distracted

I have seriously too much editing to do, discs to deliver, sessions to finish up, and printing orders to finish...but as I was searching for pictures to use for my photography website I'm putting together, I came across these of Tessa...I get so distracted thinking of all of the things that I need to get done! 

Can you believe how much she's grown?!  These pictures are from almost 2 years ago when she was two. 

My heart melts looking at these...I love how she's holding tightly her "chap-itch".

I have been through so much with this little girl.  It seems that since she was about 18 months, she has given me a run for my money and has not slowed down.  Whoever said that it was the terrible twos, clearly did not have a three year old yet!  Being a mother has been extremely hard with her sometimes.  I've often thought about the future, when she'll be a teenager and I get a little nervous...thankfully those thought are gone and I'm excited for our future/relationship together!  Back to the naughty moments for just a minute:)

She loved getting into EVERYTHING, some of my all-time favorites were:
getting into a costco sized container of cinnamon,
my mascara,
tearing out pages of library books,
coloring on walls,
taking her matress off of her bed frame because she didn't want to take a nap,
smearing toothpaste all over the wall with her cousin,
breaking her door off of her room because she tried to shut it too many times with the gate on,
waking up too early,
going to bed way too late,
taking two hours every night to calm down and fall asleep....

I probably could go on and on... But who wants to dwell on the past?  Okay, maybe its a nice place to visit...but it's time to think of greener pastures!  Tessa will be four in November, and I'm happy (and greatly relieved) that my little crazy energetic Tessa has slowed down quite a bit.  She listens when I talk to her, obeys, has the cutest sense of humor, truly cares for her brother, cried hyserically this week during family home evening when we told her that she couldn't marry daddy...finally, we told her that she could and that we would talk more about it later..she was truly crushed!  It was so cute!  She has always been the neatest eater, she now goes to bed with hardly any complaining, she actually asks me for snuggle time, she loves reading books with me (and I love reading them to her), she loves church and insists on wearing her church dress all day long, she NEVER fails to remind Jay and I everyday to read scriptures as a family and say family prayer.  She has so much faith...and recently I'm learning how much intuition and reflection she has since my dad has passed, with her grama mark.  She always prays for her friends, she has the greatest sense of direction....knows where the church is, her doctors office, the library, etc.  It amazes me..we'll be a couple blocks away from something and she'll tell me where we are, I love it!  Since starting preschool, she's obsessed with writing letters and "spelling" her name!  I have truly enjoyed being her mother, especially lately and I can't imagine life without Tessa Marae.  She is such a great example to me and a driving force for everything in my life.  Thank you my sweet girl, for helping me to remember why I am here:)