Elliot and Oliver Down Under: February 2014

I'd like to think that it's because I'm clever (and not just lazy) that this year I decided to interview Elliot so that you can hear about him at five in his own words not just my impressions of him at this really fun age. So here it is:

Interview Part 1
Interview Part 2

And just so we can read it in the books I print of the blog each year, here is the interview transcription:

Me: So El . . . now that you're five I'm going to do an interview, alright?
El: (nods)
Me: So that means that I'm going to ask you questions, and you are going to tell me answers about yourself. Ok?
El: Ok.
Me: So what's your full name?
El: Elliot Diego Thomas
Me: Where do you live?
El: Edmuss Terrace
Me: Do you know what number:
El: Five
Me: That's right. Do you know what city we live in? What suburb?
El: (thinking) umm . . . W-E-U. That's what our city is. Is that right?
Me: Well, we live in Kelmscott in WA, Yeah. That's good. I knew what you were saying. So this year you started going to school full-time, didn't you?
El: Yes
Me: Where do you go to school?
El: To pre-primary.
Me: Yeah, you're in pre-primary. What's the name of your school; do you know?
El: . . . um . . . (staring at feet)
Me: You're looking at your feet. Your legs are so painted and drawn on and bruised, aren't they?
El: Yes.
Me: Alright, so . . . I'm going to ask you some questions, alright? What do you like best about being a kid?
El: Um. I can play. And play.
Me: Yep.
El: The best I like is hanging on the trapeze.
Me: Huh. The trapeze on the cubby?
El: Actually, I like doing work with paper.
Me: You like doing work with paper too, heh? Like what sort of work?
El: Like drawing stuff.
Me: What kind of drawings?
El: Like making plans . . . (spreads legs)
Me: That's a nice view!
El: plans . . . and drawing stuff and drawing some exercise things. And those are the only things I can say.
Me: Ok. Now think carefully about this one and tell me, if you were to choose one word to describe you, what word would you choose?
El: Handsome.
Me: That's a pretty good one. Do you know what advice is?
El: Uh-uh.
Me: Advice is like words that you tell someone to help them out. Yeah? So could you think of some advice that you could give to your daddy and I?
El: Um . . . nice? And saying thank you and please.
Me: So we should be nice and say please and thank you?
El: Yeah.
Me: Ok. Is that important for parents?
El: Yes. (wiggling)
Me: How do we do? Do we do ok?
El: Yes. (wiggling more)
Me: Do you mind just sitting up a little bit more because I'm having a hard time keeping your face in the picture instead of your willy and your bum? Alright, I think I know the answer to this one, but if you could be any animal, which animal would you be and why?
El: A tiger!
Me: I was right! Why do you like tigers so much?
El: Because they have stripes, and they are just my favourite animal. They eat meat!
Me: They do eat meat. What does that mean? What are they called if they eat meat?
El: Carnivores.
Me: Clever boy. And what do you like to do for fun? We already asked you that one didn't we? What do you like to do for fun?
El: Making paper airplanes. Umm, playing on the trapeze.
Me: Alright, think about a really really really funny time in your life.
El: What did you say?
Me: Can you think about a funny time in your life?
El: When I just came out of your tummy.
Me: Was that funny?!?
El: Yes.
Me: Do you remember it?
El: Yes.
Me: Yeah? I don't remember you laughing. Were you laughing on the inside?
El: Yes.
Me: What do you think you thought when you first came out of my tummy?
El: A bit shy?!
Me: You felt a bit shy?
El: Uh-huh because I loved it in your tummy.
Me: Did you?
El: Yes.
Me: Why is that?
El: Because it tickled me inside.
Me: Oh I see. I see. Um. Ok, so who are your best friends?
El: Alex, Sean, Hugo, Tyler, Marcus . . . . I think that's all.
Me: Uh-uh.
El: Alex?
Me: You said Alex? Who is Alex? (knowing that she's the girl that Elliot has a crush on)
El: She's that girl and she's in my school.
Me: She's a girl in your school?
El: Yes. And Aine and Cailey.
Me: Yep.
El: And Jareth.
Me: And Jareth too?
El: Yes. And Jessica.
Me: They're some nice friends. What do like to do with your friends?
El: Play games . . . actually and Lachy.
Me: And Lachy too. Of course. You like to play games and stuff?
El: The most games I like to play with is Sean and Tyler and Lachy and Hugo. They are the most games I like to play with.
Me: Those are the guys you like to play games with most?
El: Yes.
Me: And what do you think about Oliver? Is he one of your friends too?
El: (smiling) Yes.
Me: Yeah? Would you say you love him all of the time, most of the time, or almost never?
El: Most of the time.
Me: And what do you like to do best with Ollie?
El: Play games.
Me: What sort of games?
El: The games we used to play in our islands. That's what.
Me: What do you mean by islands?
El: I mean the islands we live in when Ollie is a T-Rex and I'm a tiger.
Me: Oh, your special lands, huh? I hear a lot about these lands. Do you like it better there or here with your mom and dad?
El: There.
Me: Why's that?
El: Um. Because we get to do fun things like experiments and no work and no going to school. We don't even have any work or school. Nothing to do work so we can just play, play, play, play and go out, go out and play. All day. We don't have to pay. We can just go like this (singing with animated hand gestures) play, play, play, play, play, play, play, play, play.
Me: Sounds pretty easy. Pretty easy life, huh?
El: Yep. And a fun life.
Me: And a fun life.
El: Cuz, look, if you went to our home you will see all of these cloud stuff like candies, lollies . . . . and trolls . . . balloons . . . (very animated)
Me: Pretty cool place, huh?
El: . . . toys . . . (long pause)
Me: Is that it?
El: (nods)
Me: Alright, I'm going to switch gears a little bit. That means I'm going to ask some different sorts of questions, ok? So think about you as an adult what do you think you'll do as an adult? What will you be like?
El: I think I'll do fossilling things like dig and hammer.
Me: So you're going to do fossilling things like digging for dinosaurs?
El: Yes. That's what I'm going to do.
Me: Ok. Do you think you'll make a lot of money if you do that?
El: Yes.
Me: What do you think will be the most rewarding thing about being a fossiller? What do you think the best think about being a fossiller will be?
El: We have to dig deep and find all of the dinosaurs. And we have to put them all together.
Me: If you find a brand new dinosaur that no one has found before, what would you name it?
El: Um . . . all of the dinosaurs that I'm thinking in my head is ginormous uh . . . uh thingasaurus.
Me: The thingasaurus. That's a really good dinosaur name. I like that.
El: And a chinasaurus.
Me: Chinasaurus, yep. Ok.
El: And the dinasaurus.
Me: I see.
El: And maybe the thinasaurus. So one's little, one's almost big, one's big, and one's ginormous, and one's giant.
Me: I see. What do you think the best thing about being an adult will be?
El: Um . . . I get to dig, dig, dig . . .
Me: Not just being a fossiller, but being an adult in general?
El: I get to have birthdays.
Me: But you have birthdays now, don't you?
El: Yes . . . um . . . I know. I'd have to go to work.
Me: Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?
El: Good thing. Do you know why?
Me: Why?
El: Because fossilling (digging motion again) means you're good. And do you know one day when some parents have died and big kids are alive like me, they are going to open the thingie, the fossiller thingie where they put all the bones together and so all of the people get to see what the fossiller people have done.
Me: Oh. That would be cool, hey?
El: So all of the people will see if one dinosaur is better than all of the others.
Me: Hmm. Ok I'm going to ask you some questions about me and your dad. The first question is about your mom. How old am I?
El: Um, I think you are 30 or 34.
Me: Oh. That's not bad. And what's my favourite colour?
El: Um. Purple.
Me: Brilliant. How tall am I?
El: You are about 50 kilometres.
Me: Wow, that's big. And . . . what do I do when you're at school?
El: You go out and work, work, work, work, work! Work your bones out.
Me: (laughing) Do I? I work my bones out. What do you like best about me?
El: That you get to play and play with me. (spread-legged hanging off the couch)
Me: I've lost your head again. I like playing and playing with you. How about your dad? How old is he?
El: 52?
Me: Uh-huh. How tall is he?
El: He's about 70 kilometres.
Me: 70 kilometres? Wow. And what's your favourite thing to do with your dad?
El: Play, play, play, play, play, play . . .
Me: (cutting him off) What sort of playing?
El: Play games . . . fun stuff
Me: And what do you like best about your dad?
El: He hugs me so much.
Me: He does, doesn't he? Now, if you could be a super hero, which super power would you like to have?
El: Um . . . Flash car.
Me: Flash car? What does that mean?
El: It means that you can go so fast it's like Flash. But the car is a bit more faster than Flash so Flash is right behind it. But the car can go like this "shaaapow"
Me: Pretty cool. Will you be one of the good guys or one of the bad guys?
El: One of the good guys.
Me: Alright.
El: Do you know there's a good Flash?
Me: Is there?
El: Yes. And a bad Flash.
Me: What?
El: A bad Flash for real. Do you know Mommy a long time ago before dinosaurs were real, super heroes were real. Yes, and I was one of the super heroes.
(Video cuts out)
Me: Alright, El, I need you to tell me the funniest joke that you can think of?
El: What's the biggest elephant in the whole world?
Me: I don't know. What?
El: The giganto-elephant.
Me: (ha-ha-ha) That's pretty good. So what do you think about girls? Do you like them or not?
El: Yes.
Me: Yes. And do you think you'll get married some day?
El: Yes.
Me: Who do you think you'll get married to?
El: Aine.
Me: Aine. Is she your best friend?
El: Yes.
Me: And if you could be a pirate, a ninja, or an army guy, or a ballerina, which would you be?
El: A ninja.
Me: A ninja, how come?
El: Because they are nice, and they will save people.
Me: Well, that's a good reason.
El: And they save people because they want them to live (with exuberance and gestures)! And ninjas are not real.
Me: Ninjas aren't real?
El: Nah. Is that real?
Me: Well, there really are kinda ninjas in the world.
El: There are?
Me: Uh-huh. But I don't know very much about it. We'll have to look it up.
El: (out of nowhere) I always want to lay down and get comfy.
Me: So what's your favourite food?
El: Um . . . pineapple and mango and tacos and macaroni and tuna.
Me: Ok. And what's your least favourite food?
El: Strawberries.
Me: Strawberries, really?
El: Yes.
Me: You don't like them? I didn't know that. Ok. What else?
El: Um . . . um . . . cheese and . . .
Me: You like cheese! You like everything, don't you? Pretty much.
El: I don't like cheese and tomato beans sandwich. I don't like that.
Me: No? What's your favourite kind of sandwich?
El: Is that one of the questions? Um . . . honey and peanut butter.
Me: Peanut butter and honey. Cool. Is there anything else you want to tell me about you?
El: I'm clever and I can write animals.
Me: You can write them or draw them?
El: Draw them. That's all.
Me: Ok. Well thank you for letting me interview you.