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.
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