Thursday, December 30, 2010
Last Speech Therapy Visit
Hubby brought Ian to visit the speech therapist for the last time. In this visit, Ian was assessed on his language ability. The therapist concluded that he had reached a normal level for his age (2 years 9 months), though it was noted that he had a weakness in comprehending the words "he" and "she". She officially "discharged" Ian from the treatment and we only needed to follow up with the doctor in April next year for another review.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Activity Books (Oct-Dec 2010)
For the past few months, Ian has been working on a couple of activity books simultaneously. These are the ones that he has completed between October and December.
Sticker Books - More titles from Usborne, which filled up Ian's time when I ran out of activities for him.
Kumon Workbooks - Ian began working on the book of tracing sometime in August, and finally completed all the exercises in November. Towards the end of the book, I thought it was getting boring for him to be tracing the paths all the time, and introduced the other Kumon workbooks (Mazes, Alphabets, and Numbers) for him to do concurrently. He was also working on the little Kumon workbook on pasting for a while before he finally finished it recently.
Chinese Activity Books - The first book of mazes contained tracing exercises that were similar to Kumon's. Ian finished the first maze book very quickly and I let him progress to the next level (bottom picture). The 2nd book was slightly more difficult. In comparison to the Kumon's book of mazes, I would prefer to the latter. In the Chinese version, there were some mazes that had animal characters blocking the path, and Ian had confused them as road blockages. In these books, Ian had used a pencil instead of a dry-erase marker which he used for the Kumons.
The other activity book (first picture, right) contained punch-out templates of things to make, eg. an elephant, a watch, a bucket, etc. It was slightly difficult for Ian and I had to help him paste some of the 3D parts and held them until the glue dried. Ian simply had no patience to wait for the glue to dry. However, this book was convenient to use when I had no time to prepare for his paper plate crafts.
We are now working on a series of other activity books... till the next time!
Sticker Books - More titles from Usborne, which filled up Ian's time when I ran out of activities for him.
Kumon Workbooks - Ian began working on the book of tracing sometime in August, and finally completed all the exercises in November. Towards the end of the book, I thought it was getting boring for him to be tracing the paths all the time, and introduced the other Kumon workbooks (Mazes, Alphabets, and Numbers) for him to do concurrently. He was also working on the little Kumon workbook on pasting for a while before he finally finished it recently.
Chinese Activity Books - The first book of mazes contained tracing exercises that were similar to Kumon's. Ian finished the first maze book very quickly and I let him progress to the next level (bottom picture). The 2nd book was slightly more difficult. In comparison to the Kumon's book of mazes, I would prefer to the latter. In the Chinese version, there were some mazes that had animal characters blocking the path, and Ian had confused them as road blockages. In these books, Ian had used a pencil instead of a dry-erase marker which he used for the Kumons.
The other activity book (first picture, right) contained punch-out templates of things to make, eg. an elephant, a watch, a bucket, etc. It was slightly difficult for Ian and I had to help him paste some of the 3D parts and held them until the glue dried. Ian simply had no patience to wait for the glue to dry. However, this book was convenient to use when I had no time to prepare for his paper plate crafts.
We are now working on a series of other activity books... till the next time!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sick Again
Our boy is sick again... Yesterday, we had already noticed his teary eyes and a lot of mucoid particles in the corner of his eyes. And in the night, he developed a fever and we gave him panadol immediately.
This morning, we rushed him down to see Dr Oh again, and she had diagnosed his lungs to be having the wheezing sound. She also discovered that he had ear and throat infection. Since Ian was always taking a long time to recover from his coughs, she suggested us to get an inhaler home to help him. If his cough was not treated properly, it could worsen into asthma. She demonstrated how to use the inhaler and luckily, Hubby was around to learn as I was kind of confused. She told us to go back for a review in a week's time and also after we finished the spray bottle.
I also checked with her whether he was always coughing because I had taken birdnest during my pregnancy, but she said during her time, people only said that birdnest was good for the fetus' complexion. I was quite relieved to hear that.
Hopefully this time round, Ian's cough will really be gone for good after the long treatment.
This morning, we rushed him down to see Dr Oh again, and she had diagnosed his lungs to be having the wheezing sound. She also discovered that he had ear and throat infection. Since Ian was always taking a long time to recover from his coughs, she suggested us to get an inhaler home to help him. If his cough was not treated properly, it could worsen into asthma. She demonstrated how to use the inhaler and luckily, Hubby was around to learn as I was kind of confused. She told us to go back for a review in a week's time and also after we finished the spray bottle.
I also checked with her whether he was always coughing because I had taken birdnest during my pregnancy, but she said during her time, people only said that birdnest was good for the fetus' complexion. I was quite relieved to hear that.
Hopefully this time round, Ian's cough will really be gone for good after the long treatment.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Our First Visit to Universal Studios (SG)
A complimentary trip sponsored by Ian's Da Bo, we made our visit to the "new" theme park in Sentosa. We arrived there at about 10.30am together with Hubby's family, and to our surprise, the carpark was quite full by that time. Luckily, the sun was not strong and it was quite a cool and breezy day.
After 2 shows, we had fish burgers for lunch at about noon and Ian did not like the burgers and only ate some of the fries. The chocolate milkshake was pretty good, I felt. After a few more rides, we headed to the foodcourt for a second serving at around 2pm. This time, Hubby bought wanton noodles and Ian ate more of it. The queue at the foodcourt was horrendous! I told Hubby that I had been sitting until my back was aching, while he complained that his legs were aching from standing for so long in the queue. The noodles were surprisingly decent though, after the long and horrible wait.
We did not expect to find a mini splash park outside the foodcourt, and it was a nightmare to pass by the area as Ian kept on wanting to go in and get wet. After lunch, the party went for more rides at the Jurassic Park, while I entertained myself with YouTube. This time, the sun had come out and it was getting painful to wait under the sun.
While the rest of the party wanted to try out the more adventurous rides, the 3 of us split up with them. It was way past Ian's nap time and he was super tired but refusing to give in to his fatigue. Fatigue had also caught up with me. We went for the carousel and around the shops to spend the 2 pieces of $5 vouchers. At last, we decided to get a Magic School Bus book and a box of biscuits, and headed straight back home.
Ian probably enjoyed the rides and the new sights more than us. It was pretty boring for me since I could not take almost all the rides. The only 2 that I got to try out was the Shrek 3D movie and the carousel. I also went for the "rock concert" but it was not to our taste. Perhaps, it would be more fun for us a few years later when the rides become more "suitable" for us and when Ian is able to take the roller-coasters.
Shops near the entrance
A huge Christmas tree for this festive season
Nice, "crowd-less" street in the morning
A happy kid waiting for his lunch
After 2 shows, we had fish burgers for lunch at about noon and Ian did not like the burgers and only ate some of the fries. The chocolate milkshake was pretty good, I felt. After a few more rides, we headed to the foodcourt for a second serving at around 2pm. This time, Hubby bought wanton noodles and Ian ate more of it. The queue at the foodcourt was horrendous! I told Hubby that I had been sitting until my back was aching, while he complained that his legs were aching from standing for so long in the queue. The noodles were surprisingly decent though, after the long and horrible wait.
We did not expect to find a mini splash park outside the foodcourt, and it was a nightmare to pass by the area as Ian kept on wanting to go in and get wet. After lunch, the party went for more rides at the Jurassic Park, while I entertained myself with YouTube. This time, the sun had come out and it was getting painful to wait under the sun.
While the rest of the party wanted to try out the more adventurous rides, the 3 of us split up with them. It was way past Ian's nap time and he was super tired but refusing to give in to his fatigue. Fatigue had also caught up with me. We went for the carousel and around the shops to spend the 2 pieces of $5 vouchers. At last, we decided to get a Magic School Bus book and a box of biscuits, and headed straight back home.
Ian probably enjoyed the rides and the new sights more than us. It was pretty boring for me since I could not take almost all the rides. The only 2 that I got to try out was the Shrek 3D movie and the carousel. I also went for the "rock concert" but it was not to our taste. Perhaps, it would be more fun for us a few years later when the rides become more "suitable" for us and when Ian is able to take the roller-coasters.
Monday, December 13, 2010
An Early Xmas Celebration?
It has been our family's little tradition to buy a hazelnut log cake ever since we moved in this house. This year, things got sweeter, because we only paid a few cents for our cake (we accumulated a few Bengawan Solo cake vouchers collected over the year).
Somehow, it tasted better than last year. Perhaps it was a good decision to buy the cake earlier and avoid the busy Xmas Day (we bought it on Xmas itself last year).
Somehow, it tasted better than last year. Perhaps it was a good decision to buy the cake earlier and avoid the busy Xmas Day (we bought it on Xmas itself last year).
Sunday, December 12, 2010
New Car Seat for Ian
For a while, we noticed that Ian had long outgrown his convertible carseat that he had been using since birth. His shoulders were way above the highest strap slots, and his chin was already over the top of the seat. It was also getting difficult for Ian to climb onto the seat because of his height.
We had been scouting around for a suitable upgrade for this boy. I had done some research on the Internet and many "experts" suggested a 5-point harness seat, for safety reasons. So, we had gone around searching for one. It was not so easy and almost all of the booster seats with a 5-point harness were too small for his height. After a few comparisons, we finally chose a Combi booster seat. It cost around $215+ after the 10% discount from Takashimaya. It would probably be cheaper nearer to Xmas, but we figured that we could not beat the crowd then. As a bonus, we claimed back $3 in our cashcard as they offered free parking benefits for cardmembers and also earned some rebate points to exchange for their vouchers.
We had compared with 2 other Maxi Cosi boosters and decided on this, because the shoulder strap did not cut his neck and the seat belt laid across his laps nicely, and not across his tummy.
The new seat was delivered to us on Wednesday afternoon, and Hubby changed his "throne" on Friday since he was on leave. Ian fitted in the seat nicely, and it was no more an arduous task to get him into the car seat. In no time, this little rascal learned how to release the buckle. Thankfully, he had not been mischievous enough to release the buckle while the car was moving. But, he had always demanded to be the one to "press the button" to get out of the seat and would fly into a tantrum if we had done it for him. It was also a blessing that the shoulder strap laid properly over his shoulder most of the time, as my initial fear was that he would struggle out of it.
We had been scouting around for a suitable upgrade for this boy. I had done some research on the Internet and many "experts" suggested a 5-point harness seat, for safety reasons. So, we had gone around searching for one. It was not so easy and almost all of the booster seats with a 5-point harness were too small for his height. After a few comparisons, we finally chose a Combi booster seat. It cost around $215+ after the 10% discount from Takashimaya. It would probably be cheaper nearer to Xmas, but we figured that we could not beat the crowd then. As a bonus, we claimed back $3 in our cashcard as they offered free parking benefits for cardmembers and also earned some rebate points to exchange for their vouchers.
We had compared with 2 other Maxi Cosi boosters and decided on this, because the shoulder strap did not cut his neck and the seat belt laid across his laps nicely, and not across his tummy.
The new seat was delivered to us on Wednesday afternoon, and Hubby changed his "throne" on Friday since he was on leave. Ian fitted in the seat nicely, and it was no more an arduous task to get him into the car seat. In no time, this little rascal learned how to release the buckle. Thankfully, he had not been mischievous enough to release the buckle while the car was moving. But, he had always demanded to be the one to "press the button" to get out of the seat and would fly into a tantrum if we had done it for him. It was also a blessing that the shoulder strap laid properly over his shoulder most of the time, as my initial fear was that he would struggle out of it.
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