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.

a short break

It is quite a chore to get Maisie to eat different foods and so lunchtime has now become messytime to encourage Maisie to try lots of foods and tastes. Maisie enjoys getting messy but is still not eating a very varied diet.

Maisie enjoying playing with Pasta

Maisie has been enjoying the fantastic weather ;

It's lots of fun playing outside especially now there are more balls in her ball pit.

"I might get lost in here" 

Ar the weekend Maisie took a short break in the Lake District with Grandpa and Grandma Jan. It was really lovely to see them and Maisie enjoyed catching up on all the cuddles she'd been missing out on.

Maisie loves cuddles

Maisie's weekend at the caravan was a little like being at home;

lots of play on her mat;

Meghan was very protective over Maisie
and was close by the whole time

lots of walks;

Maisie found all the walking very easy

lots of food;

"is this all I'm getting? "

and of course a wee drink;

Grandpa! 

It was a really busy weekend and for once Maisie slept in the car on the way home;

enjoying a quick nap to recuperate after a busy weekend

The physio is happy with Maisie's progress and says that Maisie is capable of doing all the movements required to move from lying to sitting, to being on her hands and knees, to being on her knees and to being able to stand - she just isn't connecting how to do it yet.

It's a little bit like when Maisie had to be taught to pick things up. We needed to show her the item, place it in her hand, close her hand around it etc.

It's just a matter of time and lots of homework and Maisie will soon connect it all together.

"I'll soon work out how to open this gate!"

Maisie and Daddy had another sleep over at the weekend which once again resulted in very little sleep. Maisie's oxygen saturation was high and so the nurses turned down Maisie's oxygen straight away. It was turned down to a flow of 0.1 litres. Maisie coped very well at this level and so the nurses tried Maisie without any oxygen.  All was well for about half an hour or so and then Maisie's oxygen saturation started to drop so it was back onto 0.1 litres.

"what do you mean I should be sleeping?
The alarms are keeping  me awake!"

Maisie left the hospital on 0.1l which is fantasic. The consultant will be happy when he sees her next week.

The wonderful weather is continuing in the East Neuk of Fife and so Maisie decided to she'd like to go to Elie Summer Fayre with Darcy. It was quite busy so Maisie decided that she be better sitting in a quiet corner of the pub garden.

Maisie was more interested in her toys than having a beer. 

Maisie - still more interested in her toy 

There were special visitors to see Maisie all the way from Italy. Matthew and Alison couldn't wait to see Maisie and once more she was spoiled with cuddles;

Alison waited very patiently for a cuddle but Matthew wasn't letting go! 

looking very stylish

Maisie tried Mummy's noodles this week in an attempt to vary her diet - although not successfully. This could be because Maisie still prefers porridge and wotsits or could be because she can't use chop sticks;

"it's no good Daddy, I can only hold one at a time" 

Maisie put the chop sticks to better use as drum sticks. 

Maisie loves playing and is really appreciative of all the toys that she has. All Maisie's visitors comment on how many she has and they only see what Maisie is currently playing with! Daddy and Mummy were looking through all her toys and were a little ashamed to see that they had only contributed a toy car (from Daddy), a teething ring and some books.

Maisie loves her toys and makes good use of them all
even using them to perch on

All her toys and books are useful to help Maisie with her development and as Maisie gets bored quite quickly being able to rotate her toys helps to keep her stimulated. (No comments on where she gets her short attention span from please).

There have been quite a few visitor popping by this week;

Tanya is visiting from the States and brought Maisie some lovely gifts ;

an International visitor

Then Mrs Arroll came around to play;

Maisie loves playing with Meghan and her ball

Meghan is always around Maisie making sure that she is safe although it may look like she's only around to help Maisie eat her biscuits. Mummy caught Maisie stretching out to hand a rusk to Meghan the other day which Meghan was very tempted with however managed to resist long enough for Mummy to ensure that it didn't happen. Meghan has been told that the only food deemed "fair game" is food dropped on the floor.

Maisie; " why can't I feed Meghan?"
Meghan; "why can't Maisie feed me?" 

It's been beautiful weather and Maisie has been making the most of getting out and about and spent an afternoon with Mummy and Megan - some shopping was involved and it was decided that Maisie need to be accessorised to keep her curls out of the eyes;

Aunty Eleanor loved the flowers in Maisie's hair

Daddy and Zach aren't so sure that Maisie likes it as much as everyone else.

"are you sure I don't look silly?"