Maisie is growing and developing so quickly at the moment, you only need to blink and everything has changed. It's all happening so fast. It may seem to followers of Maisie's blog that there hasn't been a blog for ages (8 days) but to Daddy it feels like he just wrote a blog a couple of days ago.

Last week Maisie had a sleepover - there was even less sleep than usual:

Maisie played in her cot until late

Maisie is so aware of what is happening all around and knew fine that she was at the hospital. All the nurses were coming in to see her and Maisie had no interest in going to sleep - it was nearing 10.30 before she looked like she would go down.

Maisie's oxygen saturation was very good and so it was decided, just like her last visit to turn off her oxygen.

The last time this happened Maisie went for about 20 minutes without. This time her saturation dropped a lot more slowly and Maisie lasted a full 6 hours without the support of her oxygen.

When it got turned back on her oxygen saturation was still very close to the required level. It was very exciting and Daddy couldn't get any sleep for thinking what it would be like for Maisie to go home without her tubes. It would be Amazing!

It must be all the fresh air that's helping Maisie's lungs

You've got to wonder what Maisie would think about it. Maisie has always had her tubes and may miss having them.

Maisie's lungs are definitely growing and getting stronger. Maybe the next visit could be the one where Maisie goes home without her tubes.

Mummy still needs her Learner plates on for pushing the buggy

Daddy was reminded by one of the consultants that winter was coming and that we should all remember how vulnerable Maisie is to infection. Every visit to the hospital brings it back home exactly what Maisie's condition is - we all forget as we are so used to Maisie's wheezy ways and the tubes that run around the house.

Maisie's not to bothered about the bumpy ride - it's lots of fun! 

Maisie also had a meeting with her dietitian and once again she is very happy with Maisie's progress. Maisie is now 16 lbs 8 oz - 7.5kg and is 2 ft 4 inchs - 71cm tall. Maisie is about the size of a 12 month old which is good and shows she's catching up. If Maisie had been born on time her first anniversary would have been celebrated on the 28th August.

Since limiting Maisie's special milk Maisie is starting to become much more adventurous with her food and also tries to use her cutlery;

"look what I can do! "

And she's very pleased with herself;

"Look, I got most of it in my mouth" 

Don't be fooled by the photographs - Maisie misses her mouth most of the time and her dinner is usually in her hair and all over the floor and all over the table and all over the wall and all over the curtains and even all over  the dog.

Maisie only gets into this kind of mess when Mummy isn't around - Mummy doesn't like mess!

Maisie is so active now that you need to keep your eye on her constantly to see what she's up to. Megan still keeps an eye on Maisie but has learnt to keep her distance a little as Maisie is much quicker at crawling and enjoys pouncing on poor Megan.

Megan knows exactly where she needs to be. 

Although we'd like Maisie to be off the oxygen it is quite handy having her tubes trail behind her so we can locate her quickly. One of her favorite places to hide is behind the settee;

"How did you find me?"

Maisie does like to get around and can often be found much further afield;

"It's very tiring crawling along this polished  floor Daddy!" 

We'll need to tie dusters to Maisie's knees.

Mummy isn't the only one to use L-plates. This week was Meghan's 17th Birthday, something that we've been reminded about constantly over the last 2 months -  finally the time has come. Be warned Meghan is now driving!

After seeing the price of driving lessons Daddy has decided that he really must look for a job and get back into some form of employment!

no more peace

That's it all over, no more peace in our house, Maisie has worked out how to go from lying down to sitting - there will be no stopping her now.

"look what I can do!" 

Maisie is on the move and is dashing across the living room on her hands and knees and then climbing up the coffee table to stand up. Maisie is not yet walking around the coffee table but is giving it a good go.
It's quite amusing when Maisie forgets that she needs to hold on. Maisie lets go to clap her hands as she is so happy with herself and promptly falls on to her bottom.

Now Maisie is mobile she can help Mummy fix Nanny T's back

As Maisie is on the move it was decided that there would be a wee change to her play area;

"what's happened to my mat?"

Don't worry we don't keep her in there all the time, she's free to come and go as she wishes unless we need to leave the room when the gates gets closed for a short period of time. 

Well, we say free to come and go however Megan has been herding Maisie back in to give her a little piece. Megan seems to be the main focus of Maisie's attention as she roams around the floor. 

Megan; "I'll only let her out if she throws my ball for me" 

 

Maisie had her first trip to the Edinburgh Festival, it was a beautiful day so Mummy put Maisie in  a lovely frock. While in Edinburgh, Daddy met up with some old friends and Maisie met up with some of her new friends.

This was the first time Anna and her Uncle Neil
had met Maisie

Uncle Neil seemed to be a hit with all the children;

could Uncle Neil be a new attraction at the Fringe? 

Maisie didn't want to choose a show to see as she was happy just to sit in the beer garden;

Maisie remembered what Grandpa had taught
 her while she was on holiday in the Lakes.

Monday and the holidays are over so it was back to the Children's Development Centre. There have been big changes with Maisie since she was last there and she was very good at showing off her skills - especially her clapping.

Afterwards Maisie and Daddy popped to the supermarket to pick up some messages for Meghan who was having friends around for dinner. Daddy usually gets a home delivery so this was very exciting for Maisie. While there Maisie bumped into one of the nurses from her ward - it was a lovely surprise.

"faster Daddy!" 

Maisie goes through stages of not developing and then developing very quickly - she's definitely having a spurt in her development at the moment. This means that she's keeping Daddy very busy but thankfully means that she is tiring herself out. Maisie was so busy taking everything in during a walk that she fell asleep just as Daddy pushed her into the driveway - ahh....20 mins of peace.

One of the rare occasions that allowed
Daddy some time to himself 

She was also tired out as she'd kept Mummy and Daddy up all night with a sore mouth - one of her top teeth is just cutting through.

Maisie is determined to get around but has still not figured out how best to go about it - she'll happily walk if you hold her hands and is able to pull herself up onto her feet. Maisie will also get onto her hands and feet from sitting but no crawling however she still needs to work out how she goes from lying to sitting  - she's almost there.

The only way Maisie currently moves is by getting on her hands and knees, reaching as far as she can and then sitting up and then repeating the whole process of reaching again.

This has just started to happened and you can imagine Daddy's shock after putting her down for a minute on her mat to find her sitting in the middle of the floor;

Megan -  " I tried to stop her Dad but there was nothing I could do!"

Looks like the playpen will be put to use very soon. Maisie has been reading the Hungary Caterpillar so may have taken some tips from the book on how to move.

It's hard to describe the changes in Maisie recently but she is really starting to turn into a toddler and is so full of life constantly on the go. It's Amazing!

This weekend was much quieter than last, well it couldn't have been nosier.

The weather continued to be good so Maisie went on an outing around Loch Leven with Mummy and Daddy to take Megan for a long walk and a swim - this was followed by afternoon tea;

Maisie enjoying a piece of shortbread

Maisie is starting to try different foods and enjoying them too, she isn't getting much choice on the matter as instructed by her dietitian and she now on 3 feeds a day with some snacks in between. Maisie is hungrier and so more willing to try new flavours.

When Maisie got home she asked to visit Mrs Arroll next door - we didn't know that it was just to see if she had any food on offer;

"please Mrs Arroll, please can I have one more Rich Tea?" 

Maisie's development is really coming on strongly after seeing all the other children over the last week and celebrate this Maisie congratulated herself with a round of applause - that's right Maisie has starting clapping her hands together.

This has delighted her brother Zach who is taking all the credit as he's been teaching her to do this for weeks.

Maisie had wee treat this week and got to sit in the front of Daddy's car as he had a full load in the back. Maisie really enjoyed sitting up front but don't worry she's safely in the back where she belongs. She was clapping but again Daddy's photography wasn't at it's best and he missed it.

"don't tell Mummy" 

As Maisie has been learning so much from other youngsters Mummy decided that we should take advantage of everyones good health and set up some playdates the first of which was with Nicole - a great time was had, in fact everyone had so much fun that Daddy forgot to take pictures - again! 

first birthday

Daddy is determined to get his blog up to date and now only has a week to catch up on.

After a relaxing Tuesday Maisie's busy schedule recommenced. Last Wednesday, the 31st Maisie had a birthday party to attend;

Mummy dressed Maisie in a party frock

It was the 1st Birthday of Innes, who was another of Maisie's roommates from the hospital, this was Maisie's first proper birthday party she'd been invited to. 

"it's not fair, I gave Innes a card with a gift and he takes my toys!"

It was a lovely gathering and Maisie really enjoyed meeting all the other children - Thank you for the invite. 

The whole party almost sitting still for a group photo. 

Maisie has seen a lot of children over the last week and it was very noticeable that she was taking in everything around her. Usually Maisie doesn't get to meet so many other children due to risk of infection. Luckily with the great weather nobody is ill at the moment (apart from someone who was missed from the BBQ) so Maisie hasn't been in a position to catch the lurgy . 

Mummy and Daddy will need to remember to be more careful as winter comes upon us. 

Sunday morning and Daddy, Maisie, Ella and Ava were all up early getting ready to go to the Highland Games but there were a lot of people not so willing and still in bed.

The smell of bacon rolls soon arose those snoozing and it was off to see if the Highland Games were still on as it had started raining during the nights and it didn't look like stopping any time soon.

Unfortunately the games were cancelled so it was a trip to the Sea Life Centre at St Andrews instead. Maisie had been here previously with Charlie and Gracie and warned Ella and Ava about the shark that had eaten them up - of course they took no heed of their wee cousins tale and managed to get themselves eaten by a shark too;

Ella praying she'd get swallowed whole and not bitten 

being eaten by a shark looks painful

The day brightened up and as Ella and Ava had their wellies on they decided to join in the show down at the harbour in St Monans;

Luckily, on Monday the weather had resorted to the normal beautiful weather the East Neuk expects and so it was off to the beach for a picnic and a day exploring rock pools. Ella, Ava, Uncle Alex and Daddy found lots of interesting things including Hermit Crabs and Starfish.

it was a beautiful day!

Maisie enjoyed being at the beach especially when it came to lunchtime and the large picnic that Daddy had prepared was presented to her;

Meghan helped Maisie with her sandwiches

Maisie thought that she'd stay with her sister at the beach as she was getting well looked after.

"mmm...what else is there to eat?"

Maisie wasn't sure that she like eating Sandwiches with sand in

You'll be pleased to know that Maisie did take a break from eating and spent some time with her Aunty Cat

...wait a minute is Maisie still eating? 

This is a lovely picture reminding Daddy how similar Maisie looks to Aunty Cat when she was wee. 

The beach was great until thunder was heard as so it was decided to get shelter from the storm that was brewing at the local ice cream shop (where Meghan works). 

Maisie and Daddy were not happy they'd
been forced off the beach by the weather

On Tuesday Aunty Cat, Uncle Alex, Ella and Ava departed back to England leaving the house very quiet. Daddy thought that Maisie would be a nightmare after all the cuddles and attention she'd be receiving from everyone over the weekend. 

It was quite the opposite, Maisie seemed to enjoy the peace and quiet and of course having her Daddy all to herself again. 

it's so busy

Maisie has been very busy lately which means so has Daddy and because he delays writing Maisie's blog more and more needs to be written which leads to Daddy needing more time to write the blog, time which he doesn't have. It then becomes a rather long story instead of a quick blog!

Blogs are meant to be written regularly so Daddy will need to change his routine  - little and often.

Maisie is developing quickly at the moment and takes up more and more of everybodies time.

On Wednesday 24th August Maisie had a routine visit to the consultant who was once again very happy with Maisie. The consultant didn't really say very much at all just sat and watched Maisie as she showed him all the things that she's been learning to do.

Maisie got a lovely surprise while at the hospital; the wee girl who had roomed with Maisie on the SCBU ward for quite a long time also had an appointment;

Maisie's roomy and sisters reunited

While at the hospital Maisie met with the dietitian. Daddy and Mummy had nothing to worry about as the dietitian was very pleased with Maisie's weight and height. Maisie now weighs in at 7.44 kg 16lbs 6oz and is 2ft 3inches or 69.5cms.

Maisie's unvaried diet was discussed and the dietitian suggested cutting back on Maisie's milk, feeding her less often to encourage her to try different foods. We are not to worry if Maisie loses a little weight while we try this as according to the dietitian Maisie has "plenty in reserve".

Maisie is to have 3 meals a day just like anyone else with a couple of snacks inbetween. Not the 6 feeds a day she was getting.

Thursday it was back to the hospital for a visit to the eye doctor, all was good and Maisie wasn't quite so upset to see him as last time.

Then off to collect Mummy and Meghan.

It was an extra busy week for Daddy as Mummy and Meghan were down in London living the high life with Aunty Rhona. They dined out, watched the show Aunty Rhona is staring in; One Man Two Guvnors  http://www.onemantwoguvnors.com/ watched another show, were at The Ivy in the private room, out shopping.
They had a very busy schedule and were exhausted when they eventually touched down at Edinburgh Airport and extremely pleased to see Maisie;

Happy to be back together

It does need to be noted that Mummy and Meghan remembered that Daddy was there about ten minutes later once he'd been and got them a coffee and only then did he get a hug - poor Daddy!


Friday was the start to a very busy weekend. It began with Maisie receiving a postcard from Alfie, Olivia and Harry who had been holidaying in Portugal;

Maisie did read her postcard before screwing it up
and chewing on it

Then Maisie took the dietitians advise and had a snack;

"just crisps and water?"

Followed very quickly by another snack;

Maisie is getting better at using her spoon. 

Then Joshua came around to play;

where's Maisie? 

and another snack..............

"mmm.... dunkers"

We'll need to keep on eye on how much Maisie is eating.

Then Aunty Cat and Uncle Alex arrived. They came with Maisie's cousins Ella and Ava who were visiting Scotland for the very first time. The plan was to go to the St. Andrews Highland Games on Sunday.

This was bound to be a weekend of lots of fun and lots of cuddles for Maisie.

Uncle Alex and Ava start off the cuddleathon

When there's a house full Daddy keeps everyone fed and watered and of course Maisie didn't want to miss out on the chance to try more food;

"you'd better leave me some pasta Uncle Alex or there'll be trouble"

After a lot of food it was decided to take an evening stroll along the coast where Ella and Eva had a fantastic treat - dolphins playing in the sea. It was an amazing sight watching them jump out of the water just down by the church. It's a shame that Daddy's photograph skills aren't a little better;

just after the dolphins had been jumping around 

There were even more people to feed on Saturday because in honour of her cousins visiting Maisie had invited friends and family to a BBQ;

The garden starting to look like a pub garden

It was great to see so many people and Maisie was pleased to meet more of the family. The MacMurchie's from the Isle of Man came to visit with the rest of the Clan;

A happy bunch

They weren't just there for Maisie though - it also happened to be Grand Uncle Bills 70th Birthday;

Seven candles were enough

A while ago Daddy made a lovely wee bit at the end of the garden with table and chairs made out of logs for the children to use;

the "big" children seemed to enjoy the childrens area

Maisie really enjoyed her day and was especially taken by one of her visitors;  Ruairidh is Maisie's first crush and she did almost crush him a couple of time - not sure if Maisie was giving Ru hugs of whether she was practicing her rugby tackling. 

Maisie, once again about to launch at Ruairidh

Mummy needs to have a word with Maisie about throwing herself at boys.

Unfortunately as usual Daddy was very busy and in between flipping burgers and sipping beer only managed to take a few photos so if anyone has any good ones please send them his way.

It was a really amazing day - Thank you to everyone who came.