Thursday, 26 December 2013: Two Hundred and Sixty Nine Days Old.

We hit the road at 5.30am this morning, and after 12 hours of driving and 1000 kms, we arrived safe and sound at “The Station*”.

Only three out of the thirty-odd family members knew we were coming so it was great to turn up and still be able to say “surprise!”.

Ayla was wonderful in the car, better than I expected. She cat napped for most of the journey, and when she was awake I just kept changing her toy every hour or so to keep her occupied.

When we arrived I think Ayla was a bit shocked. I can’t recall her ever seeing so many kids in one place, let alone all the eager aunties and uncles just itching to say hello and tickle her chubby cheeks!

But after a bath and a feed Ayla started to get into the swing of things, and before long she was trying her darnedest to squirm out of my arms and into the dirt.