While Cailee understood that we were in town for a wedding (this was her first wedding and she thought she was the princess and wondered who her wedding boy was, although she often concluded it was Connor) – I think it was a bit confusing that it was on the beach. She expected that being at the beach meant one thing, playing at the beach. I knew she would not be happy if we left the beach and didn’t get some time to play in the water. We, fortunately, had some down time when Connor (and daddy) took much needed naps, so Cailee and I hit up the pool and the beach.

On Saturday afternoon we went to the indoor pool. Cailee had the pool to herself for some of the time and then was joined by five teenage girls. It is cute to me, Cailee is really anxious to play with other girls – no matter their age – she assumes them all to be her best friends. She’s a little cautious to join in, so she sits (or stands) just close enough for them to *hopefully* notice her. When the big girls all got in the jacuzzi – so did Cailee. When the big girls all jumped in the pool, so did Cailee.

On Sunday morning (after pancakes), Cailee and I hit up the beach. I realized just how much I love my daughter, unconditionally, when I found myself in the frigid ocean water at her beckoning (to be fair, it was probably in the 70s, but since the air was about the same, it felt really cold). We played in the water for about an hour – stalking a group of girls – who, again, were much older, therefore taller and farther out in the water then I felt comfortable (this would also mean immersing myself enough to hold Cailee and that was pushing it a bit too far). Next, we took to the sand, found some more “best friends”, initially watching them from a far, copying what they were doing in the sand. Finally, Mom introduced Cailee and she was super happy to join them in their wading pool/sand slinging. (During the wedding, later that day, she only wanted to go down the beach and find her “best friends”).