The sensitivity and innocence of Jessie’s little spirit has been very apparent lately.

Several weeks ago when we watched Benji on movie night, there was a point in the film when I covered Jessie’s eyes, suggesting that she probably would not want to watch what was on the screen because the people were being unkind.  She responded well to the suggestion and even covered her eyes herself a couple more times during the movie.

Since that day, she has been regularly protecting her eyes from things she does not like.  It is not uncommon for Jessie to suddenly declare, “I don’t like that!” and then put her hands over her eyes until the "offender" is no longer in view.  Most often it is a skull and cross bones on someone’s shirt, or a mean face on a sign, or an evil looking tattoo, many of which are actually rather innocuous.  But it was especially precious the other day when, after seeing a cartoon of a dead face on someone’s hat, she covered her eyes and then began to sing…

“Be careful little eyes what you see.  Be careful little hands what you do.  Be careful little feet where you go.  Be careful little ears what you hear…for the Father up above, is looking down in love.  Be careful little eyes what you see.”

She is certainly being careful and I love the purity in her young heart!

Jessie has been learning her capital letters and after conquering the letter ”V,” which seemed to constantly allude her, she finally mastered her visual recognition of the uppercase alphabet this week.  So in celebration of her accomplishment we went to the Disney store to pick out “a little Daisy Duck” at her request.

After making the purchase and getting back in the car, I looked in the rear view mirror and discovered Jessie mothering and cradling Daisy, her new baby.  So I energetically exclaimed, “I am SO proud of you!  I can’t believe you’ve earned Daisy!  Way to go, Jessie-Girl!”

My little lady calmly responded, “Mom, I think you’re being too loud for Daisy.  You might be hurting her ears.  Will you please be more quiet?”

“Okay Jessie, I’ll keep it down,” I replied, clearly noting who is the more mature “mother.”  :-)

1. We have a tennis ball that hangs by a string in our garage to help us know how far in to pull the car.  The other day Jessie was playing in the garage while the car was gone, pushing the ball back and forth when she declared, “Look mom*!  The ball is exercising.”

2. We have decided to start a weekly ritual of pita pizza/movie night on Fridays.  So all week we have been building anticipation for Jessie by telling her, “Pita Pizza Movie Night is coming!”  Yesterday afternoon Jessie and I went to rent the video and she chose Benji.  She asked to call Drake and tell him about her selection exclaiming, “Hey daddy! We got Benji…we didn’t get the pita pizza movie.”

4. The other day Jessie was in a cleaning frenzy going around our house cleaning everything that could possibly be dirty.  I saw her using her foot and a towel to clean the hardwood floors and stated, “That’s a cool way to clean the floor—what a good idea, Jess.”  She replied, “Well, that’s how the people at Starbucks do it!”

4. I was making Jessie a peanut butter sandwich when she requested, “May I have agave on my peanut butter?  I’m avoiding Stevia right now.”

5. We were talking the other evening about marriage and I asked Jessie if she wanted a husband, and if so, who?  Of course she first mentioned her daddy as a good husbandly candidate but then stated, “Actually, I think I’d like Uncle Dean to be my husband?”  “Why do you think he’d make a good husband?” I inquired.  “Well, I think he’s kinda pretty.”

6. Around Christmas time, out of the blue at dinner Jessie asked, “Are there a lot of Santas, mom*?”  Taken back by her question and stumped at how to respond I said, “That’s an interesting question.  Why do you ask?”  Jessie astutely noted, “Well, everywhere we go tthere's a Santa.” 

7. While we were in adjacent rooms Jessie called out, “Where are you, mom*?”  I answered, “Oh, I’m in Timbuktu.”  Jessie chuckled and retorted, “Ha!  No, you’re in Tim-buck-three!”

*Yes, Jessie actually calls me “mom”.  I don’t know where this came from, but I thought my name was supposed to be “mommy” at least until Jr. high.  :)

Jessie was a total champ during her visit to see Santa today.

We were the first in line for an exclusive Costa Mesa MOMS Club Santa event at South Coast Plaza and as Jessie was walking the path toward the man in the red suit and spotted his smile she began blowing him kisses.  He responded in like.

Upon reaching Chris Cringle, my chatterbox immediately struck up conversation with him about her pink dog Donna, decked out in Jessie’s Christmas shirt for her holiday attire, that was being toted around for the festivities.  Santa sensitively interrupted to ask, “Would you like to sit on my lap?”

To which she responded, “Sure!”

He pulled Jessie onto his lap, placed Donna on his other knee, and the two of them had a sweet conversation about reindeer, colors, pretend paints for dolls, umbrellas, and other desirable toys.

When their conversation ended, the candy cane gift that jolly ol’ St. Nick handed to Jessie surely sealed her love for the white-bearded man.

And the hug they later shared was proof!

Though we have still have yet to purchase our Christmas noble fir, Jessie and I finished decorating our home for the season this morning which included trimming Judson’s little tree.  With every ornament Jessie placed on the tiny fake pine, she exclaimed, “I love you, Juddy!  I love you, Juddy!  I love you, Juddy!”

For months Jessie has been asking when Christmas is coming.  Now that the season is here, she is in a mode of constant celebration.  Last night we went to an outdoor area that had a Christmas tree and she discovered her "stage" for celebration.  Enjoy!

We had the sweetest little pixie fairy grace our lives today.

On a day full of difficult memories, Jessie is our constant joy!

Much to my chagrin, Jessie is a shopper.  She loves to shop!  Since I tend to shop only out of absolute necessity, Jessie doesn’t get the chance to shop as much as she might desire.

The other day, the zipper on my purse broke and the fabric tore, so shopping became inevitable to find a new purse.  Seeing as I am very selective as to how I spend my money and a deal is an absolute must, we wound up going to several different stores to find just the right bargain.

Jessie delighted in the experience.

She hugged and held the hands of all the manikins, played in the clothing racks, tried on shoes and hats, paraded in front of the mirrors, and chose multiple gifts for daddy, Howie, cousin Ella (I’m sure Aunt Danielle would have loved the black bra with hot pink lace and flowers Jessie picked out for her six-year-old cousin), and even Judson.

Though not a cent was spent on anything other than a purse, she relished her chance to shop.

Maybe I need to suck it up and take her “shopping” more often. :)

Yesterday after eating breakfast, my mom wiped Jessie’s face and got her down from her stool.  A few minutes later, noticing that she still had food on her cheek, my mom noted, “Whoops!  It looks like I didn’t clean your face very well, Jessie.”

Our little lady replied, “Oh, that’s okay, Grammy.  I still look really cute!”

It appears Jessie has a pretty robust self-esteem at the whopping age of three.  :)

We had a blast celebrating Jessie Girl the last two days.  On her actual birthday, the three generations of Adelseck ladies went to Disneyland in the morning, home for a nap, and then Jess got to go back to Disneyland with her mom, dad, Auntie Sarah, and Uncle Dean—a time that even included a dance party while waiting to ride the Nemo Submarine ride.

The following morning was filled with fun with grandparents.  After having special birthday girl hot chocolate, we took the train to San Juan Capistrano where Jessie snuggled with the animals at Zoomar’s Petting Zoo, enjoyed a pony ride for the first time, got a special lunch at Ruby’s and more.  In the evening we went out for a special birthday dinner where our ladybug opened family gifts.  Afterward, she was surprised to find many of her family and friends waiting for her at her favorite yogurt shop, America’s Cup Yogurt.

Jessie grinned from ear to ear the last few days, bringing considerable joy to our hearts.  We love our little lady!!!

Here is a slideshow of the festivities:

I was most touched when in the middle of her birthday party Jessie grabbed a yellow balloon and asked if she could take it outside and send it to Judson.  Right before she let the balloon go she shouted, “I love you Judson!” and then looked at me and declared, “He’s celebrating my birthday in heaven!”

No doubt about it!