The Lego Years

Although I adored my children throughout the baby and toddler years and marvelled at them during the preschool phase, when we held a birthday party for for my son on Sunday, I couldn't help but enjoy just how clever, well-mannered and sophisticated they are now that they're big kids. His party had a Lego theme - hence the birthday brick-cake efforts above - and we took a bunch of his friends to the cinema to see, you guessed it, The Lego Movie. To top and tail the party we simply put out all our Lego bricks and let the guests make what they would. This worked out brilliantly; everybody wanted to make something. It's safe to say we have entered a new phase of parenting - the Lego Years; it really does seem to be my son's go-to toy at the moment. It never fails to lure him in to some wonderfully imaginative, construction-based play. Our mantra of the moment is definitely: if in doubt, get the Lego out.

To find out whether he feels this is true, and to see what else he really likes, aged nine, we decided to interview him just as with our daughter here when she turned six. The interview took place during a sunny bike ride round the park when we talked about a whole lot of other interesting stuff too - lively conversation seems to come easily when we're pedal pals.

Yummiest food: cheese and ham omelette

Favourite word: 'basically' and 'deny'

Pudding choice: chocolate fudge cake

Best toy: new cuddly minion, old pink hippo and Snowy the bear. Lego comes second after soft toys

Pattern preference: tartan (any clan)

Favourite music:YMCA (minions' version)

Coolest outfit: kilt, with sporran, worn with Olympics 1948 T-shirt

Best film: Tomorrow Never Dies, Despicable Me II and The Lego Movie

Favourite book: Casper Candlewax and the time-travelling toaster

Happy Birthday to my gorgeous curly-haired boy.