Just hanging out before bedtime. Eyes rolling in the spirit of the festive season.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Forever Blowing Bubbles
One of Louis' Christmas gifts was a bubble machine, so we got it out this morning while waiting for Pat and John to turn up. It was a perfect bubble day, with barely a breath of wind. Both of them loved the bubbles, I think this machine will see a bit of action in the coming months...
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Not Many Christmas Photos
We've hardly taken any pictures this festive season. Something to do with preferring to participate rather than observe, I suspect. Here are a sprinkling from our cameras. Suffice to say Santa brought Louis a drum kit, which he's taking to like a duck to water, and which is (bizarre though it seems) preferable to the sound of kitchen utensils on saucepans. Holly got a proper pink bike with tassels and everything, and we took her down to Cramond to practise on the promenade before retiring for an ice cream. Christmas at the Millars was much better documented by Niall here and dad here, and I'm planning to fill the gaps in our coverage by nicking John's pictures in due course. Watch this space.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Cold in Coldingham
Kate and Mick had taken a cottage for Christmas near Coldingham, so we popped down to visit them, take in a bit of lunch, and explore the environs. Pictured are Louis and Helen at Coldingham Bay, but we also visited St Abbs. It was getting dark so we didn't make it out to the Head, but we did have a nice stroll round the picturesque harbour. Louis is sporting the rather splendid hat Kate & Mick gave him for Christmas.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Happy Birthday To Me!
This here is a 2009 Santa Cruz Heckler. It's a US mountain bike with 6" of suspension fore and aft, and will set you back £2700 or thereabouts. Probably more, now that the pound's so weak. I'm not foolish enough to spend that amount of money on a bike though, so instead I took some left over birthday money and rented one at Glentress. And what a splendid ride it was. My confidence buoyed by the bike's "magic carpet" properties over the bumps, I misguidedly tried the new wall ride. And fell off. Ah well, there's no substitute for skill after all...
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Edinburgh's Christmas
Saturday afternoon, and after Louis' nap (and therefore in the dark) we popped into Princes St Gardens to see Santa's reindeer, but couldn't see Rudolf with his red nose. We investigated Santa's tent - erm - grotto, and the great man himself was there, telling stories and emphatically not dishing out presents. Finally, we took a ride on Santa's train, which trundles up and down the gardens for festive amusement. It's all part of the extended celebration and retail opportunity known as Edinburgh's Christmas.
Another Day, Another Tree
After ballet, we dropped in on Grandma & Papa so that Holly could fulfill their tree-decorating date. I went shopping at Asda in the meantime.
End Of Term
Last ballet class of the year for Holly, and as a special treat one parent is allowed to come along and watch. It's not a performance as such, just a chance to see what goes on. Helen went along, and noticed that Holly wasn't perhaps paying as much attention as she might normally. Something to do with having an audience! See below for a wee collection of video clips, with apologies for the odd transition sounds.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Whoops A Daisy Angel!
Friday afternoon, and Helen and I endured both stormy weather and about 3,000 fellow proud parents to get to Holly's nursery nativity play, titled Whoops A Daisy Angel!
Holly played a snowflake (the eponymous angel is a bit incompetent, so is relegated to counting snowflakes), and performed her role with great aplomb, smiling throughout, singing the right words, doing the right dance (those ballet lessons paid off!), and most importantly remembering to leave the stage when she was finished.
Louis joined in too, taking the stage to point at Holly and announce "Holly" to the assembled parents, only two of whom (at a rough estimate) found this enormously humourous and endearing.
In case you're wondering, Whoops A Daisy redeems herself when she's given a very special job guiding wise men, shepherds and other highly suggestible types to a lowly cattle shed somewhere in Palestine.
Holly played a snowflake (the eponymous angel is a bit incompetent, so is relegated to counting snowflakes), and performed her role with great aplomb, smiling throughout, singing the right words, doing the right dance (those ballet lessons paid off!), and most importantly remembering to leave the stage when she was finished.
Louis joined in too, taking the stage to point at Holly and announce "Holly" to the assembled parents, only two of whom (at a rough estimate) found this enormously humourous and endearing.
In case you're wondering, Whoops A Daisy redeems herself when she's given a very special job guiding wise men, shepherds and other highly suggestible types to a lowly cattle shed somewhere in Palestine.
Monday, December 15, 2008
The Millar Family Tree
Pat and Holly decorated it on Monday. I'm inordinately proud of the star, I made it a few years ago from cardboard and tinfoil in line with the Millar family tradition.
Scottish Dressing
Monday, and life is more or less back to normal. Helen's back at work, and I'm at home with the kiddies. The Royal Scottish Museum is closed for refurbishments, so we went next door to the Museum of Scotland, where you can dress up as all sorts of characters from Scottish history, from Roman and Viking invaders through medieval nobility to 18th century émigrés. And to cap it all - literally - we went out onto the roof to get a novel but chilly view of Edinburgh.
As you can see, Louis is on top form and generally running around as if nothing has happened...
As you can see, Louis is on top form and generally running around as if nothing has happened...
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Jingle Trombones
Surreal Christmas moment with the Lismore Millars this weekend. A family singalong of "Jingle Bells" accompanied by Calum on the trombone and Holly with an "interpretive" dance. Terrible phone video but worth a look:
Friday, December 12, 2008
There ain't no sanity clause
Friday, and Pat took Holly down to Ocean Terminal, there to meet Father Christmas, who had apparently made the journey from the north pole. Quite why he continued to wear his polar gear in an air-conditioned shopping centre is beyond me, the poor old geezer must have been roasting...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Miracle Boy
Two weeks ago, I took a day off work to look after Louis, who was off his food and had been sick and restless in the night. He perked up in the morning, but went rapidly downhill after a lunchtime nap. We rushed him to the Sick Kids, where the A&E doctor told us he was "desperately ill" as half a dozen doctors and nurses pumped his limp body full of oxygen, fluids and antibiotics. It was a terrifying time. They diagnosed meningococcal septicaemia, an infection of the blood by the bacterium responsible for meningitis. This was serious.
They were able to stabilise him, and he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit where he spent the night on a saline & glucose drip with an oxygen mask, being closely monitored by parents, nurses and machines alike. In the morning, he was in considerably better shape. Even the A&E doctor said he was "like a different boy". The first wee word that came out of his mouth was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.
Louis was moved to Ward 1, the general long-stay ward. After a shaky start he began the gradual road to recovery, with daily intravenous antibiotics and feeding through a nasal tube. Almost a week later, he was well on his way, back on oral milk and solids, and sitting up in bed chatting and playing happily. That's when Grandma Pat noticed his swollen knee. A secondary infection was suspected.
After an operation (under general anaesthetic) to drain and flush the knee, and to insert a surgical line in his neck (for the administration of IV antibiotics and removal of blood for testing), he was put on another course of heavy-duty antibiotics to clear up the knee infection, with some ongoing doubt over whether the infection had penetrated the bone.
On Monday this week, he had an X-ray and an ultrasound scan on his leg, which seemed to confirm that the bone was clear of infection. The day after, he was switched to oral antibiotics, which meant we could go home. Our wee boy still has a bit of a gammy knee, but it's getting better. He's tentatively walking and really quite happy in himself. He's still got four weeks' worth of oral antibiotics to look forward to, along with weekly follow-up checks with the orthopaedic team.
It's been quite an ordeal for him, but with a bit of luck he won't remember much of it. As a parent, it's tough to see your wee boy go through so much pain and anguish and not be able to explain it to him. Helen stayed with him for most of the two weeks, losing out on sleep and meals but unable to leave her wee boy's side for long.
One of the nurses who was on duty that fateful day in A&E saw Louis the following week and couldn't believe he'd recovered so well. She called him her wee miracle boy, and we feel exactly the same way. It was such a close thing, such a terrible, devastating thing, but he came through it, wee star that he is. We're all incredibly lucky.
Holly, in the meantime, was having a whale of a time with a series of sleepovers at Grandma Sheila's. We managed to get away and keep her (and our) spirits up with a series of outings and visits. She was brilliant throughout, taking it all in her stride, dressing up as "nurse Holly" and even making new friends at the hospital. After a while though, she was ready to come home and sleep in her own bed.
And now we all slowly return to normal life...
Niall has a couple of pictures here.
They were able to stabilise him, and he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit where he spent the night on a saline & glucose drip with an oxygen mask, being closely monitored by parents, nurses and machines alike. In the morning, he was in considerably better shape. Even the A&E doctor said he was "like a different boy". The first wee word that came out of his mouth was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.
Louis was moved to Ward 1, the general long-stay ward. After a shaky start he began the gradual road to recovery, with daily intravenous antibiotics and feeding through a nasal tube. Almost a week later, he was well on his way, back on oral milk and solids, and sitting up in bed chatting and playing happily. That's when Grandma Pat noticed his swollen knee. A secondary infection was suspected.
After an operation (under general anaesthetic) to drain and flush the knee, and to insert a surgical line in his neck (for the administration of IV antibiotics and removal of blood for testing), he was put on another course of heavy-duty antibiotics to clear up the knee infection, with some ongoing doubt over whether the infection had penetrated the bone.
On Monday this week, he had an X-ray and an ultrasound scan on his leg, which seemed to confirm that the bone was clear of infection. The day after, he was switched to oral antibiotics, which meant we could go home. Our wee boy still has a bit of a gammy knee, but it's getting better. He's tentatively walking and really quite happy in himself. He's still got four weeks' worth of oral antibiotics to look forward to, along with weekly follow-up checks with the orthopaedic team.
It's been quite an ordeal for him, but with a bit of luck he won't remember much of it. As a parent, it's tough to see your wee boy go through so much pain and anguish and not be able to explain it to him. Helen stayed with him for most of the two weeks, losing out on sleep and meals but unable to leave her wee boy's side for long.
One of the nurses who was on duty that fateful day in A&E saw Louis the following week and couldn't believe he'd recovered so well. She called him her wee miracle boy, and we feel exactly the same way. It was such a close thing, such a terrible, devastating thing, but he came through it, wee star that he is. We're all incredibly lucky.
Holly, in the meantime, was having a whale of a time with a series of sleepovers at Grandma Sheila's. We managed to get away and keep her (and our) spirits up with a series of outings and visits. She was brilliant throughout, taking it all in her stride, dressing up as "nurse Holly" and even making new friends at the hospital. After a while though, she was ready to come home and sleep in her own bed.
And now we all slowly return to normal life...
Niall has a couple of pictures here.
Monday, November 24, 2008
The Singing Chef
Monday, and while Louis slept Holly and I made spicy prawns à la Delia for tea. Holly is an excellent wee cook's helper, and pounded the spices while I peeled and chopped the tomatoes. She even sang while she worked, see the videos below.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Yes, but is it art?
Sunday, and we met up with the Evanses at the Gallery of Modern Art. After a short, wintry stroll around the grounds - pausing briefly at Conversation With Magic Stones - we retreated to the interior. There we found a few huge bells dangling from some beams, which Holly and Leo turned into an impromptu bedroom. Or something. We never did find out what it actually was...
Clowning Around
Clown Around has two unique attractions - trampolines and bubbles. Both of which are practically unphotographable with a mobile phone. Here's a blurry Louis enjoying himself among the falling bubbles though. I even managed to capture one solitary bubble...
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Every Picture Tells A Story
And this one is no exception. Out at the EICA at Ratho on Saturday, Louis was a bit grouchy (as is his wont at the moment - he's full of an ongoing cold) and took exception to Holly flaunting her alphabet biscuits in his vicinity. Needless to say we provided him with a similar snack, but not before I took the photo...
Monday, November 17, 2008
Lundi à la Lumière
Or, Monday with lights if you prefer. Off we went to Clown Around in the morning, where they have a new "light room" with "fibre optics". Holly and Louis enjoyed it anyway. Later that day, we took a ride on the carousel stationed outside Ocean Terminal for the Christmas season. It's only November, for crying out loud! After the carousel, Holly was keen to give the neighbouring roller coaster a try. "Fun for all the family" said the sign. Holly and Louis both started screaming - and not in a good way - at the first corner, and we went round what seemed like 20,000,000 times. Afterwards, Holly asked "why did it go so fast?"
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Digital Native
The one on the right, that is. Dave dropped by on Saturday to say hello, pick up Paula's wheel and get me to look at his malfunctioning bass amp. He also took the opportunity to show Holly a few pictures on his fancy-schmancy look-at-me iPhone (jealous, moi?) She loved it, and took to the multi-touch interface like a duck to water.
First Steps in Cross Dressing
Sometimes, Holly treats Louis more like one of her dollies than her wee brother. And so it was when she dressed him in one of her skirts. He didn't seem fazed by it at all.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
On The Phone
Auntie Kate phoned. Holly wanted to talk to her. So the pair of them were chatting away for a good while. Holly's quite the chatterbox on the phone these days, and paces around (like a Millar) while she's blethering away.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Pothead
Louis is obsessed with pots and pans. We tidy them away, but he goes straight to the cupboard and gets them right out again. If there's a wooden spoon to hand, the kitchenware becomes an ear-splitting drum kit. Without the spoon, the pots become building blocks, chairs, russian dolls and hats. And if he gets hold of the lids, he can spend what seems like hours happily trying every lid on every pot over and over again.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
November Skies
Sunday morning, and we visited the Evanses and took a wee stroll up Blackford Hill. More blue skies and sunshine, and glorious views of Edinburgh and the Forth spread out below us. Later in the day, we returned to Newhaven Harbour and strolled along to Ocean Terminal. The Forth was like a mill pond, the sunlight and the skies were spectacular, but it was a chilly outing and we enjoyed our drinkies and ice cream from the comfort of the Ocean Bar.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Up A Tree
Saturday, and a glorious sunny day with blue skies and sunshine. Chilly though, it is November after all. The apple tree, now cleared of its fruit and with its leaves turning to yellow, was Holly's perch of choice as we pottered in the garden. She climbed higher than ever before, and seemed really quite pleased with herself. She's incredibly brave and physically confident when she wants to be.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Mother and Daughter
A lovely (if slightly soft) picture of Helen and Holly, with Helen ready to head off to Paula & Dave's wedding. We didn't take many pictures of the wedding itself but there are a couple here that best men Fraser and Stuart used to conclude their multimedia enhanced speech.
Monday, October 20, 2008
When The Wind Blows
... go fly a kite. The weather on Monday was terrible, howling gales and freezing showers. So naturally we popped down to Silverknowes to fly a kite. Holly was on the point of giving up as we trooped heads-down into the tempest, but when we turned our backs to the wind and got the kite up, the weather melted away and the wee eskimo smile took over. My hands were freezing so I only took one picture. Earlier that day, I was moving the TV and things around, and Louis clambered up on the stand. He was more entertaining that anything else on TV that day ha ha ha!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Chores
Another Saturday morning, more chores. Holly's becoming a dab hand at the dishes, and Louis... well, Louis helps by rearranging the pots. Of course when I got the ladder out to check a leaky rone, they both wanted to be up there, so off they went. Louis has no fear, and no lack of confidence in his physical ability. He was up that ladder without so much as a hand to hold or a word of encouragement. Later on, Holly was up the apple tree again, although the apples are long gone.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Friday In The Park
A quick trip out to Davidsons Mains park on Friday with Helen. Cheery smiles to the fore.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Ballet Morning
A typical Saturday morning chez Millar. We get dressed and do some chores and sometimes some cooking. Holly goes to ballet then comes back and shows us what she learned. Then we pass the time until lunchtime reading, pottering and - sometimes - doing more chores.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Eight Miles High
Friday, and my third day with the kiddies in what has been a hectic week. The weather was rotten so we headed down to Molly's at Ocean Terminal, where we ran into Gill and Olivia, and Lesley and Luke. The kids disappeared into the climbing thingy while us adults ate cake and talked about grown-up stuff. Presently I became aware that I'd lost track of Louis. I wandered about the room looking for him, until Lesley and Gill pointed him out to me, up on the highest level of the climbing thingy and gazing down on us all like a snotty but benevolent toddler god.
Monday, October 06, 2008
The Sun Has Got His Hat On
We seem (whisper it) to be experiencing something of an indian summer. It's cool, but the sky is clear and the wind is light. Today we popped round to the park in Blackhall on Craigcrook Road. Holly played with the "local" kids, Louis climbed up and down the slides as he is wont to do, and they both fell off the see-saw when I tried (and failed) to get a nice picture.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Revolution!
It was an event rarer than eclipses, near-misses by asteroids and planetary alignments. On Sunday the Millar boys and their respective other halves and offspring gathered without the parents, who are still dodging their babysitting duties in Canada and other points west. Niall documented the event, click here to read his account.
This Means Something
Leo and the Evanses visited on Sunday. Leo and Holly disappeared upstairs and were rather quiet. I went up to investigate, and the floor, the wardrobes and every horizontal surface had been cleared and their contents piled onto Holly's bed. They were inordinately pleased with themselves. Guess who had to put it all back?
Monday, September 29, 2008
John Lodge at Cramond Brig
This is the only decent photo we have of the Lodges' visit last week. We took a wee stroll down to Cramond Brig too see the wee ponies, visit the playground and wander up the Almond to towards Cammo. This is the car park of the Cramond Brig Hotel, but the house in the background is Jock Howieson's house apparently.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Oh Dear, What A Waste!
Louis, bless him, used to enjoy removing bottles of wine from the rack and taking them through to the living room. He would put them all in a row, and then (sometimes) start to put them back. All very endearing until - perhaps inevitably - he dropped one.
It had to be a red, of course. A whole bottle's worth of red wine stain. We tried pouring white wine onto the stain. Nothing much happened. We tried salt. Nothing much happened. We tried more (cheaper this time) white wine and more salt and made some progress.
Suffice to say Louis doesn't get to play with the wine any more...
It had to be a red, of course. A whole bottle's worth of red wine stain. We tried pouring white wine onto the stain. Nothing much happened. We tried salt. Nothing much happened. We tried more (cheaper this time) white wine and more salt and made some progress.
Suffice to say Louis doesn't get to play with the wine any more...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Fraser's Birthday
Good grief, another year seems to have passed, and I am now the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything plus one. Helen and I both had the day off work, and we spent a nice family morning at EICA Ratho. After Louis' nap we revisited some old haunts in Victoria Park, then headed down to Pizza Express for dinner, where I appear to have turned into a grinning buffoon. Earlier in the week, Holly took a nice picture of Louis at breakfast, and on Friday Helen, Louis and Holly visited deepest East Lothian for a bit of clambering.
Monday, September 22, 2008
First Day Of Autumn ptII
Back at home in the afternoon, Holly scaled the apple tree to pick the few remaining fruits, while Louis sat in the gravel and painstakingly dropped wee stones into a plastic pot, one at a time. We stewed some apples for tea because we now have *millions* of the things.
First Day Of Autumn
According to Google, it's officially the first day of autumn. We didn't know that when we set out for the botanics on the bike this morning. Neither did the weather gods evidently, because it was glorious and summery. We explored, we got told off for climbing trees, we had a picnic near the redwood grove, we looked at the building site for the new visitor centre, and we came home. I arrived back at the house with two sleeping kiddies in the trailer.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Simple Country Folk
With the best weather we've had for weeks, we headed out to Hopetoun House for the Edinburgh Game and Country Fair. We hung out by the arena and watched falconry, gun dogs and sheep herding. Except there were no sheep (or other livestock) because of bluetongue, of which Scotland is apparently free, so it was goose herding. We had ice cream and beer, we saw archery and clay pigeon shooting. Holly had her face painted, and we all (your correspondent excepted) had a go on the carousel. It was, in short, a great family day out, helped enormously by the unseasonably glorious weather, and the wholesome, outdoorsy vibe. Strange mix of people mind you - a mixture of middle-class townies, posh country folk in the standard uniform of moleskins, check shirts and wellies, and more than a sprinkling of familes of chavs with jack russell terriers in tow. Dogs everywhere of course, which excited Louis enormously. Everything with four legs is a dog to Louis mind you. It was nice to see dogs in their - for want of a better word - natural environment, rather than being walked along the cycle paths of the city... we ended the day careering towards Helen, perched on the edge of the reflecting pond:
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Pirates and Princesses
Saturday, and we head off to Leo's "Pirates and Princesses" birthday party. Much fun was had, and the kiddies were great with a crowd of kids they didn't know that well. Back at home, after Louis' nap we took the bikes down to the wee playground at Cramond Brig before heading back for dinner and pre-bedtime frolics.
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Queen's Back Garden
Blog posts are like buses. You wait ages and two come along at once. Checked my phone today, lo and behold here are a few pictures from Monday, when Holly, Louis and I had a play date with Skye, Jasmin and Sarah. It was drizzling lightly and muddy underfoot, but we headed out to the Queen's Park to feed the ducks and swans. Louis got very excited about this indeed. Then we hiked up to St Anthony's Chapel for a sit down and a tasty biscuit. Sarah gave us all lunch, and then Holly didn't want to leave! Skye didn't want her to leave either so I left Holly there, took Louis home for a nap, and picked Holly and then Helen up at teatime so it all worked out very nicely indeed.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Oh Dear
I've been terrible remiss in my blog updates lately. In fact, I've been terribly remiss in my photographic coverage, so there hasn't even been anything to post! Here's a couple of snaps from last weekend. One in the park, and one of Holly sporting a rather fine toothpaste beard.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Apple Monday
Monday, and in between showers and hail storms, Sarah came round with Skye and Jasmin. The apple tree's been looking ripe and ready to go for a week or so now, so we decided to start the harvest. We've got about half the apples off the tree, of which about half were good and are now in storage. The rest were nibbled or scarred or providing homes to bugs, so we trimmed them and juiced them right out there in the garden, ending up with 3 litres of home-grown apple juice! The kids had a great time and it was all very good and wholesome and natural. In other Apple news (ahem), Holly's mouse skills are coming on apace, as she showed this morning when she spent a good chunk of time colouring in butterflies on Charlie and Lola's web site.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Said She Was A Dancer
Dance loomed large on the agenda today. This morning, Holly attended her first ballet class at the local Scout Hut. So enthused was she by the experience - and eager to return next week - that we headed into town to buy her a wee pink leotard, a little dance skirt and some ballet shoes. We also managed ice creams in Princes Street Gardens. Holly is over the moon, it's lovely to see her so engaged with the idea - we shall see how long it lasts!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Two Champions!
Ahem. This week, by virtue of being BT's "cycling champion" I met Chris Hoy, fresh from his clean sweep at the Beijing Olympics, and very much the man of the moment. He was doing some kind of London 2012 thing at BT, and I was ushered into the great man's presence for a photo-op. Like everyone else says, and just like he comes across on TV, he's a really nice, humble, down to earth guy. And an incredible cyclist. He even remembered me from the pre-Beijing Bike Breakfast. The event was commemorated in BT's house newspaper (online version) with a quote from me which was entirely made up by the writer - click to see it full-size and readable. Or here.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
August Catchup
Well, it's been a while. What with one thing and another, we've been remiss both in taking and posting pictures. Here's a wee catchup from the last couple of weeks, including bike trailering, showering, gardening, climbing hills and paddling at the parliament. Again.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Catalogue Man
Before the barbecue on Sunday, we popped round to the local park for a wee play on the climbing/sliding/clambering thing. Louis loves it here, and particularly enjoys climbing *up* the wee slide. Here he is in a pensive moment, gazing manfully towards the horizon and looking very grown-up in his wee 3/4 breeks and polo shirt.
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