Children's Day 2013

While some fathers would sleep through the night snoring or don’t even bother to move a bit when they hear their child’s cry and/or call and will just wait and leave it to the wife or mother to tend, there are surely a few exceptions – and it definitely includes Joseph. Here’s a snapshot of his thoughts posted on our Facebook page at about 11ish at night on 04 October 2013, which also happened to be Children’s Day:

Absolutely a different and affirmative perspective on seeing and/or doing Daddy duties.

Belated happy Children’s Day to our lovey dovies – Fyodor and Hendrik!

Mommy and Daddy love you heaps.  <3

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School Outing to the Zoo

Hendrik’s 2^nd school outing for 2013 which happened in 22 August was in Singapore Zoo. This was the first time Sunbeam instituted that there will be no accompanying person for Nursery, K1 and K2 students and that only Pre-Nursery students were allowed to have one. It was stated on the ‘response form’ they school gave out to the students. The reason for Pre-Nursery students to have an accompanying person was the obvious because of their age. I think that the nurseries, K1s and K2s are also still young to be out alone for a school excursion without assistance from the parent, relative or guardian. Although the teachers and teacher assistants would do their job very well in looking after for the kids under their care, I thought it would help ease their responsibilities as they also explain things, lead the way and other stuff they do to make the excursion smooth and a success. I was quite apprehensive at first since Hendrik is not used to being out by himself in public, except in school. A school staff called me up when she saw I wrote down Joseph’s name on the form as Hendrik’s accompanying person. She told me that it was the school's decision and that they want to teach the older kids (Nursery, K1 and K2 students) to be independent and to be able to socialize with their peers during the outing. That being said, I then told her that Hendrik will go by himself. I placed all my trust and confidence to the teachers and staff of Sunbeam Kindergarten for my son’s safety and welfare on that day.

Of course, when Hendrik learned about it he was also quite concerned. By the look on his face, it was like he was discouraged and as if looking for an explanation why we are not coming with him when he used to have at least one of us during their school outings. With repeated explanations that we would want and would love very much to go with him to the outing but the school doesn’t allow it. We told him that his classmates and friends will also not be with their Mommies or Daddies. Then, he was finally convinced and accepted the fact that he would go to the outing by himself.

Days before the outing, we asked him to practice eating from a lunchbox just so to get the hang of opening and closing the Lock&Lock lunchbox he will be bringing in order not to accidentally spill his food. We also kept reminding him to tell Ms Ong (K1 form teacher) or Mrs P. Wong (K1 assistant teacher) if he needed to go to the toilet and needed help to clean his bottoms just in case he poo. Other reminders were: to always stay with the group, to not run and play away from the group, to look out for vehicles when walking or crossing the street, to not agitate the animals, and to drink water frequently.

Well, it turned out that the school outing was a success. When we asked Hendrik about it when we came home from work that night, he said he enjoyed the outing. He said he only cried a bit when he tripped over the walkway when his classmate pulled his hand as they moved from one place to another. We are happy that his first school excursion by himself was a nice one. Kudos to Hendrik, for his confidence shown being out by himself on a school field trip. We are also thankful to the staff and teachers at Sunbeam Kindergarten for providing Hendrik and other students a pleasant experience at the zoo.

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Teacher's Day 2013

Last month - On the night of 03 September, Hendrik prepared and wrote Teacher's Day messages for his kindy teachers for their Teacher's Day celebration the next day. He came up with the messages and wrote them himself. I bought a set of pens for his teachers to go with the Teacher's Day cards he made. It was the first time he prepared something for the event.

- writing his own messages for his K1 teachers -

- for his K1 form teacher, Ms Sabrina Ong -

- ready to be given away -

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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.

 

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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:

 

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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!

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Gardens by the Bay

Hendrik’s first school outing for 2013 was held last 18 April 2013, at Gardens by the Bay. Daddy went with him and together they joined Hendrik's classmates, friends, and teachers as they explore the sights and sounds of Singapore’s biggest and newest park.

Gardens by the Bay covers 250 acres of reclaimed land in Central Singapore that aims to raise the quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city.

~ Hendrik and his K1 classmates listening to the sound of the crickets ~

~ with classmate Chloe laughing and enjoying their conversation while taking a rest at a shelter ~

~ busy fulfilling his work sheet: looking and checking out the different kinds of leaves ~

~ turning the handle to hear the sound of the hornbill ~

~ having a snack with classmate Jonathan while strolling ~

~ curious Kindergarten kids in awe upon seeing the crawling worm(s) on the ground ~

~ @ the Dragonfly boardwalk ~

~ with classmate Anselm and the pre-nursery girls taking a rest on one of the many animal-shaped benches located all over the park ~

~ jump shot with the "super trees" as the background ~

~ chit chatting with friends while waiting for the bus to arrive ~

~ taking a photo with his K1 classmates before leaving the park ~

From Daddy and Hendrik’s stories when they came home from the outing, it seemed it was a tiring, but fun bonding day for father and son.

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