Feliz Navidad! Or when your child discovers the stage, and Santa arrives on a speed boat

Feliz Navidad! We spent Christmas week at The Riu Palace Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, and, like annual screenings of White Christmas, underfilled pierogies, and talking Russian stuffed animals, perhaps a new holiday tradition has been born! Being waited on hand and foot while basking in Caribbean sun for the holidays is not too shabby at all!
A pictorial review for your perusal:

We arrived on a cloudy late afternoon

first time walking by herself in the sand

lounging after dinner

 First full day

first breakfast buffet smorgasboard. I should note we all gained about 10#. The food was incredible! Although the guy in the background is violating the "no tank tops" rule.

yum!

one of the many hours spent covering our legs in sand

first afternoon- only day of bad weather

exploring

with Mimom!

in love with Uncle Patrick

Hang 10...or something

boogie

walking down to the beach with Daddy on the first day

actually un-posed, or maybe he's just always posing

someone's been hitting the pool bar

old people tryin to make it werk

not going anywhere near the ocean water

Water aerobics, led by some hot Dominicans. Worth the price of admission.

baby powerlifting

swimming

nap time

sun protection, better than run protection

such long hair!

waiting for dinner and looking a lot like her cousin Victoria

macaroons!

December 24

in honor of Grandmom and her handmade pierogies on Christmas eve. (Thanks for the t-shirt, Regina!)

mama + pierogi

set-up for Christmas eve dinner

dancing

creepy live nativity

Christmas eve festivities! The place was spectacular! They really went above and beyond to make the night special.

lobster!

In need of more pepto. This photo is payback for the one he took of his girlfriend in the midst of a stomach flu.

To Tilly's delight, they sang Jingle Bells!

yes, we had hats. Family photo 2012.

adults only

self-photo post-merengue and champagne

Christmas Day

hats

Vogue.
(For real, look at that face!)

flower girl!

Santa comes on a speed boat!

no Santa

not taking her eyes off of him

And then Mathilda uttered the words we all knew one day we'd hear...

"I wanna be on the stage!"

 The 2nd night of the trip, Tilly witnessed other vacationers participating in a "Kids Mini Disco" on the stage in the huge bar/salon area. She was mesmerized but wouldn't join them. The next day ALL she would talk about was being "on the stage." We shouldn't really be surprised given her mother's inclinations. When she finally made her way to the stage, it might have been the cutest thing I've ever seen. I laughed so hard I cried. And maybe cried a bit in pride as well.

building her nerve

found courage through a little German friend

doesn't get any better than this

not quite getting the following part

Pizza + the pool.....

= awesome!!! Lunch poolside our last day.

The resort was gorgeous, so at least part of this post must be dedicated to the grounds:

view from the pool to the main lobby

pool bar

lobby

not a Pittsburgh sky

where we lunched every day

you know you're raising a secular child when she identifies the angels and Mary at the nativity scene as "snow white" and "Bella"

This was the least "American-tourist" heavy resort I've been to. Because this is a family blog, I did not include photos of the many old Soviet men and their young surgically enhanced playmates. Amazing.

We learned a lot about each other on this trip. In particular, my mother still likes to give advice about everything, at an unnatural decibel, especially when in public regarding the bowel habits of her son. We learned that my brother regresses instantly to 12 when he sees the ocean and spent the entire week on a boogie board. We learned that Mathilda can get a tan even with SPF 50 sunscreen religiously applied, and apparently looks Dominican (I was asked twice if she was). We also learned that Tilly is still terrified of Santa and the ocean, but loves the pool and the stage. Ask her what she did at the beach and she'll tell you she "clapped hands" and "danced" and did "singing on the stage". She woke up this morning and asked me to go back to the stage. Sigh. Someday, kiddo. We watched Mathilda become even more outgoing and verbal. She is speaking in full sentences now, and has added a few Spanish words. Once she learned "hola" she said it to every hotel employee she met. Pretty cute until we also heard her say it to every brown-ish employee at the Atlanta airport. 

Finally, I leave you with the 2 photos we purchased, taken by resort staff.

Merry Christmas!