1.  As we were walking out of the building of our local nature center Jessie exclaimed, “I liked the gecko inside.”  “Oh really, I didn’t see the gecko while we were in there.  Where was it?” I responded, perplexed.  “No, mama, I liked the sound of the gecko when I was talking in there!” she retorted.  I began to chuckle, “Oh, you mean you liked the sound of the ECHO?”  Jessie began to laugh too.  “Yeah, the echo.”

2.  Jessie was squirming around on the couch at Starbucks when she suddenly bonked her head on the covered wooden frame of the armrest.  Sitting up and rubbing her head she shouted, “Ouch!  Why does this couch have a bone in it?”

3.  Jessie and I were walking along the sidewalk hand-in-hand, when she randomly inquired, “Can I live with you when I get older?”  “Sure!  How old are you thinking?” I asked curiously.  “When I'm an adult,” she replied.  “But I'll be the cutest adult --the cutest BIG adult.”  Grinning, I thought to myself, “I don't doubt it.”

4.  The other day I was pretending to cry when Jessie wouldn’t give me a hug.  She declared, “If you cry, you definitely won’t get what you want!”

5.  While getting ready for the day, I was putting two small pigtails in my hair to pull them back into a ponytail.  Jessie, observing my unfinished hairdo exclaimed, “Mommy, that is going to look ridiculous!”

Yesterday, I could hear her at my parents’ home playing during naptime, obviously choosing to forgo her much needed rest.  So when naptime was finally over, I walked into the room and discovered this:

And with the greatest grin, Jessie declared, “I’m a bride!”

She proceeded to explain to me how her yellow blanket was the skirt of her dress and the leggings she had been wearing were now nicely tied on her head to become a veil.

She beamed from ear to ear like every bride…

And I beamed from ear to ear like every proud parent.

At Starbucks the other day, Jessie went to order my refill of iced tea for me (she’s miss independent) and after giving them my cup she came racing back with big, huge eyes and asked, “Can I have a brownie?  Miss Kari (the barista) offered me a brownie.”

“Wow!  What a treat!  Yes, Jessie, you can have a brownie.”

Jessie raced back to the counter and was gone a few moments.  When I looked back over my shoulder to see what she was doing, I saw her strolling back to me double-fisted – she had a brownie in each hand.

“Two, Jessie?  How did you get two?!”

Jessie coyly replied, “Well, Miss Kari told me to grab one for you.   I didn’t tell her that you’re avoiding sugar so that I could have TWO!”

I grinned at the wiles of my little lady with a sweet-tooth.

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!”

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!

It is hard to believe that Jessie is three years old today.  That little button that I gave birth to is growing into an amazing little person! She is bright, funny, beautiful, well-behaved, thoughtful, sensitive, and so much more.

Of course, every life is a miracle, but Jessie’s life of health and vibrancy is particularly miraculous.

We thank God for every moment we have with our “joy in the morning” and are excited to celebrate her today!

Happy Birthday Jessie Girl!!  We love you!!!!!

Jessie had such a fabulous time as one of the flower girls for Uncle Dean and Auntie Sarah’s wedding.  She walked down the isle beautifully, dropping rose petals along the way.  The classic moment came when she reached the end of the isle, having dropped her last petals and declared, “Mama!  Mama!” while looking around for me, “I ran out of petals!  I need more rose petals!”

When the ceremony was over, Jessie spontaneously began to dance back down the isle, having a jolly ol’ time, which turned out to be a foreshadowing for the rest of the evening.

Jessie could not wait to tear up the dance floor—if the music was playing, she was gettin’ her groove on.

Most the day Jessie was grinning from ear to ear, and as the evening ended, I had someone come up to me and suggest, “You should rent her out to be a flower girl at weddings.  She was awesome!”

The next morning when I went to get Jessie out of bed I asked, “Did you have fun as a flower girl yesterday?”

Without hesitation she replied, “Uh huh! Can we do it again today?!!”

Here’s another round of Jessie-isms:

1) Jessie walks into our untidy, cluttered room and states emphatically, “You really need to clean up this mess, mommy!”

2) “Are you such a little miracle?” I rhetorically inquire, trying to inform her of what a gift she is to me.

“No, I’m a BIG miracle!” she says to correct my misinformed ideas.

3) Jessie was in her bathroom using the potty when I went and grabbed a new roll of toilet paper, replacing the old.  “It’s just not as fluffy as the toilet paper in your room.  Why isn’t it as fluffy?  I like the fluffy kind,” Jessie declared, referencing the fact that I purchased cheap TP this time around.

4) “Here Jess, I’ve got some blue cheese for you,”  as I scooped some blue cheese onto her plate.

“Actually, mommy, it’s white!”

5) Jessie and I were blowing bubbles outside with a huge bubble wand (thanks Hills!) and Howie came racing out the front door.  “Do you think Howie will like the bubbles?” I ask.

“I think he’s curious about them.” Jessie responded.

*Note: I have posted new pictures of Jessie on the right side of her blog.

Jessie is definitely looking forward to July 26th.  Should be fun…

We had a furry friend join our family yesterday.  Jessie has upgraded from her plastic pup to a bonafide, adorable, sweet, little pooch.  Though a birthday gift for me, our intent is for this precious, approximately 7 month old male Maltipoo mutt to grow to be Jessie’s buddy.  He was rescued by a girl named Jessica a couple weeks ago and we feel honored that she chose our family to adopt this beloved dog.

On our drive home from picking him up, he sat almost the entire ride in Jessie’s lap, content as could be. Since arriving home he has been our sidekick, prancing around the house with us, climbing in my lap whenever given the opportunity, and snuggling in bed with Jessie.  We feel like we could not have found a better dog for our family!

Here are some things Jessie said within the first couple hours of bringing him home:

“I’ll teach him to climb the bridge and he’ll go down the swirly slide.  He likes the slide, I think.  Would he like to swing?  He could go in the baby swing with the leg things!”

When we walked into the house with the dog for the first time, Jessie was intent on helping the dog understand his surroundings, “That’s a high chair, that’s a refrigerator, that’s the stairs, that’s a stool, that’s a cupboard…”

“Can he take a nap with me?”

“When do we get to give him a bath?”

“When do we put clothes on him?  Does he have daytime clothes and nighttime clothes?”

“Can we give him pigtails?”

“Can you read a book to us?  To him and me?”

And first thing I heard Jessie say when she woke this morning, “I want my doggy and my mommy!”  I guess the dog has already taken top billing. :-)

We have yet to name him, but I am sure it won’t be long ‘til this little fella is christened.

“No, I’m a big girl!” Jessie might pipe in.

Here is a video of recent clips from moments with our sweetie-weetie:

As always, thanks for indulging this proud mom!

It has been far too long since I last wrote about our joys with Jessie.  Since our most recent post, our little ladybug has gotten her first haircut, graduated to a “big girl” bed, and is fully potty trained.  It is as though she grew from a toddler into a little girl overnight!

Though I haven’t posted in awhile, I have still been writing down some of my favorite Jessie-isms and stories.  Enjoy!

1)  Jessie was talking on the phone with my mom the day before we took down our Christmas tree and this is what I heard, word-for-word, on her end of the conversation: “I have a Christmas tree, Grammy.  One is Judson’s and one is mine.  I have ornaments on this one and that one.  I have a fish.  He is sitting in a bucket.  It’s downstairs on the Christmas tree down there.”  Then she held up the phone toward the Christmas tree downstairs and said, “I look at the Christmas tree for you!”

2)  Jessie came home from spending time with her cousin Ella and started dancing, then declared, “Check out my moomers!”  I think she didn’t quite understand that her cousin was saying, “Check out my moves!”

3)  Jessie was supposed to be taking her nap at her grandma and grandpa-papa’s house.  Her grandpa-papa went into her room and told her she needed to go to sleep and then proceeded to leave.  Jessie commanded, “I’d like to continue this conversation!”

4)  I was wrapping some gifts and hadn’t realized that Jessie had gotten hold of some of the celophane wrapping and had wrapped herself in it.  She walked into the room and exclaimed, “Look at me!  I’m a gift!”

5)  “I want to share this tangerine with Judson!”

6)  “Everyday mommy gives me a teenie tiny sip of her caffeine!”

7)  Since we go to the local Starbucks several times a week, we have gotten to know some of the regulars.  A couple weeks ago one of the semi-regulars introduced himself to us.  Then last week we saw him again.  Unfortunately, I could not remember his name, so I asked Jessie if she remembered. “Jay,” she replied enthusiastically.  Sure enough, his name was Jay!

8)  “Can we go to America’s Cup Yogurt?  It’s kind of really good!” 

In the year 2008 Jessie grew from 16 months to 28 months old.  It is absolutely incredible how much a little life can change in that period time.  Most notably Jessie has far more hair, can carry on full conversations, runs and jumps, sings, and is several inches taller.  Each moment I spend with her leaves me in awe that I have been given the gift of being her mom.

Before Judson died, I used to regularly sing the following made-up song (to the tune of Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield).

I still sing it regularly to Jessie.  I have been given two amazing kiddos and continue to consider myself very fortunate to be their mom!

I look forward to seeing how Jessie grows and develops in 2009.

Last year when Jessie went to visit Santa she started bawling immediately and did everything she could to try and wiggle out of his arms.  By the time I had captured a couple photos, her shoe had fallen off and one might have thought she’d been scarred for a lifetime, never to appreciate another Santa encounter again.

But what a difference a year makes.

Jessie practically ran up to Santa this year and when the jolly old fellow picked her up and put her in his lap, she was thrilled to find herself in his company.

She started chatting with him, pointing out things for him to look at, and even posed with her cheesy grin for a picture.

It made for a very fun Santa experience, not to mention her delight riding the carousel, doing a Christmas craft at the mall, and then going to the playground afterward.

I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to experience Christmas through the eyes of my Jessie Girl!

]]> Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:03:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com My parents have a huge jacuzzi tub, so last night Jessie Girl had her first major bubble bath.  She wore an ear-to-ear grin as she covered herself in white fluffy fizz.  Because Jess was having such a great time, she hesitated getting out of the bath…her prune-like fingers indicative of a long time spent bouncing and burrowing in bubbles.

I’m not even sure getting clean was an important part of this bath, but her joy sure brought me joy!

Have you ever seen a bubble rhino before??!!?

As usual she had fun getting cozy after her bath.

We like to call it “cozi-fying”!

 

 

 

]]> Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:10:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com Due to my fear-stricken heart, I decide to take some extra time to delight in Jessie Girl today.  I video taped our dinner together (Drake was teaching a Bible Study for the young adults at our church), and compiled a video.  Hope you enjoy watching my little Ladybug!

You might want to make sure your volume is at a good level

because Jessie can be hard to hear sometimes in the video.

 

 

]]> Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:36:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

The Jessie-isms keep coming:

1) I frequently eat a breakfast bar in the mornings and will break off teeny tiny pieces for Jessie to enjoy.  The other day when I was eating my Greens+ Energy Bar Jessie declared, “I want a BIG bite, mommy!”  Finding her request to be quite cute, I broke off a little bit larger bite than usual and gave it to her.  She responded with indignation, “Noooooooooo, that’s still a little bite.  I want a BIG one, mama!”

2) I was on my hands and knees, crawling toward Jessie like a tiger in the grass and announced, “I’m gonna get you!”

Jessie quickly countered, “You know, sometimes, sometimes mamas don’t get Jessie Girls!”  I fell over laughing.

3) Jessie saw my small, tote-able Bible lying on the ottoman.  She picked it up and said, “This is a Bible, mommy.  I’m going to read it.”  As she gently thumbed through the pages she said, “God. God. God. God. God. God.”

4) Most of our days include some kind of tackling and rolling around on the floor.  The other day while I was tickling my little lady, she exclaimed, “You’re smothering me!” 

“Smothering”, really?—where does she pick up these things?!!?

5) Jessie’s plastic pup continues to be one of her prized toys.  We were on the porch a couple days ago and she pulled the doggy down the step and proclaimed, “The puppy went jumping down the ‘bumpety-bump’.”

“He did?” I replied.

“Well, actually it’s a step,” she clarified with a smile.

]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:54:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com I couldn’t resist posting this portrait of Jessie in her ladybug costume.  Oh, I just want to eat her up—she exudes such preciousness!  I’m so grateful for our little bug!!!

 

 

]]> Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:59:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com We have made a conscious effort not to allow our grief to keep Jessie from experiences.  And today, Halloween, was no exception.  Our little “ladybug” got all decked out in her ladybug costume** and had many adventures!  Even though Halloween is a very difficult memory with Jud, we are making new memories with our Jessie Girl…

Trick or Treating at the mall.

Riding the mini carousel.

The indoor playground is always more fun in a tutu.

Enjoying “Trunk or Treat” at my parents’ church.

Trick or treating in the neighborhood where I grew up.

Thrilled with her loot!

**Thanks for the great ladybug costume Stevensons!  We appreciate your thoughtfulness.

]]> Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:38:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Jessie took her first real train ride to Ventura yesterday.  She absolutely loved it and I think she proved to be the best entertainment for the surrounding passengers as she chatted and asked questions.

For instance, she inquired of the man seated behind us, “What are you eating?”

“I’m chewing gum,” he chuckled.

“Gum?  You’re eating gum?  What’s gum?” she asked.

“It’s something you chew and chew and chew but don’t swallow,” I responded, not quite sure how to define gum.

“You chew and chew and chew it?” she wondered as she moved her mouth in a chewing motion, “But don’t swallow?”

“Yep.” I said, as she looked at me with a perplexed gaze.

She then tapped the knee of the gentleman seated in front of us and asked, “Are you chewing gum?”

He just laughed and laughed seeing as he had become her best buddy on the trip and the object of most of her inquisitions.

It was fun to help Jessie learn about chewing gum on the choo-choo.  In fact, it turns out I put her in her “gumball” pajamas before the trip ended bringing it all full circle.

We had a blast and I think Jessie made the trip on the train a little brighter for others too!

]]> Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:02:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Here are some recent fun Jessie-isms:

1)  While were were driving at night in our car Jessie declared, “Look!  There’s the moon.  It’s going with me!”

2)  After a nice nap, while playing in her crib, I heard Jessie holler, “Christina, come get me!”

3)  Sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, Jessie expressed to her pet African frogs, “Hi froggies.  I’m going to go to church.  They have babies there.  I’ll be right back.” 

4)  Very excited about her new toy kitchen that we put in her room, she exclaimed as Drake was putting her to bed on her first night of kitchen ownership, “I can see my kitchen from my bed!”

5)  Whenever we are with a group of people and Jessie wants attention and a few laughs she will proclaim, “Mickey Mouse has poops!” and then chuckle hysterically.  And if other people snicker, she’ll repeat the statement again and again.

]]> Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:13:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com We took Jessie to a festival on Saturday and she had a fabulous time of numerous firsts:

Face Painting

Brushing a Sheep

Cotton Candy!!

And she also enjoyed some familiar experiences too:

Bounce House

Slides

Art

She was full of joy, giving us great joy!

 

]]> Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:06:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

While Jessie and I were sitting in the coffee shop a couple weeks ago, I received a phone call and proceeded to talk with the person on the line.  Though engrossed in my conversation, I was keeping one eye on Jessie while she played nearby.

After several minutes on the phone, I hung up and went back to giving my full attention to Jessie Girl.  A few minutes later, a gentleman who appeared to be in his forties struck up a conversation with me.

“Did you go to Disneyland recently?” he inquired.

I gave him a strange look because his question struck me as odd.

“Did you happen to see the parade?” he asked before I could answer the first question.

“Yes.” I affirmed with a perplexed and tentative tone, not quite sure where this conversation was headed.

“Did Mickey wave at you?  And did you see Minnie and Pluto too?” he continued his query as if he already knew the answers.

Then it dawned on me.  “Oh, were you there that day?” I responded.  Though after asking the question it seemed odd that a stranger would he have noticed us at Disneyland and then remembered us the next week at Starbucks.

“No,” he chuckled.

Now I was really confused.

“While you were on the phone, your daughter told me all about your trip to Disneyland.  Then when I asked her age, she told me she was ‘two’.  She’s not really two is she?”

Now I was the one chuckling.  “Actually she just turned two last week and the trip to Disneyland was for her birthday,” I replied with a pride I was unable to contain.

“Wow!  You should be very proud!” he concluded.

Our little “buggy” is proving to be quite the conversationalist.  And yes, we are very proud!

***Side Note:  Jessie was not wearing her “Minnie Dress” when this conversation occurred.***

 

 

 

]]> Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:39:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Sometimes it doesn’t matter who you get kudos from—even if it’s my little lady and she doesn’t fully understand what she’s saying, her compliments are still a treat.

This afternoon as we were driving in the car she declared out of the blue, “Mommy, you’re funny!  You’re larious!!”

“Hilarious, really Jessie?!??”

“Yep!”

“Thank you!” I beamed, as I tucked that one away in my sweet memory file.  Meanwhile thinking, “Actually Jessie, you’re the one that’s ‘larious’!!!”

]]> Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:19:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Jessie attended her first baseball game (wearing her brother’s Angels hat) this weekend.  I’m not sure she even noticed the baseball field and players down below…she was too intent on socializing with Auntie Sarah and our other friends while enjoying the special snacks for the occasion.

 

 

 

]]> Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:38:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Jessie turned 2 years old yesterday, and even after a trip to Disneyland, I believe the highlight of her day was the ice cream sundae at Ruby’s Diner—her first sundae ever!

She has continued to replay how “the people sang ‘Happy Bert-day’ at the rest-aunt” and gave her ice cream.  It is very cute!  But what surprised us even more today was when she declared in the car, “I eat like pig!” followed by many chuckles.

It turns out, she had put her head into the sundae like a trough yesterday, and I declared, “Oh my! She’s eating like a pig!” and then laughed.  She didn’t respond at the time, but had obviously tucked that one away to pull out later for a good laugh.  She got it—Drake and I laughed hysterically for quite a few minutes.

Just goes to show…kiddos are always listening!!!

Happy Birthday, Jessie Girl!!  We love you more than you can even imagine, “Our Sweet Little Piggy”!!!!!!!!!!!

 

]]> Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:28:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Jessie is turning TWO on the 19th of this month!!!

We had a little party at a local park yesterday to celebrate her life in the company of some friends.  She had a fantastic time playing at the playground, eating cupcakes, opening presents and then playing with her loot (she was certainly blessed with some wonderful gifts!).

Most of all, I was proud at how well she played the role of hostess.  She welcomed all her friends when they arrived, showed genuine enthusiasm and gratitude as she opened her gifts, shared her new toys (though sometimes it was quite a sacrifice), and gave her buddies hugs and kisses when they departed.

She is growing into quite the Little Lady and we are so proud of her!!

A special thanks to all our friends who made Jessie’s day so special.  We love you!!!

 

]]> Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:35:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com Jessie is at an age where almost every day is full of firsts.  However, I would say that few little girls have to wait until they’re almost two before they get to wear…

Pig Tails!

So at the prompting of many, I finally decided to try and put pig tails in Jessie’s hair.  Low and behold, we actually pulled it off.  And when I asked Jessie if she liked her pig tales and wanted to keep them in, she replied, “Keep the veggie tales!!!”

 

]]> Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:19:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Here are some recent Jessie-isms:

1)  While eating peas at dinner, out of the blue Jessie declared, “Peas are like balls!”

2)  After I put Jessie down for a nap, I could hear her on the monitor saying, “Obey Minnie.  You need to obey,” to her stuffed Minnie Mouse that she had taken to bed with her.

3)  While we were laughing together a couple days ago, she gave me a mischievous smile and said, “You’re teasing me!”

4)  I like to give Jessie “horsey rides” on my leg.  I noticed that she’s been placing her baby doll on her leg in a similar fashion and moving it up and down while saying, “Horsey ride!  Horsey ride!”

5)  Jessie has been periodically singing “Alligator” around our home.  This is a song that Jud made up and would sing regularly to Jessie, requesting that she try to sing it too (when she was less than 8 months old).  We captured one of these moments on video, and since watching it, Jessie has regularly been singing the song “Alligator” without ever getting any prompting from us.  Her brother must be so proud (as are we)!

 

]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:52:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com Inspired by our trip to Disneyland when Jessie had an array of emotions expressed with one countenance, we created this in honor of her upcoming 2nd birthday.  We hope you all get as much of a kick out of it as we did making it!

]]> Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:02:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com

Driving AND talking on the phone…

Isn’t this illegal in California now?!!??

 

 

]]> Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:15:00 CST http://www.storyofjudson.com While driving in the car yesterday evening, Jessie randomly blurted out, “Daddy’s Dake.”

“That’s right, Jessie, daddy is Drake,” I affirmed, then asked, “And what’s mommy’s name?” aware that she knew the answer, but wanting to hear her little voice articulate it.

“Mommy’s Kisstina,” she responded as if that was a silly question.

“Well done, Buggy!”


I hesitated for several seconds and then decided to complete the family equation by inquiring, “Who is your brother, Jessie?” not totally sure whether or not she knew the answer.

“Judson!” she immediately declared with enthusiasm and crystal clear articulation.

“You’re right, Jessie, Judson is your brother,” I said with an underlying sadness I could not hide.

We sat in silence for a bit and then Drake and I went back to our previous conversation.  A few moments later, our Ladybug’s voice could be heard again from the back seat, “Miss Jud,” she stated with sobering frankness.

“You miss Jud, Jessie?”

She confirmed her question with an emphatic nod.

“Oh, I miss Jud too.” I replied, affirming her thoughts while recognizing she was echoing the sentiments she hears so often from her grieving parents.

And then she surprised us with a question, “Judson at work?”

“Is Judson at work?” I restated the inquiry, trying to make sure I had heard properly.

She nodded her head and asked again, “Judson working?”

I paused to marvel at her question.  Was she really trying to determine the whereabouts of her brother?  Was she trying to make sense of why he is not with us?  Has she also come to associate work with missing her dad?  This was such a loaded question.

“Oh Jessie, Judson is in heaven…with Jesus…but he loves you very much,” I expressed, knowing it was an answer that does not yet make sense to her.

This is likely the start of many more questions yet to come, but what a delight to hear Jessie know and ask about her brother!  She may not yet be two, but her little mind should not be underestimated!!!

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