Skin Prick Test

1 week has passed since Hendrik had his skin prick test for allergies. We opted to undergo this test after we had exhausted all possible means to stop his cough, sinus and to reduce the dark circle under his eyes. He had been given Singulair, Telfast, and the like, but they didn’t seem to work as Hendrik still continues to cough and sneeze every day without fail. His dark circles are also very visible even though he has enough sleep in the night and gets nap times in the afternoon.

We were referred by Hendrik’s paediatrician, Dr K.H. Lim, to another Dr Lim (Dr Dawn Lim) at another Kinder Clinic branch in Paragon, Orchard who specializes in allergies.

Hendrik thought that he will be given an injection and asked me to ask Dr Dawn Lim if that would be the process. Fortunately, it was just tiny needle pricks containing a small amount of the allergens on his arms. The doctor’s attendant also distracted him from the pricking by asking questions about his school.

~ Hendrik assembling his "funhaler" ~

 

After 15 minutes when the testing was over, results indicated that Hendrik is allergic to the 2 common allergens in the world, 1 allergen found in tropical climates such as Singapore, and those coming from cockroaches.

~ the allergic boy ~

We were given another medication and an inhaler. Hendrik is supposed to take this new medication for 2 weeks and see if his coughing and sneezing improves.  We were also advised to change Hendrik’s beddings and wash them with hot water every week. And he needed to have anti-dust mite pillows and mattress.

 

~~~ end ~~~

 

Despicable Me

Despicable Me is another movie that Hendrik likes very much after Cars. Over the last few weeks, he has been watching Despicable Me 1 video in our MacBook several times. He especially liked the mini-movies where he gets to watch more of the minions.

~ Despicable Me 2 | first movie date with Hendrik ~
 

Just recently, he has also watched Despicable Me 2 in the cinema. It was his very first movie to watch in the big screen, not only once but twice! He was behave and quiet in the cinema, and not quite what I expected him to be noisy with his endless questions about the movie. He also ate his sweet popcorns and chicken nuggets quietly.

~ Despicable Me 2 - the 2nd time around ~

He likes the minions so much that sometimes he would imitate their dialogues. He would also watch YouTube clips of them over and over and yet never get tired of them. That’s how passionate Hendrik is when it comes to things that really interest him.

~ Hendrik and his minions (Dave, Tom & Tim) ~

He also started collecting Despicable Me collectibles. So far, we only managed to get 3 minions from McDonald’s happy meal during the first day it was launched 2 weeks ago. When the next batch of toys was released last Thursday it was all fully-redeemed by the time I tried to get some late in the afternoon. Hoping to get the last set tomorrow. Even at Toys R Us, Despicable Me minion collectibles were all sold-out! Guess we just have to wait until the fever subsides before we can have our own sweet time collecting them.


update: Hendrik got 3 new minions on 26 July 2013 courtesy of Tito Cyril:

 

~~~ end ~~~

 

5th Birthday

When we asked Hendrik a few weeks before his 5^th birthday if he wanted to have a party, he answered us with a “no”. We didn’t know his reasons, but Joseph and I were thankful coz it saved us from doing all the preparations for a kiddie party – party theme, decorations, games, food, etc. Joseph then suggested that since Hendrik didn’t want one (like we used to have the previous 4 years), why not we check-in a hotel to have an intimate celebration as a family. It would also be our staycation before I go back to work from maternity leave and before Hendrik goes back to school from his semester break. Besides, Daddy had been telling me this idea for a long time, but we haven’t done it until Hendrik’s birthday.

~ welcome screen | The Sentosa Resort and Spa ~

We know Hendrik likes to stay in hotels. Whenever we have our yearly family holiday out of the country we would always see his excitement especially when we enter our comfy hotel room. So, when Hendrik agreed to the idea we booked a room for 3 days 2 nights stay at The Sentosa Resort and Spa from 20 June to 22 June 2013.

~ birthday boy ~



~ just us celebrating Hendrik's 5th birthday ~



~ us singing the birthday song ~

~ Mommy's gift - Nike rubber shoes ~

~ Daddy's gift - Cars' Colossus XXL ~

 

~ Fyodor's gift - Cars' Rust-eze MacQueen and Sally ~

Hendrik’s birthday week was also the hazy week in Singapore where PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) readings reached a record high and “hazardous” level of 401 on Friday, 21 June 2013. Even inside our close air conditioned hotel room, we can still smell traces of the harmful smoke. Singapore NEA (National Environment Agency) noted the PSI values as: 0-50 (good); 51-100 (moderate); 101-200 (unhealthy); 201-300 (very unhealthy); above 300 (hazardous). Since we cannot explore the spa hotel’s grounds and the surrounding Sentosa Island attractions because of the haze, we were confined to our hotel room and spent most of our stay inside.

~ snacking and watching tv / movies ~



    

~ sleepy heads ~



~ SG haze | photo credit: Getty Images / BBC ~

 

Buffet breakfast in the hotel was delish. It was also pleasant and relaxing as we were able to take our own sweet time since we did not have any other itinerary due to haze.

~ Hendrik selects his own breakfast ~

~ cheese, cold cuts, cereals, juice and salad ~

 

~ bread, pastries and fruits ~

 

~ congee, egg, waffles, dim sum ~

Since we just stayed indoors for the whole duration of our staycation, we had a lot of time for photo shooting. Daddy surely didn’t let this opportunity pass without snapping pictures of us.

Hendrik enjoys the foam bath so much that his hotel stay wouldn’t be complete without it.

On our last day, Hendrik told us that he wanted to stay in the hotel for 1 more day. As much as we also love the idea, we cannot afford it anymore. Hahahaha!!!  =) This just showed that Hendrik liked it. He liked his birthday treat which was apart from the usual birthday parties he had. We told Hendrik that we will just do it again next time. Yes, there will be next staycationS… =)

~ checking out ~ 

Happy birthday mi love!

~~~ end ~~~