Our girl is 8! Hard to believe we’ve been parents for 8 whole years.
Last week we celebrated Pearl and the amazing kid she is. Pearl is funny and quirky, she is sweet and sensitive and often very thoughtful towards others. She loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Her favourite subjects are math and music and she dives into learning new things. We’ve seen amazing growth in her abilities in the past year, particularly in her reading, and I am continually surprised by new things she knows and can do.
Pearl often has a vision for how she wants things to go and there is usually a plan to go along with that vision! She has developed hugely in her level of ease with new people and in new situations and it doesn’t take her long now to get comfortable and chatty. It’s been a joy to watch her develop a few close friendships. I am so incredibly thankful for the community we have around us, the friends she’s made, and the other adults who spend time with her.
For the week leading up to Pearl’s birthday she got to be the VIP of her class (every kid gets a turn). She got to go first in line, lead a science experiment, and pick a game in gym class (she chose dodgeball). She was excited to bring chocolate chip cookies to share with her class on her birthday. (Parenting tip: gluten-free cookie mixes can be bought and easily made for classes with dietary restrictions!)
On the weekend we celebrated with a party with 7 of her friends. Because of the pandemic and the placement of her birthday in the winter, this was the first time Pearl got to have a friend party like this, one where her friends were dropped off and picked up later. It was so great (and a bit intimidating for Peter and I) to be able to give her this experience. I know all of her school friends and almost all of them had been to our house but it was fun to have them in a group like this. Pearl’s chosen theme this year was Teddy Bear Picnic. This weekend turned out to be cold and snowy but we picnicked on the living room rug and danced to music. The kids decorated little wooden treasure chests and then figured out clues around the house to lead them to the treasure.
Being Pearl’s mom is one of the great gifts of my life and I love getting to watch her grow and become her own, awesome little person.
Karissa Reads Books 
It sounds like you had a lovely week – happy birthday to Pearl!
I swear Peter gets more handsome every year! What a lovely theme for the party, though I’m always surprised her favorite food is sushi. Most parents can’t get their kids to eat anything green or that has a squish, or whatever.
It’s interesting she loves both math and music. Most people associate music with the artsy kids, but it’s much more in line with the math kids, actually. You certainly do a lot of math with rhythm.
He’s so great! I don’t brag about him enough here. It is funny that Pearl likes sushi because she doesn’t particularly like rice or squishy food. But she does like fish and she LOVES vinegary foods.
Math and music both have very clear parameters, I think. There’s a right and wrong logic to it that, I think, appeals to her.
Did Peter finish his master’s yet?
Yes! He finished last summer. I realized recently that in the 15+ years we’ve been together, this is almost the first time he hasn’t been doing some sort of coursework.