I wasn’t going to do a birthday video for Lincoln because of his speech delay. He’s very hard to understand – even his siblings and I have trouble with his language on a daily basis and we “speak Lincoln”. He also doesn’t have words for a lot of things he might want to say, and I didn’t want him to get frustrated and have a break down because he couldn’t communicate. I didn’t want to make him cry just so I could have a video of him answering questions.

But Linc has made HUGE progress with his speech, thanks to months of Birth to Three services and our amazing therapist Jill. He’s had his hearing checked (perfect), a physical (nothing wrong), and he’s been accepted into the early pre school program this fall so he can continue getting direct speech services as well as work on some of his sensory stuff and be ready for regular pre school when he’s 4. I know that in the next 12 months he’s going to grow and improve SO MUCH and eventually I’m going to miss the days when every new word was a celebration and hearing him say “happy burse day” makes me jump for joy.

So we made the video. I shortened my list of questions a little, he asked to have Evan sit with him, and I did a lot of translating. You probably won’t understand what he’s saying. But turning three is a big deal and milestone that we won’t let a speech delay stop us from documenting.

I stole these from the adorable Krystal and her equally adorable daughter Marley. I’m assuming her interview involved a lot less trying to run away to go sit on the dog or watch trash trucks out the window. (I made up a joke for you. How can you tell if a 3-year-old has ADD? They’re breathing.) I might have better luck asking Caroline these questions, except her  answers would all be “Cheese!” Here’s the list of 21 Toddler Interview Questions I asked Evan:

1. What is something mommy always says to you? Mommy says “Yes”.

2. What makes you happy? Toys.

3. What makes you sad? Pointing makes me sad. Pointy things.

4. What makes you laugh? Helicopters make me laugh!

5. How old are you? Three.

6. How old is Mommy? Four! You are four.

7. How old is Daddy? Hmmm I don’t know. Daddies are…three.

8. What is your favorite thing to do? Walk, and the zoo. And when Mormor comes to the zoo with us! (Note: Mormor has never been to our zoo.)

9. Who is your best friend? Daddy.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? Bigger.

11. What are you really good at? Putting things in Mr. Potato Head.

12. What are you not very good at? Using my words.

13. What did you do today? We went at the zoo. (Me: No we didn’t) We went at gymnastics. (Me: No we didn’t) We went to the park and saw my friends and went at Stroller Strides. Are we done yet?

14. What is your favorite food? Chicken and salad. And french fries with a toy and lemonade and a hamburger.

15. What is your favorite song? Music.

16. What do you want for your birthday this year? A castle and a basketball.

17. What is your favorite animal? Sharks and fishes.

18. What is love? Hmmm…I don’t know. Hugs?

19. What does daddy do for work? A boat. He goes on a boat.

20. Where do you live? I got it! In my house.

21. Where is your favorite place to go? The playground. Are we done now? I want to watch Octonauts.