Hilton Head Beach Trip

Michael and I decided a couple of months ago that we wanted to take a trip...originally it was going to be with his family, but when they weren't able to go we decided to just go ahead with our plans and go with just the three of us. When we planned the trip, we didn't realize that is fell on Mother's Day Weekend...but that turned out to make it even that much better. We had taken a trip to Hilton Head together shortly after we started dating and thought that would be a fun family of three destination. Michael found a great deal on 4 nights in a one bedroom condo on the beach and we were all set. Packing for a baby (plus two adults, one of which can barely pick out her clothes for the day, let alone 4) is a little bit of a challenge. I did a pretty good job of dividing up the food she would need for each day and putting it in baggies marked with a sharpie detailing what was inside (breakfast, dinner, what day, etc). I stuffed her suitcase full of sunsuits and jammies and bathing suits and dresses and warm clothes (in case it got cold). Then I made a pile of all the million things that also had to travel with us that goes along with a baby (pack and play, bath seat, toys, monitor...which we didn't even use....lotions and other toiletries, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, bibs, blankets...you get the idea). As an afterthought I threw all the summery type clothes I can fit into in another (large) suitcase and then we were ready to go.

We got up really early on Friday, about 5am, packed the car, showered, transferred Sophia to her car seat and hit the road around 6:30am. We were planning on meeting my parents in Savannah for the day, since my Dad had some meetings there, and then continuing on to Hilton Head late Friday afternoon. Sophia was GREAT on the drive. As we were leaving, she woke up so I gave her a small bottle and she went right back to sleep....and literally slept until we were about 20 minutes from Savannah. The weather in Savannah was not at all what I was used to...it was cold and a bit rainy...but turned into a nice day. We had a great time visiting with my parents and lot of other credit union people who were excited to see Sophia. It was a nice stop off point and a great start to our trip.
Here is Sophia with a view of River Street in the background...you can see my favorite church (Cathedral of St. John the Baptist) in the picture...that church is SO pretty! I think Sophia was waving at my Mom or something when we took this, haha.

We had a short drive to Hilton Head and to our rental condo. After my poor husband made a dozen trips up with all of our crap, we finally were settled in. It was early evening by that point, so we just went to Publix to get everything we wanted for the fridge and for lunches and dinners and called it an early night. I was super excited to get out to the beach the next morning, our first official day of our beach vacation!
We had a ton of stuff to schlep to the beach, thankfully it wasn't too far of a walk, just out this boardwalk and over the dunes. We hadn't been out too long, had pretty much just set everything up, and this nice couple walking by saw me taking pictures of Sophia and Michael and offered to take a picture of the three of us, so here it is!

It was really a perfect day. The temperature wasn't too hot and it wasn't too windy. We set up a little sun tent for Sophia and a giant beach blanket for us....Soph liked our beach blanket, haha. Here's a cute pic of her.

She LOVED the sand. Michael put a little in her pail and she would put her hand in and grab a handful, look at it, squeeze it in her hand...and then drop it on her leg and the beach blanket. It was cute, although I usually like to keep a nice, sand-free beach blanket. It was her first time experiencing the sand though, so I just let her have her fun!

She took a great nap in her tent after the excitement of playing in the sand. Then Mommy and Daddy got to relax and read their magazines! :-)

On our second day, Mother's day, Michael snuck out of the condo and went to get me breakfast and flowers to start my day. Then we got ready for another beautiful beach day. It was much hotter out and a lot windier. Sophia fell asleep as I was carrying her down to the beach (it made the walk feel much longer...she sure felt a lot heavier in my arms). So we just set everything up and plopped her in the tent. I think she slept for at least an hour! Meanwhile, Michael and I saw some dolphins in the ocean and tried to get some good pics of them....which we kind of didn't...but anyway, it was really cool just seeing them.

Michael tried to get Sophia used to the ocean water, but she HATED it. Most of the pics we have are of us hanging her there and her feet up....this one she seems to have at least one foot in....but I am sure she was crying the whole time, haha. Maybe on our next beach trip she will warm up to the ocean a bit more. In her defense, it was pretty cold. I never went in farther than my ankles.

Another really cold body of water was the pool. But.....Sophia actually really loved the pool! I made Michael take her in first (cause it was really stinkin cold) and he tried to put her in the pool float we got her...and she hated that. Michael said her feet were going like a mile a minute under the float. He took her out and kinda held her close and after that she seemed ok with it...even splashed her spoon/shovel thing and kicked her feet (more normally though). Finally I got in...not because the water warmed up, but because I wanted to hold my baby girl in the pool too! I twirled her around and bounced her up and down and she seemed to like it all...and then she started to fall asleep!!

The pool exhausted her, she didn't even move when I wrapped her in her towel and left her on the chair, haha. And then I was carrying her back in, asleep and heavy as crap! Sooo cute though! :-) It was definitely a wonderful, perfect first Mother's Day for me.

Day three was VERY windy and warm. We saw a LOT of dolphins and Michael ended up getting some really good pictures of them. We mostly kept Sophia in the tent, I was pretty nervous about her getting a wind burn. She had a good time in there though, played with some of her toys, napped, and ate her lunch.

Our last family picture on the beach...I was pretty sad that it was our last day....but it really had been the perfect trip and at least we spent as much time as we could on the beach so that made me happy. I could easily live on the beach. Hmmm...maybe when Michael retires...haha.

For dinner on our last night, we went to a really cool restaurant that my Dad suggested to us....they had Ohio State memorabilia all over the whole place! And not to mention they had great food. After we got back and were packing up our stuff....I happened to put my finger in Sophia's mouth and what did I find....her first tooth!!!

Here is a family pic from the balcony of our condo....a really nice place that we can hopefully go back to very soon!