Yesterday was fun travelling around England and exploring bit. I loved not knowing where we were heading and just going on an adventure. Surprisingly, Logan liked it too. We all did.
We fell asleep last night in a national camp park, laying on the roof of the van with pillows and blankets and gazing up at the stars. I remember having Logan snuggling up against me because it was cold. She had her blanky and teddy. Her head rested in the crook of my neck as she looked up at all the stars a told me us a story from her imagination. It was a bit harder to understand what she was saying with her pacifier in her mouth. Her voice slowly got quieter and quieter until she finally dozed off, cuddled into my side.
We all laid up there for a good few more hours until we were all tired and crawled back into the van.
I push the seats back so they become a bed, big enough for the four of us to fit. I lay my two year old down gently, fixing the buttons on her onesie before placing blankets over her, making sure she was warm. I curled up beside her, cuddling her to my chest and I then also fell into darkness.
The following morning, we decided to go to a nice restaurant by the sea for breakfast. It was very lovely.
We sat in a little booth, eating away at our bacon and eggs. Logan had become obsessed with the fish in a large fish tank and kept running away from the table when we were not looking and then pressing her entire face against the tank. One of us would always have to go and get her. She would just sigh and shake her head cutely.
I made a mental note to buy a fish when we find our own place in the USA.
After breakfast, we did the usual thing girls always did. We went shopping.
We just walked down this cute little street that was filled with little boutiques and shops.
I had bought Logan some beanies, shoes, jumpers, leggings, vans and a lovely pink pea coat.
I also got some beanies, a white pea coat, leggings, vans and jumpers.
All in all, it was a lovely day out. We were ready to get back in the car and get on the road again. I love that we were going to many places and not just sticking in one. I appreciate the fact that I got to experience this with my two best friends and daughter.
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The following morning, I woke up early with the other girls to prepare for Logan's birthday today.
We had bought her a present of a giant teddy, a hoota-bell backpack, a new baby doll with a toy stroller and bouncer, leapfrog interactive game toy thing and a tea party toy set. I think she will be happy with the gifts, but she will be more excited when she finds out that we are taking her to the zoo today.
Maggie got out her iPhone, recording as I gently woke up Logan.
I watched as my daughter sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Mwumma"
"Happy Birthday!" the three of us say happily, watching as she immediately brightens up and bouces around happily.
"Appy Bwirthdway! Appy Bwirthdway!" she giggled loudly.
I lifted my daughter out of the van and placed her in front of all the presents that stood on the floor. My baby is officially two years old!
She ran towards her presents, opening them as fast as she could. She struggled a bit, but soon got the hang of it.
The morning was very eventful and Logan was happy all day.
She had no clue that we were taking her to the zoo, which made the surprise even better when we pulled up in the car park and watching her face when she saw the zoo.
Before we went in, I had to dress Logan in some clean clothes. We had used some public showers at a local sports club earlier last night so it wasn't like we were dirty or anything. It was still a bit cold out today, so I dressed Logan in some black leggings with a pale pink skivvy and a matching beanie. I placed some sandals on her feet and fixed her hair before getting myself dressed into some black and white striped leggings with a loose white long and thin button up sleeve shirt.
I pulled my hair into a messy high pony and grabbed my bag before heading off to the zoo.
My little two year old had her chubby little fingers wrapped around my middle finger and pointer finger as she pulled me along in her deathly grip. The girls laughed at her enthusiasm.
We paid for our tickets and proceeded inside.
We saw the giraffes, where we got to feed them. One leant down and slobbered all over Luna's hand, making her groan in disgust. "Ew", we laughed at her face.
Next was the elephants. Then the Bear. The Lions and Tigers. The zebras were very cute and Logan loved them. But I think the favorite was the gorillas and monkeys. Everything they did had Logan in fits of laughter, which made us double over in laughter.
The day was very successful, and by the time we were making our way back to the van, Logan had fallen asleep with her head resting on my shoulder, snoring softly.
I buckled her into her car seat and we began on our journey again, I sat in the front this time while Luna sat in the back with my sleeping baby. Luna had soon dozed off to sleep, leaning her head against the window.
Maggie and I stayed awake, chatting as we drove to nowhere in particular. Everything had been planned at the last minute, so we only had a rough idea what these next few days were going to be like.
It soon got dark and both the girls had woken, complaining that they were hungry. "Luna you whine more than my two year old" I laugh, shaking my head.
She giggles as Logan goes into a fit of giggles too. "You're such a big baby!" Maggie chuckled, keeping her eyes on the road. I laughed again, watching as my daughter started to interact with one of my best friends.
"Let's stop and get some food, yeah?", I ask Maggie who nods and I pull out the GPS, trying to figure out where the next food place was.
Once we had found it, we all piled out and went inside for a good dinner. Logan insisted on some dessert after her meal, claiming that it was her birthday. But of course, you can never deny the birthday girl of chocolate ice-cream and cake.
We found out way to a drive in camp place where people in there cars camped out and just chilled. I lifted Logan out of her seat, grabbing a bag of her PJ's and everything she needs for the night. I lifted her onto my hip and carried her to the block of bathrooms before it got to dark and late.
I took her into a shower cubical where I stood in my swimsuit, helping her get undressed. Once she was out of her clothes, I stood her under the shower, which she didn't like. She liked it better in the bath, but there wasn't any here. As soon as the water hit her body and head, she began to whimper and try move away from the water. I held her in her place, bending down to her height and telling her that it was okay.
She began to fuss when I started putty some lotion through her hair, making it clean and smell lovely. Once she was done and I was tired of her whining, I removed her from under the tap and wrapped a small white towel around her body. She stood away from me just as I stood under the shower and quickly washed my hair. Logan began to fuss again, so I stopped washing myself and also wrapped a towel around my body as I dried my two year old baby and changed her into a bedtime onesie along we some warm socks and UGG boots and a jumper with a hood. I brushed her hair, placing it in a small braid before getting myself dressed in my sleep clothes and brushing our teeth and hair before I carried my now knackered baby back to the mini van. Logan rubbed her eyes as I placed her down on the laid back seats, resting her head on the pillows.
I reached over, grabbing the pacifier, her blanky and her teddy. She quickly grabbed the pacifier from my hand, shoving it into her mouth as I gave her the teddy and blanky. She clung to them as she slowly shifted into sleep mode.
Sighing, I raked my eyes over my two year olds body. So little and adorable.
She was my world. And nothing was going to change that.
We are leaving to start a new life. Moving away from all the bad memories and hard times.
Nobody knew what we went through. Nobody but Luna and Maggie. And Logan was too young to understand why.
I know that moving is the best for us. I can finally live the life I have dreamed about and I am glad that my daughter gets to be a part of that too.