This is Eleven… Olivia’s Birthday Interview

Olivia is going to be eleven tomorrow!  Per usual, I interviewed her yesterday to ask her the same questions that I ask her every year right before her birthday, and I know she’ll treasure being able to look back on these one day.  This year’s interview was bittersweet as we lost our sweet Maui earlier in the morning, so it had been a tough day.  This interview brought me so much joy in the midst of sorrow, though… I love spending time with my girl, seeing how her big personality grows and changes year after year, and I love that she mentioned Maui several times.  Please keep Olivia’s little grieving heart in your prayers as her birthday is tomorrow. 

Here’s what she had to say this year, and as always, my commentary is in parentheses. 

 

 

1.    What is your favorite toy?  “Mmmm… all my stuffies.”

2.    What is your favorite stuffed animal?  “Sheepie.  Duh.” (Sheepie has been her #1 since birth and her answer to this question every single year.)

3.    What is your favorite game?  “Mmmm I think it would be that new Wicked game I got… it’s pretty good.  And I also like Pictureka.”    

4.    What is your favorite sport?  “I do dance, but like, yeah.  Is that technically a sport?”  Me: “Of course!”  Olivia: “Then yeah, that’s it.”

5.    What is your favorite book?  “Mmmm, I don’t really have any favorite books because I don’t like to read, but it’s probably going to end up being… like, I still like Dork Diaries.  And I did read Princess Diaries, but after some time it got boring, so I’d say Dork Diaries or Diary of a Wimpy Kid or something.”

6.    What is your favorite TV show?  “Mmmm my favorite TV show… do movies count?”  Me: “No, because I’m going to ask you that next.”  Olivia: “Maybe like Pokemon Go… yeah, Pokemon Go or something… or like…” (I give her some examples of shows we’ve watched recently.)  Olivia: “OH, Unlisted.  That was really good.  Because every time it ended on a cliffhanger, and I really wanted to see what happened next.” 

7.    What is your favorite movie?  “Wicked and The Eras Tour.  Period.  Done.”  (Haha, no hesitating there!)

8.    What is your favorite song?  “I don’t know, I just like Taylor Swift and Wicked songs.  That’s all.” 

9.    What is your favorite band or singer?  “I don’t know… does Ariana Grande, Cynthia Arivo, and Taylor Swift count?”  Me: “Yeah, of course!”  Olivia: “Okay, then all three of them!!”

10. What is your favorite holiday?  “Christmas!!  And every year before Christmas, I always say Halloween is the best holiday and then I get to Christmas and then I say nope, nope, Christmas is the best holiday…”  (And then she jibber jabbered on so much after that I couldn’t even keep up typing as fast as she was talking so I missed half of it.)  Then, without missing a beat she said, “Oh, sorry if I’m speaking too fast, next time I can talk a little slower.”  (It’s like she read my mind.  LOL.)

11. What is your favorite season?  “Um, I would say winter because my favorite holiday is in it, but it can sometimes be miserable, but I’d say like… I don’t know… I love all of the seasons.  Maybe summer because we get to go to the pool.  Or maybe spring because it’s relaxing and rainy.  Or maybe just, like, all the seasons.  Oh sorry, am I talking too fast again?”  (The tone in her voice was hilarious when she said that last part.  She was in rare form this year for the interview.)

12. What is your favorite color?  “My favorite color is purple.  If I had to list three, I would list purple, pink, and blue.  I do love green, though, because of Elphaba.  And pink is Glinda.  Warn me if I’m talking too fast!!!!  Did you get that?!”  (Hahahaha.  At this point I think she was trolling me.)

13. What is your favorite animal?  “Okay, this time I will talk slow.  My favorite animal is probably Maui… I’m not saying what type of animal this time.  I’m saying Maui in honor of her.”  (Aaaand that’s when I started crying.)

14. What is your favorite shirt?  “Mmmm, I just got a Wicked shirt that I really like a lot.  Um, and I can’t really list anymore but, um, yeah, that’s it… that’s cool!!  I’m cool with it!”

15. What is your favorite fruit?  “Mm, my favorite fruit is… I don’t really like fruit.  I kind of like apples and pineapples, but with apples, um, Mommy says I’m way too specific because I cut off the outside, but I also cut out part of the inside and then I’m left with nothing.  That’s what she says at least.”  (LOL, I am dying.  She is definitely trolling me now because she knows y’all are all going to read this.  Because I do say exactly that.)

16. What is your favorite vegetable?  “Again, don’t really like vegetables, but I if I had to say… probably, like, broccoli or something… Nana’s carrots are good, too.  WAIT, for fruit I should have said brussels sprouts because it has a seed so it’s a fruit.”  Me: “Did you mean okra?”  Olivia: “Oh yeah, okra for fruit!” 

17. What is your favorite snack?  “Hmmmm, probably, um, I like Welch’s fruit snacks, just normal Welch’s fruit snacks, and white cheddar Cheez-Its.  But sometimes I get tired of white cheddar Cheez-Its, so sometimes I would like to just have Welch’s fruit snacks, but you won’t let us have just fruit snacks for a snack.  Sorry, I’m speaking too fast again… I keep jibber jabbering as you say it.”  (LOL)

18. What is your favorite treat?  “My favorite treat is every type of candy.  Mostly bubble gum, though.  And ice cream… especially ice cream sundaes that I make at Pop and Cokie’s.  But everybody says I put too many toppings on them, but that’s the way I like it.”  Me: “I can’t get everything you’re saying again.”  Olivia: “Sorry, I’m yapping too fast.”  (I think she has said bubble gum for the last 4-5 years… I really do need to go back and check because it is always on her list.)

19. What is your favorite drink?  “Water.  Period.”  (And then she proceeded to make sure that I wrote out the word period since she said the word period because she wants y’all to know that’s literally all she drinks.  Hahahaha.)

20. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner?  “Hmmmm, I don’t know, sometimes at night we have nothing to eat – well, we have stuff to eat, but I mean sometimes when you don’t cook – I like pocket PB&J with Cheetos and Babybel.  And after that, you can say that I said it dramatically.  Just to make this funnier.”  (Pocket PB&J = Uncrustables and LOL the girl was on fire trying to make this her most entertaining interview yet.

21. What is your favorite restaurant?  “Hmmmm, maybe I like the new <says the name of the new local Mexican restaurant that we’ve been to a couple of times recently> but I also like Culver’s and <says the name of the pub that we frequent down the street from our church>.”

22. Who is your best friend?  “Caroline, Maren… and those are the main friends that I play with.  We’re just a little group of three, so yeah!”

23. What makes you feel happy?  “Mmmm, my friends.  And Maui.  And that’s pretty much all.  And my family.  And God.  And that’s what I’m gonna say for thankful for.”

24. What makes you feel sad?  “Um, things.”  Me: “Things?”  Olivia: “Like Maui, and when me and friends aren’t getting along.”  (I think she didn’t want to mention Maui again because she didn’t want me to get upset.  Bless her.)

25. What are you afraid of?  “I’m afraid of ghosts.”  (That’s the same thing she’s said for the last three years.)  Then she went on to say, “I see ghosts.”  Me: “What?!”  Olivia: “Let me tell you, you don’t want to see one.  They creepy.  You don’t believe me, do you?”  Me: “So you have seen a ghost?”  Olivia: “Yes.”  Me: “When?”  Olivia: “At nighttime when I’m in the bed.  The way I see ghosts… you know how, like, fog looks?  It’s transparent kind of?  It’s a transparent blobby thingy of fog.  It looks like fog.  But it’s not fog.”  Me: “So you think those are ghosts?”  Olivia: “Yeah, totally.  What else could they be?  Could it be fog somehow gettin’ in my room?  Naw.”  (Okay, I’m officially dying with laughter with her dialect here and also what in the creepiness is this?!)

26. What are you thankful for?  “My family, Maui, friends, God.  And that’s all I need to be thankful for because I love them the most.  And food and stuff.  And I’m thankful that we’re not poor.”

27. What are you really good at?  “Dance and… let’s see… probably dance and guitar!”

28. What is your best memory?  “I remember one year I said throwing up and you told me it’s supposed to be a GOOD memory.  But this year I’m actually going to say something good.  Um, I’m going to say, going to Disney World and actually seeing Evelyn at the beach because I thought there was a chance that I may not see her at the beach last year.”  (Y’all, she really did say throwing up last year. LOLOLOLOL.  I cannot believe she remembered that.)

29. What do you want to be when you grow up?  “Um, maybe like… I know I’ve never really tried it before… I’m good at it, but I’ve never shown anyone before… but an actress.  I wanna be in movies like Wicked.  I want to be a celebrity, but also do YouTube or something.  But also, be a celebrity.  I don’t know how I’d become a celebrity, though.  I kind of want to be a model, too.  For commercials and clothes.” 

30. If you could have one wish, what would it be?  “To get infinite wishes!!  Do I have to choose one?”  Me: “You can say whatever you want to say.”  Olivia: “Probably to see Maui or Cami again.” 

 

Happy almost eleventh birthday to the biggest Wicked loving Swiftie I know!  We love you so very much!