Princess hits the beach

You are all girl these days.
It happened seemingly overnight.
Sure, you have had a bow in your hair since before you really even had hair,
but we don't really push the issue otherwise.
You developed a love for Snow White on the plane ride to Turks.
You wear your Disney Princess bandaids all the time -
even pretending you have a boo boo so there's a reason for a new one.
You ask to wear a dress every single day now.
As soon as it's on, you do a twirl, tell me you're a princess, then race off to show your daddy.
Oh, and you tell us your favorite colors are pink and purple.
Like I said, all girl.
So, it only seemed fitting to have a little fun with my camera and my "princess"
while we were at the beach.
We snuck down there early one morning.

I thought you looked so sweet in your flowy white dress.
You ran down to the water.
You laughed as it kissed your feet.

You made me chase you.

You grabbed the bottom of your dress so it wouldn't get wet.

You twirled and ran and had a grand old time. 

We were the only two people on the whole stretch of beach.
I snapped away, hoping that the photos would help me forever freeze the moment in time.
I have no idea how long this fascination with dresses and Disney and all things frilly will last.
And honestly, I don't really care.
We will just as happily go buy some soccer cleats if you prefer those over ballet slippers.
But on this particular day, at the very least,
I made some really sweet memories with my own little princess.

Turks and Caicos 2

We spent nearly every afternoon at the pool.

You are not quite ready to learn how to swim yet,
but you loved being in the pool just the same.

and you especially loved pushing your mom and dad in,
watching us race each other from one end to the other,
scaling the walls

clowning around

and perfecting your very own version of "swimming"
which consists of walking on your hands with your feet kicking behind you.

We'd spend time at the kids pool,
and then end the day at the main pool.
You insisted on making a fashionable entrance

And, you made lots of friends along the way.

In fact, we think you knew the entire resort (and staff) by the end of the trip.
As we walked to breakfast each day, or to the pool,
we'd hear "hi Lexi" no matter which direction we turned :)
Your favorites, however, were the four girls from Italy you posed with up above.
They were pre-teens and could not have been more sweet with you.
You found a way to break through the language barrier,
and as your dad and I chatted with friends of our own,
we watched you in action.
Somehow, you convinced these girls to "swim" with you -
all five of you were moving around on your hands in the shallow end.
You'd ask them to show you a trick,
and they would do a handstand under water or a dive from the side.
You called them your new best friends.
You gave them high fives and taught them what a fist bump was.
It was adorable.
There's not much that beats lazy summer afternoons at the pool -
especially with this view in the background

Turks and Caicos

Alexis,

Two weeks ago, it was summer vacation time.
We had pushed the trip back a few days
because you caught a terrible cough from summer camp.
And then you promptly gave your cough to me.
(Thank goodness for travel insurance).
After visits to the doctor for both of us,
we were back on track and Turks and Caicos bound!
We'd heard that Grace Bay Beach was ranked one of the prettiest in the world.
And...we quickly agreed.

Depending on how the light was shining,
the water changed from turquoise to green to dark blue.
No matter its appearance, it was just beautiful.

As was the super soft, white sand.

Your father and I have always loved traveling to the beach.
We are perfectly content spending our days moving from the beach to the pool,
enjoying some cocktails and then going to a nice dinner
(and not doing much else for the entire trip).
We were thrilled that you seemed to have the same plans for your vacation.
So, that's just what we did!
We spent several hours every day at the beach.
We played in the sand.

We collected shells.

We spent as much time as possible in the wonderfully warm water.

Your daddy threw you "higher, higher, again, again".

All three of us ordered cocktails.

The virgin variety for your pregnant mommy, 

Mango Daiquiri Smoothies (as you called them) for you,

and "Lahaina Lemonades" for your daddy (his favorite drink from our honeymoon).

And then...after we played and dug and swam and ran and explored and relaxed,

we moved on to the pool.

But that's another post, for another day :)

In full swing

Summer is in full swing around here.
You are busy having fun at camp.
Today is so hot we either need to hit the pool or stay inside with the A/C,
and we just returned home from a lovely vacation.
So, while I sort through the HUNDREDS of pictures,
here are a few from your last-day-of-school party.