Blue Carter

Beyoncé Knowles took to her personal blog to post a series of cute beach photos on Friday. She shared snaps while biking, hitting the beach, and relaxing in a hot tub with her 1-year-old daughter, Blue Carter. While Beyoncé's sunny locale hasn't been confirmed, it could be that she and Jay-Z headed south to Miami for some NBA Finals fun this weekend — the two are noted basketball fans, and Jay-Z is especially fond of watching his pal LeBron James on the court.

Beyoncé has been enjoying some downtime in the States after hitting the stage at the Sound of Change benefit concert in London last week. She and Jay-Z had a sweet date night in NYC, followed by a stop to support their pal Pharrell Williams at the 10th anniversary party of his Billionaire Boys Club clothing line. She'll be picking things back up when the North American leg of her Mrs. Carter Show world tour kicks off June 28 in LA.

Beyoncé Knowles was spotted wearing a high-waisted bikini during a photo shoot in the Bahamas on Wednesday. The singer looked relaxed as she lounged on a beach chair with a yellow flower in her flowing hair. The images caused speculation that Beyoncé is the new face of H&M, though no confirmation has been made. In addition to that possible new project, Beyoncé recently announced that Destiny's Child will be releasing new music. The album, Love Songs, will come out on Jan. 29, just a few days before Beyoncé performs at the Super Bowl.

Beyoncé is currently staying in the Caribbean with her family while she works on her photo shoot. Her 1-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, is along for the trip as well and hit the beach with her bikini-clad mom. Blue also marked her first birthday on Monday, which Jay-Z celebrated by sharing a photo of his daughter playing with cards on the island.

As we look forward to 2013, we're taking one last chance to reflect on the 12 months that were 2012! We look at hundreds of images every day on the site, but some stayed with us throughout the year. A few images are just iconic, whether it's a rare PDA moment between the most-watched royals in the world, a crowning moment on the Oscars red carpet, the debut of a celebrity baby, or the reelection of the most powerful man in the world.

Here, our editors round up the pictures that meant the most to them over the last year. Click through to see what made the list.

Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z sat courtside at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday. The couple cheered on the Nets as they beat the LA Clippers in their post-Thanksgiving matchup. Jay-Z and Beyoncé have been all about supporting the NBA franchise that Jay-Z helped bring to Brooklyn since their home opener earlier this month. They've juggled sporty date nights with family time, though, and recently shared personal snaps of daughter Blue Ivy on Beyoncé's Tumblr. Blue will celebrate her first birthday in January, kicking off an exciting time for Beyoncé. Beyoncé is the subject of an HBO documentary that airs on Feb. 16, following her Feb. 3 performance at the Super Bowl halftime show. She's also voicing an animated character in Epic, which is set to hit theaters over Memorial Day weekend.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé Knowles wrapped up their French vacation with Blue on Saturday. The trio was in St. Barts to celebrate Beyoncé's 31st birthday and hung out on a yacht off the coast. Jay-Z and Beyoncé headed into town to enjoy a special birthday dinner last week and also popped up on shore on another leisurely afternoon. Blue cuddled with her parents during the lavish getaway, which ended just in time for Jay-Z to get to London and perform at the Paralympics closing ceremonies on Sunday. Beyoncé will be back in the spotlight tomorrow since she'll appear on the season premiere of Anderson Live in a prerecorded interview. Beyoncé talked about changing diapers and even added that Jay-Z is "actually very good" at it, too.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé's South of France getaway continued today as they enjoyed time on their yacht on the Mediterranean Sea. The couple cuddled with their daughter, Blue, who came along to help celebrate Beyoncé's 31st birthday. Beyoncé and Jay-Z shared a romantic dinner to mark the occasion Tuesday after they were spotted dining on deck with 8-month-old Blue that afternoon. Beyoncé got plenty of love from her friends, including Gwyneth Paltrow, on her big day, and shared the well wishes on her website. Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Blue are vacationing together after spending the long weekend in Philadelphia, where they kicked off the first Budweiser Made in America Music Festival.

Jay-Z carried his baby daughter, Blue Carter, this afternoon as they got off a helicopter in NYC. Jay and Blue were back in Manhattan after reportedly spending much of August at a rental in the Hamptons. If rumors about their renting a $400,000-per-month pad called Sandcastle are true, Jay-Z, his wife Beyoncé Knowles, and Blue would have been close to their good family friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. Chris and Gwyneth have been hunkering down at their own beach home. Gwyneth and Chris made a rare public appearance together recently at a screening of Jake Gyllenhaal's End of Watch. Jay-Z has his own big project to focus on at the moment with the long-awaited opening of Brooklyn's Barclays Center on the horizon. He championed bringing the sports and music arena to his home borough, and will officially open the space with a string of concerts next month.

There's a great crop of new photos on Beyoncé Knowles's Tumblr! She shared new snaps from recent adventures, including a stint in her home state of Texas, with her mom Tina, and in front of the Prada installation the town of Marfa. Beyoncé's daughter, Blue Carter, also was featured in the new images. Blue was decked out in a shirt from her dad Jay-Z's Watch the Throne tour, enjoying a bottle from mom Beyoncé. Jay and Beyoncé are seen together too, with him happily pushing her on a swing. Beyoncé shared the photographs after recording a special version of her song "I Was Here" at the United Nations in NYC. Beyoncé's releasing a special video of the performance to publicize World Humanitarian Day, and both she and the UN hope to reach one billion people with a message of helping others on the holiday.

Beyoncé Knowles debuted a new braided hairstyle as she carried her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, out of Bergdorf Goodman in NYC today. Blue, who is already 7 months old, was wrapped up in her mom's arms, but her tiny hands and feet peeked out from under the blanket. It's been a fun Summer for Beyoncé and her family so far. She kicked things off with a concert series in New Jersey over Memorial Day weekend, then traveled to the UK to check out Jay-Z's Watch the Throne tour in June. Jay-Z and Beyoncé also attended the BET Awards earlier this month in LA. Beyoncé and Jay-Z were back out in Manhattan on Monday to celebrate Nas's new album at Bagatelle.

Beyoncé is also getting involved in the upcoming presidential election by creating a video to show her support for Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. In it, she reads a letter she wrote to Michelle to thank her for being a role model to young women.