It was a busy run up to Christmas, not only were lists being written for Santa and lots of food and drink being bought for dinner but Mummy and Daddy has the extra stress of having a new floor put down in the living room.

Maisie thought about helping Daddy out but decided that she had better things to do;

Daddy's little helper is no help when Mr Bumble is on the television.

Maisie loves watching Mr Bumble and is getting quite good at sign language - Mummy and Daddy will have to pay more attention as they are not always sure what Maisie means.

When Mummy arrived to help Maisie pretended she'd been helping all along - the wee sook!

"I've been busy all afternoon Mummy!"

Soon the house was back to normal and then it was down to stay at Aunty Cat and Uncle Alex's for Christmas. Maisie had been a great help to Mummy so Father Christmas was sure to visit - a note had been left by the Chimney at Mummy and Daddy's to let Father Christmas know Maisie was staying at Aunty Cat's. 

"Mmm, so many toys to play with, where should I start"

Maisie had a lovely day opening lots of presents, every where she visited had presents for her to open; 

Cousin Gracie help Maisie open a big present

"Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Jan"

Aunty Cat, Uncle Alex and Uncle Jim were all working on Christmas Day so dinner was at Grandpa and Grandma Jan's; 

Maisie was privileged to be seated at the head of the table

Maisie in deep thought trying to work out one of Mummy's jokes

Maisie really enjoyed seeing her Grandpa and getting a long overdue cuddle; 

A big thumbs up from Maisie for Grandpa's cuddle

Maisie loved seeing all the family and as usual seemed to be happy with the boys/men rather than the girls. It was big cuddles and smiles for Uncle Alex as soon as Maisie saw him as it was for Uncle Jim and for Grandpa. 

This upset Aunty Cat a little as she felt she was missing out on cuddles - however with a little bribery Aunty Cat got her cuddle - which lead to many more; 

Aunty Cat loving her cuddles

Even when Maisie got home the presents kept coming; 

Composing a tune on her new piano

 A very spoiled and very loved Amazing Maisie had a Wonderful Christmas

All those pictures of Maisie eating in the previous post and Daddy forgot to put this amazing photo on;

It's been a great week and with all the food Maisie is eating she is developing rapidly and turning into a wee toddler;

"Don't worry I'm not up to anything I shouldn't be!"

"Ooh look at my slippers they've got purple elephantsh on"

Maisie visited Aunty Eleanor and Uncle Carl at the weekend;

"I'd like to listen to  this cd please" 

"hang on, I've changed my mind" 

An Amazing thing happened at the weekend; 

MY AMAZING MAISIE IS WALKING!

Maisie is on the go, unaided and there's not stopping her;

Maisie does look a little funny as she walks around as she is usually waving her hands in the air.

Today Father Christmas visited all the boys and girls at Maisie's Development Centre - she not sure what it's all about but since meeting him Maisie now has an  interest in any presents that are lying around the house.

"Thank you for my present Father Christmas!"

Maisie couldn't drink her milk for laughing at Mummy's Christmas Jumper

Aunty Cat has got Maisie a Christmas Jumper too - wonder if she'll find it as funny as Mummy's

We're all really looking forward to Christmas, seeing Auntys, Uncles and Cousins........ and if you like Mummy's jumper wait until until you see what Daddy will be wearing.

Maisie is over her chest infection and is as strong as ever - probably because she loves her food;

"Daddy! I've told you not to take pictures of me when I'm eating" 

As you can see Maisie's skills are developing especially when it comes to eating.

Concentrating on using her flatware

and then giving up as it's much easier to use fingers

Mummy was working all weekend but Maisie still had a great time making up for lost time with Daddy.

They had a wonderful time catching up. Maisie and Daddy got a lift to St Andrews from Meghan to have a coffee and visit some shops to get inspiration for Mummy's Christmas presents. 

It was the last time that Meghan would drive Daddy to St. Andrews as a learner. 

Maisie loved her ride in Meghan's wee car. 

as Meghan passed her driving test this week - Well Done Meghan!

Then Maisie went out for a walk with Daddy and Megan, while they were out they bumped into Sophie at the park; 

Maisie is eating really well and we all enjoy our evenings around the dining table.

Maisie particularly loves Daddy's Yorkshire Pudding; 

"What's that jug of gravy doing on the table Daddy?
I bet my Gran would have disapproved  if she was here to see it!"

And Daddy's Pasta;

back to fingers - it's easier than using a fork when eating spaghetti  

Maisie just seems to love food!

It's been a while since the last blog, the two main reasons for this are that Daddy has been busy away at work and also the fact that our Broadband was down for a few days.

Maisie painting Daddy a picture for when he gets home

Daddy is finding it difficult being away from Maisie - some days he leaves for work before Maisie wakes up and there are also days when Maisie is already in bed when Daddy gets home.

"Daddy this is one of the best present you've given me"

I guess that's another reason why there's been a delay in the blog - Daddy's not seen Maisie so has nothing to write about. Who'd have thought the day would come that Daddy wanted Maisie to wake up early.

Maisie digging in to Daddy's Mince and Tatties

Daddy still sneaks into Maisie's room and reads her a story - being careful not to wake her as Mummy wouldn't be very happy.

"That's my mouth full!"

As you can see Maisie is still eating well. We aren't sure how much she weighs and Maisie wasn't too happy with the way Zach tried to find out;

"really Zach? I thought that this was for pigs!"

Uncle Matthew and Aunty Alison were over from Italy, Maisie was glad to see Alison but couldn't quite cope with the mustache that Matthew was growing for Movember.  

"Please don't make me look at Uncle Matthew" 

It was a busy weekend, next on the agenda was a visit to see Aunty Eleanor and Uncle Carl.

enjoying a trip out in the car

Not sure that Maisie should be left alone with Uncle Carl look at the mess, and what's that Maisie's playing with; 

"Uncle Carl - this is the biggest box of matches I've ever seen!"

Maisie wasn't feeling well this week - a chest infection required a trip to the doctors for some antibiotics. Maisie chest wasn't very good at all, very wheezy and rattlely. 

Maisie got comfort from her bottle

It was touch and go whether Maisie would need a visit to the hospital. Still being on oxygen at night gave Maisie a helping hand and as Maisie is getting bigger and stronger she fought off the infection after a few days. 

and was soon back to enjoying herself

Maisie and Megan are getting closer and closer each day - they seem to be helping each other get over their separation from their Dad. 

Inseparable!

Loving Mindy's hat

Maisie was back at the Childrens Development Centre after a wee break for half term. You may remember that Maisie went up a class as she is becoming a big girl.



It was a big day for Mummy as Maisie took the bus to the centre. This was Maisie's first trip without any of the family since her Glasgow trip when she was only weeks old.

"faster, like Daddy please Mr Bus driver!"

Maisie got a wee bit upset on the journey there when she eventually realised that Mummy wasn't on the bus, she also got a wee bit upset as lunch time and didn't want to sit with anyone so sat at a wee table on her own.

Overall though it was a successful trip and Maisie had a great time - she can't wait until her next visit.

Maisie missed Zach last week as he was away on a holiday last week -she made sure that he made up for it with lots of games and stories;

Zach stuck reading books for Maisie

With Daddy back at work and away two nights Maisie was really miserable and even off her food; 

"bring on breakfast!"

"mmm, I love lunchtime"

Maisie is sleeping better this week although she has her oxygen back on. It's a shame but worth it for everyone to get a good nights sleep.

and still eating...........

"what shall we do next?"

"if Daddy could see me now"

"I love it when Nanny McT takes me to the park"

Maisie missed Daddy almost as much as he missed her;

"Daddy gets home and this is how he dresses me"

tired out after a busy week missing Daddy

the sudden realisation

On Thursday it eventually hit Daddy, hard and somewhere deep in his tummy - the sudden realisation that this was the last week that Maisie and Daddy would have together before Daddy goes back to the world of employment.

It will most likely be the last week for a long while that Daddy and Maisie will spend so much time together. Life will be changing in a big way for both of them.

Daddy felt very emotional.

Maisie doesn't seem to understand that she'll not see so much of her Daddy and so doesn't seem to be upset in the same way - next Monday will be a very different day!

lunch at Grandpa and Grandma Jan's

Maisie has been busy as usual, she had an extremely enjoyable weekend down in Yorkshire visiting family;

Playing with Uncle Jim

fighting off Aunty Cat's kittens

learning from Gracie

annoying Charlie

lots of fun playtime with Aunty Rhona

loving stories told by Aunty Cat

more playtime at Gracie's 7th Birthday party

Maisie is continuing to eat well. Maisie was weighed this week and weighs in at exactly 8kg which is 17lbs 10oz and is 72cm high, 2ft 4.

"mmm what else is there to eat?"

Maisie met with her consultant on Wednesday, he's very happy with her progress off the oxygen. Daddy mentioned that before coming off the oxygen Maisie slept through every night but unfortunately since then has not had a good nights sleep. Maisie wakes up Mummy and Daddy several times a night.

avoiding bedtime using her cousins as an excuse

It is probably psychological as Maisie is not comfortable without her tubes - she feels like she's missing something.

It was decided so to help Maisie sleep (and Mummy and Daddy too) that her tubes would be put back on at bedtime without the oxygen.

Great in theory but not so great in practice, Maisie enjoyed it for about 5 minutes before tearing them off. We will persevere to see if we can get a decent nights sleep.

Maisie gave Aunty Cat a neck massage in return for all the stories

Maisie is very close to walking, she can walk around the house holding on to things, she's also able to stand by herself.

After all the time Daddy has spent with Maisie her first steps will most likely be the first day they are apart!

Maisie is now saying a few words quite clearly and is also having conversations with us which we don't understand, much to her frustration.

Daddy with his wee Smiler! 

At least Daddy can go off to work knowing that Maisie is able to call out his name to tell everyone how much she is missing him!