Today is my sweet Hailey’s birthday.  She is 11!  I can’t believe it!  I’m so thankful for her tender spirit.  She is full of spunk, fiercely loyal, and hates when someone is sad.  She is also really funny!  She makes us laugh on a daily basis.

This morning I did a birthday interview with her with a list of prompts and questions. Her answers made my heart swell, made me laugh, and a couple of them made me scratch my head and think “What?”.  The prompts are in all caps.  I’m writing down her answers word for word.  My own thoughts are in parenthesis.

I WANT:  nothing.  I have everything I want.

I HAVE:   a new DSI for my birthday.

I WISH:  I had a ferret.  (So NOT happening….EVER!)

I DISLIKE:  when Jack growls at me.

I MISS:  Grandpa Don.

I HEAR:  my dogs’ collars jingling as they run through the house.

I WONDER:  how Emma is doing in New Mexico.

I REGRET:  that I’ve been mean to Skylar.

I AM NOT:  a girly girl! (She is most definitley a Tom-Boy!)

I DANCE:  to the song Dynamite.

I SING:  songs that I know.

I CRY:  when I’m very sad.

I AM NOT ALWAYS:  playing with my Yo-Yo Ball.

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS:  finger animal shadows.

I WRITE:  stories

I CONFUSE:  my teacher.  (This totally cracked me up b/c I thought “I bet you do!”)

I NEED:  nothing really.

I SHOULD:  be nicer to my sister.

I START:  my final draft of my paper at school today.

HOW OLD ARE YOU TODAY?  11

WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?  Hay Hay, Hayster

ARE YOU TALLER THAN YOUR MOM?  No, but I do come up to your chin now!!

DO YOU OFTEN CRY DURING THE MOVIES?  Nope!

WHAT ARE YOUR PET PEEVES?  When Skylar doesn’t listen to me.  (SHOCKER!  Chris laughed and said how he knew she was going to say that!)

FAVORITE COLOR:  Blue.

FAVORITE FOODS:  Spaghetti, Ice Cream, Candy, Brownies, well anything with sugar I guess.

FAVORITE BEVERAGE:  Sprite mixed with Diet Coke & Regular Coke.  (Um….gross!)

FAVORITE COLD CEREAL:  Honey Toasted Oats

FAVORITE SMELLS:  Fresh flowers!

FAVORITE TIME OF DAY:  Recess time at school.

FAVORITE GAME:  Twister!

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? The Witches by Roald Dahl.

DO YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT:  No. (She’s currently taking a “break” from the guitar.)

WHAT IS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW?  Mirror, Mirror!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?  My tennis shoes because they remind me of something Emma would wear.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM VACATION?  Fiji!  Except for the cannibal part!  (Uhhh….do they have cannibals in Fiji?)

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR DAD?  He’s funny!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR MOM?  That you REALLY love me back! (sniff, sniff!)

IF YOU WERE AN ANIMAL WHAT WOULD YOU BE?  an ostrich!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE “ME-TIME” ACTIVITY?  playing with my Yo-Yo Ball or my DSI.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS:  That I’m slow at schoolwork.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE THING FOR DINNER EVERY NIGHT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?  MeMe’s mashed potatoes!

WHAT IS THE EMOTION YOU FEEL THE MOST?  Happy!

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF OUTGOING?  No, not really!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR TALENTS?  Singing.  I can also sort of dance.

WHAT IS A WORD OR PHRASE YOU OVERUSE?  Just sayin’!  (I’m pretty sure she gets this from her namesake…my mom!)

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU THIS YEAR?  Moving away from my friends.

WHAT WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU THIS YEAR?  Getting new tennis shoes, getting a DSI, & meeting Jonathan (her buddy at school).

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING 10?  Finally being in the double digits!

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT BEING 11?  I’m getting older.  And the older I get, the closer I get to not being in school anymore.  (I totally get it kiddo!!)

I’m looking forward to doing these interviews with the girls each year.  I can’t wait to see how their answers change.  I will also print out the interview and put it in our project life album.

Hailey’s love languages are “Words of Affirmation” and “Quality Time”.  I wrote here about how we encourage her with words daily.  Today we are focusing on the “Quality Time”.  Chris and I are going to take her favorite lunch (2 steak tacos from Chipotle) and have lunch with her at school and then she has requested to have dinner at Prescott Steakhouse.  Looking forward to a day of celebrating Hailey!!

Make it a great day!

JuJu

*Don’t forget to leave a comment on the Autism Bracelet giveaway post (click here) to have a chance to win!  Even if you don’t have a child with autism, I bet you know someone who does!*