An Easel For Ian

Over the weekend, we splurged again, this time on a double-sided art easel from Crayola.  The upright easel was supposed to aid in having the correct grip for writing, which Ian is still having trouble with most of the time.

There were 2 types available at Toyrus, an older model (that was going on sale at $79+), and the newest model which we finally got (no discount *sad*).  The older model appeared to have been made up of pieces that required assembly, plus a pivot drawing board.  The newest model was made up of a single piece and the 2 boards were fixed, and these were what we liked.  It was also taller than the other version, and we were glad to have made this choice as the height was just appropriate for Ian.

My only complaint was that the clip at the top did not hold the papers very well.  It was quite easy for Ian to pull the papers out.  Anyway, the 'investment' was not too bad, as we paid the majority of the price using Hubby's credit card points.V(^_^)

Great Find In Books!

Recently, a friend had strongly recommended books by Emily Gravett for Ian to read.  Hence, I made use of my very last Popular coupon to get a few, all for a hefty $80+:

• Orange Pear Apple Bear
• The Odd Egg
• Monkey and Me
• Dogs
• Blue Chameleon

I was pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of the books, which means that they are very suitable for Ian's level.  Unfortunately, most of them are in paperback and hence they must be used with supervision.

First Speech Therapy Session

Ian visited the speech therapist for the first time this morning.  Because it was the first session, the therapist mainly wanted to find out his profile and to get him warmed up in the room.  She also verified with me that there was no speech delay in our families.

She played bubbles with Ian and also taught me how to encourage him to say more.  I checked with her regarding his development and she was pretty sure that autism was ruled out in his case. 

Ian had managed to say "apple juice" (2 words, 3 syllables) just a few days ago.  So, in this session he managed to copy the therapist to say "try again" without much difficulty. Our current target was to get him to join 2 words together, until our next appointment, in which she would be doing an assessment with him.

Ian Goes to Farm!

Ian's school had a field trip to the Hays Dairy Farm this morning, and I accompanied him for the little excursion.

We reached school a little later than 8.30am and Ian even managed to grab a slice of sandwich before all the students set off.  As usual, Ian was a little cranky and so afraid that I would leave him there.  Perhaps it was partly because he had skipped school for the past few days due to a mild cough.

The coach ride was pretty enjoyable for Ian as he could enjoy the scenery along the way.  However, the journey was longer than I had expected.  Because the journey was rather long, I took out the raisin bun to see if Ian was feeling hungry.  He was, indeed, and finished a bun before we finally reached.

We were one of the firsts to reach the farm, but not long after we waited for other schoolmates, we saw students from other schools arriving.  It was lucky that we got to see the milking demonstration first.  The person from the farm explained to us the benefits of goat's milk (over cow's milk), that the meat from goat was called chevon and not mutton, etc.  Ian was only interested in seeing the goats for the first few minutes. After that, I was busy trying to prevent him from climbing on the gates and misbehaving amongst the crowd.

I was thankful when the lengthy demonstration was over and we moved to the back of the farm to see more goats.  It was a quick tour as Ian was busy running through the track.  The goats were too far away to arouse his interest.  We returned to the entrance of the farm within 5-10 minutes and bought a packet of Ribena drink for Ian.  After we finished the drink, the rest of the time was enduring the heat and chasing the little rascal around the waiting area.

I was thankful when our coach finally arrived!!!  We were the last group to leave and I was thankful to be on the way home!!!  Ian was so tired that he dozed off not long after the coach started to move.

During the long wait for the coach, I bought a few bottles ($10 for 5 and came with a 'cooler bag') of the chocolate-flavoured goat's milk, since it was supposed to be really good. The milk was supposed to be free of pesticides and preservatives, the goats were not injected with homones (so all these meant that the milk was organic?), easier to digest, suitable for sensitive skin, and also 'warm' to the body.  Goat's milk was alkaline as compared to cow's milk which was acidic, and benefits went on...

I didn't particularly like the strong "muttony" taste, but Hubby and Ian appeared to take well to the taste!  At least they did not waste my efforts to lug a huge diaper bag, a sleeping toddler, and a huge cooler bag home.

The field trip cost $13.50 for both of us and also came with a little bookmark and 200ml of chocolate milk for each guest.  It is pretty cheap indeed, but perhaps I would rather have gone with Hubby on a family trip (we did think of going there) to avoid the crowd, save on the long wait for the coach, and have a second helper to chase the little Energizer battery.

Ian's Progress @ 2 Yrs 2 Months

Ian has made our day when he managed to say "apple juice".  This marks a progress in his speech development, because previously he has not been able to pronounce 3 syllables together.  However, he is still unable to say "banana" (it becomes "ba-nan").  He is able to join 2 words together, eg. "sit down", "stand up".   Ian is also able to "sing" the song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", albeit with missing words here and there.  Hubby commented that he seemed to know more things than we thought!

Although he has been able to walk up and down the stairs independently many months ago, we have always held his hand at the stairs after he fell and cut his lips in late February.  As it was a milestone that he has to go through, Hubby decided to let him climb down independently again.  He was able to do so and has been wanting to do it on his own ever since.

Ian also surprised us a few days ago, when he pulled our bedroom door open.  He has been able to push a door open for a few months, but never managed to pull open a door.  Perhaps he has grown tall enough to do so now?  We will need to guard our main door more closely now, just in case he opens the door to a stranger!

Our little toddler is also getting pretty aggressive.  Whenever we are in the car, he will point to the CD player to indicate that he wants his nursery rhymes on.  When we reject his request, he will throw a tantrum and kick the seat in front of him.  His bad temper is getting more and more noticeable.  Help!

He has also become a choosy toddler.  His favourite cartoon character now is probably Doraemon, and keeps wanting to wear the Doraemon pajamas which his Por Por has bought for him for the HK trip.  He also likes to choose the DVD that he is going to watch and throws a tantrum when he does not get what he wants.  What a bad-tempered kid, eh?

Other little achivements:
- Recites 1-10 in Chinese and Japanese
- Recognises the numeral "10"
- Can count up to perhaps 14
- Learnt new shapes: crescent and diamond

The little destroyer also likes to tear up paper and books.  I wonder why, because I took good care of my belongings when I was a kid...