The perk of sleeping in on vacation was that by the time I woke up, everyone who had to get up on Toddler Time already had cute stories and photos to share. My two-year-old niece had never slept in a day of her life.

Mom held out her phone towards me while I poured cereal into a bowl - Reese’s Puffs, a lifelong vacation favorite.

“Perfectly timed,” she said, indicating the photos on the screen. She scrolled from one to the other. First I saw little Emmy and her parents, sitting in the shallow surf. Then, a wave came up, and all I could see of Emmy were here feet, sticking up into the air.

“Oh, no!” I laughed, closing the cereal box. “She’s okay?”

“She got right back up. Didn’t mind at all!”

“What a trooper,” I said, thinking of all the times I’d been swamped by a wave as a child at this very beach. “Send me that one?”

“Of course.”

Through the kitchen window, I saw Emmy sitting at the table on the beach house’s wraparound porch, munching on a cookie. Her dad held out a phone towards her. She stared at the screen for a moment, brow furrowed as she chewed her chocolate chips, focused as only a tiny child exploring this strange new world could be.

Then her eyes widened with comprehension, and she burst into giggles.

“Emmy in the water!” she shouted, audible through the wall. “Emmy in the water!”