Life's A Beach

This past weekend, Kyle and I renewed a July 4th weekend tradition by heading to York for a (much too) brief beach visit with the Ober/Spencer clan. Cady and Jimmy Spencer were one of the first couples whose wedding I photographed (back in the summer of 2006), and we've become dear friends since (the best perk of my job). Nine months to the day of their arrival in St. Lucia where they had a fantastic honeymoon, Cady gave birth to Emily, the most adorable baby girl that ever was! I don't know what brings Kyle and me more joy: Emily's beautiful belly laughs or seeing how much Cady and Jimmy delight in being parents (something they are quite good at)! The entire ride home, we couldn't stop saying how perfect they are at parenting, and we vowed that when we become parents one day, we will look to them as models for creating a most happy home.

I wasn't going to post any pictures from our beach weekend, as the shots I took of Emily, now 15 months, were very informal and solely planned to present to Cady and Jimmy as thanks for their hospitality. But Kyle chided me via email today for my recent break in blogging, saying "the people want photos" and urging me to share some of the shots. (Apologies of course for the lapse in posting. The countdown for our massive move to Portland is now being measured in days and I've been busy planning and packing. Do check back soon for the official announcement and an image of our soon-to-be colorful little cape.)

And he's right. Emily is way too cute to not show-off. She has as many melt-you-faster-than-the-sun expressions as she does bathing suits, and that's saying something!

The epitome of a beach babe!

I love her little looks. Even though she can only say a few words, her expressions say it all!

Playing in the sand! She was the princess of every castle the other kids were digging on the beach.

Then she discovered the joys of an ice cream cone, and it was pretty much all downhill from there.

Cady managed to get her cleaned up...

...But then Emily found my french fries and more important to her, the ketchup that went with them! Suffice to say ketchup is her new fav food. Kyle says she looks like a vampire here, keeping our bocce balls under wraps.

Luckily for the birds, she was willing to share the fries (she really only wanted the ketchup).

She barely got tired despite a full day of swimming and snacking, but she was quick to cuddle up in mom's arms.

The next day started out quite clean.

Like her daddy, Emily showed potential as a PGAer.

But of course, I had to have my snack shack fries again, and Emily got covered in ketchup for the second day in a row. I love that you can just see Cady's hands in this shot.

And mommy and Emily check out the water one last time before Kyle and Sam headed home.

To the Spencer and Ober families, thank you so much for having us (again). We are so looking forward to living closer to you, and the beach house!