Jessica Bari Goldstein, Jesse, entered this world on August 6, 1995, the first child of Aimee and Brian Goldstein. From the moment she arrived, albeit a week late, she had a smile on her face and an easy disposition. We were living in sunny Newport Beach, CA at the time, away from friends and family, while Brian was in the Air Force. Although we had less help getting situated as parents, the time away allowed us to forge our own path as a family. Nonetheless, over those first 6 months, the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and close NY friends all came to meet Jesse. She welcomed everyone with the same open affection and infectious laughter. 
 
Due to the absence of babysitters, we brought Jesse with us everywhere we went, even if it was less than appropriate. She came with us to parties, even when everyone else left their children at home. We brought her to both of our workplaces often, and she loved meeting new people. As an infant she sat quietly in her carseat even in the fanciest of restaurants, while her piercing green eyes told you she understood exactly what was going on. When she was old enough to sit in a high chair, she enjoyed carefully picking up her food with her chubby little fingers and sharing with everyone at the table. As was true with all of our kids, Jesse loved her food. 
 
There was no doubt, however, that our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Monte, was Jesse’s best friend. If he chewed on a bone she did the same, and when he licked her toes she let out a deep belly laugh that would have gone viral if Instagram existed back in the day. Anytime that Brian walked into the room Jesse would say “Daaa” and pucker her cute little lips for a kiss. When we got her a Doctor’s Kit at 10 months old, she put the stethoscope in her ears and stuck the blood pressure cuff on her arm. It became her favorite toy. When she wasn’t examining a doll, she draped the stethoscope casually around her neck just like her Daddy.
 
When Jesse was around 6 months old we were fortunate enough to return to New York. While we have often wondered what our lives would have been like had we stayed in California, we are so grateful that our family had the opportunity to spend time with and get to know Jesse. Jesse loved the individual time she spent with each grandparent. While we were at work, Grandma Diana spent a few days a week with Jesse trying all of the neighborhood restaurants, skipping down the aisles of Toys “R” Us, and scoping out the local malls for the latest baby fashions. Grandpa Marty was the tickle machine and the “I got your nose” man, and she laughed in anticipation every time she saw him. Grandma Gloria and Jesse loved reading together, coloring and collecting leaves, and Grandpa Dave assembled all of the toys and taught Jesse how to use them. But Jesse also understood how important it was to share her time and not play favorites. At her cousin Taylor’s birthday party just two weeks before she passed, Jesse spent hours on the dance floor with all four grandparents, wiggling her little behind and giggling throughout.
 
Jesse also loved the time she spent with her cousin Taylor, who was only a few months younger than Jesse (but about 8 pounds lighter)! We took the girls to Mommy & Me and Music Together classes every week, followed up with long lunches at Laguna Grill, Chuck E. Cheese, or Graffiti. Aimee and Allison spent countless hours imagining the girls together as toddlers, teens, college students, and eventually getting married and raising their kids together. When we found out that we were pregnant with Zachary, Jesse proudly wore her “I’m Going to be a Big Sister!” to surprise her grandparents and the rest of the family. And she would have been the BEST big sister to Zack — loving, affectionate, nurturing, and delicious. 
 
On November 13, 1996, Jesse passed away during a nap from a rare heart condition that we were unaware of until after her death. It was the most painful day of our lives and one that shaped how we would forever look at the rest of our days. Jesse taught us how to be parents, how to support and love each other through the toughest of times, that each day is a miracle to be appreciated in its own right, and that our children are life’s biggest blessings. Because of Jesse, we are better parents to Zachary, Casey, and Meri.   
 
While your days on this earth were short Sweet Jesse, your memory lives on in everyone you touched.