Anna was released from hospital today and looked quite well when we visited yesterday if rather tired, understandably. She is going to find it hard to relax and since returning home she has already rearranged her social life, phoning all her friends to announce that she would be unable to attend certain festive parties as well as updating them with her news. She is also worrying herself over her medication as they have taken her off the tablets she was taking for her arthritis in case of any complications and she is naturally worried about how this will affect her mobility. Probably not the rest that the staff were envisioning.
   Today is also Joshua's ninth birthday and we had a pub meal in the Brinkburn minus Anna, which upset Joshua a little as he pointed out that it was the first birthday he had celebrated without his Granny. He managed to console himself by opening presents and playing with his new DS game.
   I was a little startled the other morning when I got up and passed Bethany's room en route to the bathroom to hear her say "Dadadadadad". A not uncommon phrase for her to express and one that filled me with joy the first time I heard her say it until she then addressed the headboard in a like manner and has become a catch all utterance she makes usually when happy or wanting something. Much to Alison's chagrin her other favourite is "Mamamamamam" but this tends to be when she is upset or about to cry. Recently it sounds like she is trying to copy what you say but the only other distinct(ish) words we heard previously were, enigmatically "Barbara" and "Derek". We have yet to establish who these people are. Anyway the other morning - fearing that she had woken up I gingerly peeked in to see that she was still fast asleep and had taken to talking in her sleep. She can be noisy enough when awake, now she is not even going to let us have any respite when she sleeps.