Today my baby girl turns five years old. That is a big deal. Five is (in my mind anyway) officially the age when kids turn into big (little) kids. That is, they are no longer babies, preschoolers, or whatever other term you use; they are now actual little kids. Which is why I wanted to be sure to properly celebrate her birthday this year, even though I knew I’d be 38+ weeks pregnant and our second child could arrive at any time. Thankfully, we were able to pull it off and our baby boy cooperated and waited to be born. His big sister was able to have her birthday party this past Saturday amongst many friends and family. Today, she gets a second celebration with her preschool classmates. She’s a happy five year old girl!

My husband and I thought it would be fun to ask our daughter some questions in order to get inside the mind of a five year old. After all, she’s been talking about turning five for a really long time and has set some pretty high expectations about it. She has been commenting for a few months now how she’ll be able to do this and that when she turns five: “I can’t do that now, because I’m only four. But, soon I’ll be five. Maybe I can do it then!”

So, this morning, we sat down and asked her these questions. Of course, in true kid form, when you try to record the answers and save the memory, is when they decide not to talk. She wasn’t as talkative this morning and did not provide very detailed answers as I know she would have normally, but nevertheless, here are her thoughts:

1. Do you think turning 5 years old will change what you do each day? No.
2. What do you want to be when you grow up? A baby doctor.
3. Why are you excited about turning 5? Because, I’m turning 5 and tomorrow the baby’s coming out!
4. How long did you wait to turn 5? Like, almost 100 years. I wish every day was my birthday.
5. Anything special you want to tell me about turning 5? I’m excited about being a big sister for the baby.

We plan to ask some of the same questions next year and see how the answers differ. Hopefully, we’ll be able to build a nice scrapbook for her of each year’s answers, so that when she gets older she can read through it.

What humorous moments or thoughts have your children shared with you?

Conversations with preschoolers can be fun. They come up with interesting thoughts, sometimes silly, but often humorous and enlightening. My 4-year-old daughter is a talker. She loves to ask about the world and has many ideas she shares with us – a lot. This makes for very entertaining drives to preschool in the morning.

This morning, I decided to ask my baby girl a few questions about Thanksgiving. I wanted to expand on what they’ve been learning in school and reinforce the overall message of Thanksgiving. Here was our conversation.

What are you thankful for?

In the order she responded:

• my family
• food
• toys
• clothes
• stuffed animals

Me: Aren’t stuffed animals toys?
Baby Girl: Yes!
Me: So, didn’t you already say toys?
Baby Girl: But…they’re animals!
Me: Oh, ok…so it’s different?
Baby Girl: Yeah.

What is Thanksgiving all about?

Thanksgiving is about love, hugs, kisses, and being thankful. Oh, and food.

How do we celebrate Thanksgiving?

We sit around a big dinner table and hold hands, close our eyes and say a prayer.

What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?

Hmmm…the turkey. The crispy part.

Me: The crispy part of the turkey?
Baby Girl: Yes!

I’d like to point out that she’s never eaten the crispy part of the turkey. Ever. I’ll be lucky if she actually eats turkey at all this year.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving – full of love, hugs, kisses…and crispy turkey!

“Where are we going mami?”

“Today’s a work day baby, so we have to get dressed so you can go to abuela’s house. Daddy has to go to work. Mommy too.”

“Why?”

“Why do we have to work? Well, so we can get money so we can buy food. And clothes.”

“So you can take care of me!”

“Yes, that’s right. So that we can take care of you.”

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That is the conversation baby girl and I had at 6 am yesterday morning. Too early for anything more than a grumble from me, yet there we were discussing why we must work.

I was so proud of her, though.

She did not say “so you can buy me toys!” or something similar. Instead, she just wants to be cared for.

I love the simplicity of it all. Her mind can be so complex at times, yet also so simple in the most beautiful way.

I love that little girl.

A few of my co-workers are former teachers. Specifically, they were elementary school teachers, so I often seek their advice on how to teach my daughter certain things and be sure I’ve got her on the right track for when she starts pre-K or school.

One of them said something to me that has stuck with me and randomly pops into my head quite often. She said I should talk to my kid. Which seems pretty obvious – “Of course I talk to my kid!” She said I’d be surprised how many parents she met that didn’t actually talk with their kids and thus, it hindered their kids’ language and vocabulary development.

I’ve thought about this over and over. And like I said, it often pops up in my head – when I’m talking to my daughter, when I get frustrated with her, or just when I’m driving and lost in thought.

Do I really talk to my daughter?

It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday routines and minor details of our daily tasks, that we can easily forget to actually stop for a second and talk with our kids. And when your kid is a preschooler/toddler and her conversations primarily consist of imaginary friends, thought-up scenarios, or lots of “Why?” questions, it can be really easy to haphazardly listen, let alone talk back.

But, you know what I’ve found? When I actually engage myself in the conversation with her and keep calm, she has some truly wonderful ideas in that little head of hers. She’s an inspiring, creative, inquisitive, and imaginative child. All great qualities that I actually envy.

I don’t want to crush that! I don’t want her to think no one will listen. Or that she shouldn’t be curious and question. Especially since she’s a girl. I want to encourage her to think freely and if that also helps promote the development of her vocabulary, her language skills, and even her reading skills, then even better.

After all, I imagine that once she hits those preteen or teenage years, she won’t WANT to talk to me. I need to appreciate what I have while I still have it.

So, parents, talk to your children. And not in the “Don’t do that!” “Go clean up!” and “I said NO!” way. But, in the actually have a conversation with them way. You’d be amazed to hear what your child might actually have to say.

Join me, won’t you?

Baby girl: Mommy, mommy! Help! My goat needs help.

Me: What’s wrong with your goat?

Baby girl: He’s stuck on the light! (points up to the light in the hallway)

Me: Oh! Well tell your goat to jump down.

Baby girl: He can’t!

Me: Why not?

Baby girl: He has no feet!

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Baby girl: Where are we? (We had just parked in the near-by grocery center.)

Daddy: We’re going to pick up chinese noodles.

Baby girl: :gasp: Piiiiick up chinese noooooodles???!!!

Both of us: Yup!

Baby girl: BAM! (a la Emeril-style)