Aruba...

...Oh, Aruba! Where do I even begin?!

Maybe I should start by saying that Aruba was the most amazing vacation ever.  EVER.

We had such a good time in Aruba.  Though our trip did start a little shaky because we missed our flight out of Dallas to Aruba.  It was partly not our fault...

But, 4 hours later, we were on a flight to Aruba, and let me tell you, Jillian was an A-N-G-E-L on the flights (despite being in a car for 3 hours the day before, getting to Dallas at 11 PM, sleeping/playing from midnight-4 AM, at the airport by 4:30 AM, and dealing with 2 cranky parents who were anxious to start our vacation).  She was just so friendly to everyone at the airport/on the plane, waving hi any chance she got.  Once we got to customs in Aruba, she was ready to get her first stamp in her passport!

The first night in Aruba, we went to dinner at a delicious restaurant, went to our hotel, and crashed for the night.  We spent that night unpacking and catching up with Julian's parents and sister.  

By the next day, we were ready for some beach time!!!  

This was Jillian's first time on the beach and first time in the ocean.  We knew that she liked being a pool, but I was worried that the beach/ocean/salt water might be different.  It wasn't..she walked right in!

She loved the water.  She loved the sand.  She loved the salt (for tasting, not so much when it was in her eyes).  She even loved the adorable ridiculous hat we made her wear.  

That's all we did the first day.  Play in the waves, sit in the sand, go get a snack/lunch/dinner, repeat.  Needless to say, Jillian was having so much fun and so were we.  I actually forgot it was nap time, but she didn't...her Mami Mari was holding her in the water and she fell asleep, right there, in the middle of the water.  I didn't mind one bit that I got to sit on the beach, sleeping baby in one arm, good book (on the iPad) in the other, listening to the waves, soaking up the sun.  I think it was at this exact moment that I decided that this was going to be the best vacation ever.

And it was!