Interview with an almost-4-year-old: A Father's Day gift.

Last year for Father's Day, Lily and I had a little interview. I used her answers and some photos to make a photobook for Khan, and I also posted it here. I was pretty happy with how it all turned out, so we did it again this year. Hope he likes it :-)

This year, we started with drawing a picture of Daddy.

Perhaps it needs some explanation. Here's her commentary as she was drawing:

Mommy: “What’s that?”
Lily: “A picture of Daddy. He’s going to have a smile.”
“A green nose and a green smile.”
“I made long hair for daddy. But some boys have long hair. It’s OK.”
“He’s spooky arms.”

“Now I need mud.”
Mommy: “Mud?”
“Yes. Bubbly mud.”

Mommy: “Is this a spooky picture of Daddy?”
Lily: “Yeah! A spooky picture of Daddy.”
“I’m going to put a fun bubble in the sky. And hearts.”
“I gonna put Daddy’s face in the bubble.”

Examines her work.
“And short hair!”
More examining.
In a sing-song voice: “Two faces! Two faces! Two faces!”
Lily: Hands it to me. “Here you go!”
Mommy: Points at the blob in the sky. “What’s that?”
Lily: “Daddy in the sky.” Points. “That’s Daddy in the sky, and that’s Daddy on the ground.”

Just the facts.

Mommy: “Tell me what your daddy looks like.”
Lily: “Daddy has short hairs, brown eyes, and black hair.”
Mommy: “How old is Daddy?”
Lily: “40.”

Mommy: “Do you know what your daddy’s first name is?”
Lily: “Khansay.”
Mommy: “Do you know daddy’s last name?”
Lily: “Daddy.”
Mommy: “Do you know what your last name is?”
Lily: Answers correctly.
Mommy: “Do you know what my last is?”
Lily: “Nope.” I tell her.

Mommy: “How are you and Daddy the same?”
Lily: “Daddy’s even bigger than me, but he has the same color hair as me.”

Mommy: “How are you and Daddy different?”
Lily: “Daddy likes pants and I like skirts and dress.”

Mommy: “What does Daddy do when you’re not here?”
Lily: “He cleans all the bedrooms.”

Mommy: “What does daddy do when he’s at work?”
Lily: “I don’t know because I’m not there.”
Mommy: Laughs. “What do you guess he does at work?”
Lily: “He does he’s computer. Works on his computer.”

Favorite Things.
 

Mommy: “What is Daddy’s favorite food?”
Lily: “Ummm, roast bease.”
Mommy: “Favorite color?”
Lily: "Ummm, blue and green.”

Mommy: “Favorite game?”
Lily: “Go fish.”
Mommy: “Favorite TV show?”
Lily: “Curious George”

Mommy: “Favorite princess?”
Lily: “John Smith. I mean, no, Aurora. She’s a princess.”
Mommy: “Why Aurora?”
Lily: “Because she has sparkles on her and on her crown.”

Mommy: “What’s Daddy’s favorite animal?”
Lily: “A flamingo.”
Mommy: “Really? Why does daddy like flamingos?”
Lily: “Because they’re cute.”

The places we go.


Mommy: “Where does daddy like to go?
Lily: “Disney World!”
Mommy: “What’s his favorite part of Disney World?”
Lily: “Fireworks!” While waiting for me to finish writing, she has her Minnie Mouse doll say ‘Good answer!’
Mommy: “What’s Daddy’s favorite ride at Disney World?”
Lily: “The scary ride because the boat goes backwards!”

Mommy: “Do you and Daddy go to the park? What does daddy do at the park?”

Lily: “Daddy swings with me.”
Mommy: “Is that his favorite?”
Lily: “Just swings. Daddy only fits on the swings.”

Mommy: “What’s Daddy’s favorite thing to do at the beach?”

Lily: “Daddy likes to go swimming in the water.”
Mommy: “What else?”
Lily: “Building sandcastle. He knows how to build sandcastles like me.”
Mommy: “Oh, did you teach him how?”
Lily: “No. He teach me.”

Mommy: “Did Daddy teach you how to do anything else?”
Lily: “Yeah! He teach me to swim. I kick my feet and close my mouth and do my arms like this,” dog paddles with her arms, “I tell daddy to let go; I can do it by myself and I did!” Grabs Minnie and says in her Minnie voice, “Good job! I can’t swim.”

Daily life.


Mommy: “Is Daddy really good at anything?”
Lily: “Cookin’!”
Mommy: “Is he good at cleaning?”
Lily: “Yeah. “
Mommy: “What does he clean?”
Lily: “Um, the tables.”

Mommy: “What do you and Daddy do at bedtime?”
Lily: “Bedtime snack, brush teeth, go potty, read books.”
Mommy: “What’s daddy’s favorite book?”
Lily: “I’ll show you.” Goes to bookcase and digs around. Pulls out Angelina Ballerina and the Royal Wedding, which she picked up at the library, and I might not be able to ever take it back. “Ballerina and Royal Wedding.”
Mommy: “What is Daddy’s favorite bedtime snack?”
Lily: “Special treat. Ice cream on the inside and the chocolate on the outside.”

Mommy: “What is Daddy like in the morning?”

Lily: “In the morning? Daddy likes to still sleep because he’s still sleepy.”

Mommy: “What does Daddy like to do after dinner?”

Lily: “Play games.”
Mommy: “What games?”
Lily: “You said games already.”
Mommy: “Well, what games then?”
Lily: “Go Fish!”
Mommy: “Just Go Fish?”
Lily: “Go Fish is my favorite!”

Mommy: “What is something Daddy always says to you?”
Lily: “Cookie!” Giggles.
Mommy: Tries again. “What does Daddy say when he picks you up from school”?
Lily: “Can you give me a hug and a kiss.”

Mommy: “Does Daddy have any rules?”
Lily: “No tantrums. But I don’t have any more tantrums because I’m a big girl.”

Mommy: “Where do you go for walks together?”
Lily: “Beach.”
Mommy: “To the beach? The beach is kind of far.”
Lily: “The beach is way past the park!”

Mommy: “What do you do on walks with Daddy?”
“We go see some of our neighbors. We sing songs to our neighbors.”
(Note to self: Remember to ask husband how often they go caroling.)

Special occasions.

Mommy: “Has Daddy ever given you any presents?”
Lily: “Yeah to my cousins.”
Mommy: “How about presents for you?”
Lily: “A princess doll. And jelly beans. And sea shells. And lair-a-vee. Yeah! What’s on My Little Pony. Lair-a-vee.”
Mommy: “Oh, Rarity.” (Rarity is the name of one of the My Little Ponies. She actually does not own that pony.)

Mommy: “What present should we get for daddy for Father’s Day?”
Lily: “Um, the fishing game where you pull the thing because I broke the other one.”
Mommy: “What should we do for Father’s Day?”
Lily: “I can paint a picture and wrap it up. And you can hide and I can hide, and when Daddy comes home, we can yell, ‘surprise!’”

Emotions.

Mommy: “What makes Daddy sad?”
Lily: “When I don’t listen to him.”

Mommy: “What makes Daddy happy?”
Lily: “Um, Daddy goes for a walk with me.”
Mommy: “Do you know anything that makes your daddy mad?”
Lily: “Look! A frog! You forgot the yellow one, mommy.”
(Indeed, she spotted the frog that I didn’t find in the game we had just played.)

Mommy: “So what makes your daddy mad then?”
Lily: “Anything.”
Mommy: “Anything?”
Lily: “No. He always love me. Because he’s my dad!”

You got that right, little girl. And so do I.