This is cute and inspiring! I started ask JC when she was 4 y.o, what she wants to be when she grows up and I always got the same answer. Last July she turned 7. This year, her answer was “Mama, you already know my answer… I always want to be a painting artist or illustrator. I would never ever change my mind”. Oh my, I think I have to take account her answer seriously! 🙂
Wow, that’s awesome!! She knows what she wants! Now to make it come true!
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