With friends

These fun bunch came over for an afternoon at the pool. E and L were so excited to show off their newly honed swimming skills.  

Little was mesmerized with sweet E. 

She wanted E to hold her in the water, and Little is too heavy for tiny E. I had to help E without Little noticing, so cute.

The love affair with E didn't end in the pool. As they were buckling into their car seats, Little was seating in E's lap and cried when I told her she wasn't leaving with them.

The pool left all the kids hungry. 

These healthy bunch devoured the melon and grapes.  

Daddytime

Those are some big smiles. 

Another summer afternoon, another chance to get in the pool.

With Friends

Summer time means pool time! 

Little loves inviting her friends over for a swim; prima Lydia came to show us the new skills she learned after her swim lessons.

Little loves prima Lydia. She calls her by her name and is always asking for her mano (hand). If Lydia is around, I know Little will be happy just playing with her. This was true even in the pool, all Little wanted to do was jump from the side of the step, but only if she could hold Lydia's hand.  

Memorial Weekend - Saying GoodBye

 Our last day in the Cayman Islands only allowed us a fee hours of free time to enjoy the facilities. 

We of course tried to pack as much as we could into those precious last moments.

We began with a refreshing splash in the pool and of course we included the new unofficial member of our family (Barbie)

Little got comfortable enough in the beach she would actually walk the large span of sand that lead to the water on her own.

While in the water, we saw a black shadow moving smoothly in the water, it was one of the many local stingrays. 

Of course we couldn't leave the island before saying our goodbyes to the lizards.

Ready to go home

She really made herself at home in the plane!

Memorial Weekend - Day 4

Our vacation was relaxing and a nice escape from the routine for the entire family!

We all got to enjoy our books. Daddy read about mountain climber, Mommy read about other mommies and Little read about baby bears.

We also enjoyed plenty of time swimming in the pool and playing with the sand at the beach.

Little loves jumping into our arms while in the pool. She had grown to feel very comfortable in the water 

 I continue to teach her how to blow bubbles, but so far all she does is laugh and drink water

 It took some time, but by the 4th day Little was comfortable walking on the beach and notice she did not need her water shoes

 The water was so gorgeous and refreshing, she did not want to get out of it

It was very timely her new found love for the beach since the pool had to be closed for 24 hours (a little someone - not our Little- had an accident in it) 

 After a long day, both Daddy and Little needed a break

Memorial Weekend - Day 3

The blue iguana is the Cayman Islands largest native land animal. The resort had several "intruders" and Little was fascinated by them. As soon as she spotted one in the distance, she would run towards them.

 By now we had spent plenty of time in the pool; however, every time we took her to the beach, she wanted to be held up in our arms the entire time.

We realized our mistake was to carry her in the beach because then it was nearly impossible to put her down. So on the third day we encouraged her to walk on her own or while holding our hands, but we refused to pick her up. 

She wouldn't move from the border...

Until a staff member of the resort offered her his hand, and she took it. 

Walking on the beach for the 1st time with a total stranger. She wouldn't take our hands

 Eventually the nice staffer had to go back to work, so she had to let him go. After that she walked on her own.

 Little found walking on the sand very stressful so she took a breather with Daddy

 Eventually we got her walking on her own again, but as soon as she spotted her friend she rushed to hold his hand once more

It took a while, but I got her playing in the sand with a little rock

She was not completely happy, but she was making the best out of it

 Until the wave surprised her. Game over for the beach

 To calm her anxiety she needed a drink at the bar. She quickly learned that I would refill her straw cup there and she would actually take it to the bar herself. They made her the best Peach Smoothie.

We finished the day with some more fun pool time

Memorial Weekend - Day 2

When planning our vacation we knew we wanted to go to a kid friendly destination, and boy did we score with our choice. 

We had pool and beach a few steps away from each other. However, Lillian was not a fan of the beach. She didn't like standing in the sand and even less walking in it. 

When we tried to put her down on the ground, she would bring up her legs and do anything she could to avoid sitting down.

So we carried her.

 Stopping to smell the flowers...wouldn't it be nice if we all stopped every once in a while to smell the flowers too?

 I'm guessing if we did we would all be smiling more.

Ready for some pool fun.

 

But not before putting our sunblock!

 The pool tired her, but also made Mommy and Daddy hungry. We decided to grab a quick lunch and then we would take her to the room for her nap. But she couldn't wait. She fell asleep sitting in her chair. So what does the hotel staff did?

They brought us a pack and play so we could enjoy our lunch while she rested. 

After lunch she was eager to get back in the pool.

 On our second night, we hired a hotel recommended babysitter to stay with Little while we went to dinner. Mommy was of course nervous about how Little would reach to someone new in a foreign place, but my worries were unfounded. She was as happy as could be to stay with Ms. Allysha. 

Daddy and mommy enjoyed a delicious dinner at Eric Ripert's Blue restaurant.

Memorial Weekend 1

Our first official family vacation was a total success. 

Little was adaptable, well behaved and happy. She was willing to engage in all the activities we chose and she did them smoothly and readily. 

This was a fantastic start to our summer! 

Little went, enjoyed and returned with few complaints, she is one vacation partner I would take anywhere.

Little slept most of the way there

Meeting the lizard with Daddy

With her book at the pool

Mommy, I need more sunblock please

Meeting the "Cockadoodledoo"

Enjoying the sunset 

With Barbie