Hilton Head 2026

This year's family trip to HHI might be my favorite since it was Charlie's first time! From countless bike rides and hours on the beach to the Harbourtown visits and dolphin sightings, we had an absolute blast! 

Charles, Charlie, and I started vacation early by heading to Augusta Friday afternoon so we could have an early birthday celebration for Charles with Sassy and D. We went to Sheehan's for dinner and then opened up his present back at the house. The next morning, we hung around until Gammy, Charles P, and Sadie arrived. We then loaded up into one car, stopped at Tacocat for a yummy lunch on the way out of town, and then headed to the island (Charlie never fell asleep for his nap!!). Sarah and Sam drove separately since they had to pick up Hank from Camp Mac. We arrived around 4 pm and started getting settled. The rest of the Pittards arrived a little bit later with some Mellow Mushroom. We then went on an evening bike ride to Salty Dog and had a frozen drink and ice cream before putting the babies down for bed. 

Sunday morning was spent exploring the beach before heading to Harbourtown to play on the playground and walk around. We did our grocery store run (which was kind of a fail with Sarah scheduling Harris Teeter pick up at the WRONG location!), and then spent the afternoon on the beach once the babies woke up from their nap. Charlie absolutely loved the beach, which made me so happy!! That evening, we just whipped up a leftovers dinner and then the young adults and Pittard boys went to Salty Dog for a drink while the babies went to sleep. 

Monday morning we got to fish on the beach, which was very exciting with the boys catching a hammerhead shark! Then we all went on a bike ride to Harbourtown and had a fun lunch at the Crazy Crab. Grandpa Craig finally joined us, and we soaked up every minute on the beach before grilling out burgers and hotdogs. We also did some fishing after baby bedtime, which resulted in catching a blacktip. 

Tuesday was Charles's birthday!! We started it off by biking to the breakfast spot in Harbourtown and then climbed the lighthouse. We had another full beach day and then grabbed dinner at Harbourside before birthday ice cream and presents back at the house. 

Wednesday highlights were lunch at Coast with Gammy, a visit to Lawton stables, stopping by Kendel's condo to say hi, the boys golfing, and then a pizza dinner at mom and dad's friend's house.

On Thursday we went on a bike ride on the beach, which was so fun! We fished, had a great beach day (and witnessed someone catching a sea turtle!!), and then had our date night at Ocean Club at Coast. 

Friday included a round of putt putt, a great beach day, and then family dinner at Quarterdeck. That evening we played Code Names and got things organized to leave. :( 

Charlie, Charles and I stopped back in Augusta again on the way home and had a fun pool day at the Balks, which made the transition back to reality a little more gradual. We had the best family vacation and can't wait to be back again next year! 

18 Months of Charlie

My sweet Charlie boy... words cannot express how much I love you! You continue to surprise me each day with how much you are learning and growing. I want to bottle up your little sweet voice and keep it that way forever! You are getting so verbal and love all sports! 

Outings

Trip to Raleigh 
Washington Farms 2 times 
Hilton Head Island
Lots of pool days at ACC
A few Augusta trips

Milestones

29 lbs- still squeezing into size 4 diapers to get more bang for our buck ;) 
Has 16 teeth- 8 on top and 8 on bottom!
Getting very verbal!
4th haircut
3rd ear infection :( 
First time putt putting in HHI!
Week of June 14- started saying mommy occasionally instead of mama 
Starting to be more particular... will throw or knock food off his plate, gets frustrated if he can't do something himself, etc. 
Learned how to twist things like the cap off of a bottle

Things to Remember

The way he says "hot hot" and moves hand at fire in a book or hot food 
The way he grabs a book and then turns around to sit in my lap 
The way he points to the moon in his books and says “ball” and even the tiny moon on the back of Goodnight Moon 
The way he lays his head on my shoulder and gives a hug 
The way he loves to pull books through his crib
The way he tries to put toothpaste on his toothbrush 
The way he knows how to throw away his trash 
The way he automatically blows kisses if you say love you or bye bye
Says “nana” for banana and ho ho for Santa 
Started blowing kisses with his hand 
The way he thinks it’s so funny to kiss on the lips 
Week of 4/19 was going through a big attachment phase and scream cried at bedtime. Ended up rocking him to sleep one night which was the sweetest thing ever. The way he would open his eyes and whisper “mama” like he was in disbelief I was there <3
The way he puts his hands together when I say let’s say your prayers or the blessing and then says "Amen" at the end
The way he dances 
The way he does more in sign language 
The way he does oh no when the bear is hurt in his book 
The way he says “this book” or “that book”
The way he says poop when he goes poop 
The way he says hi so soft and with a smile, especially in the morning when I walk into his room
The way he smiles and chuckles at you when he’s about to fall asleep 
The way he moves his hands like a beak for bird and says tweet tweet
The way he says “yah” to every question
The way he tries to say “go dog go”
The way he says help, oh wow, and stuck
The way he says “hop” for the bunny 
The way he does “gentle” after swatting 
The way he grabs the remote and tries to turn it on and say "tv"
The way he says "nack" for snack
The way he runs with one arm
The way he tries to jump The way he calls his milk cup "baba" 

Loves to put on shoes
Loves the Hungry Caterpillar (especially the big one), balls, especially basketball and golf