Great reunion at Legoland Waterpark one year on

2013 April

2014

Congratulations to Oliver!

Oliver achieved the standards required for the Octopus Level in eight lessons, and moving on to Yuppies Level next term. Oliver is indeed a natural in water.

Checkup at St Andrew Dental Surgeons

Oliver's mouthbreathing habit has been bothering me for quite a while now. Although there has been improvement since I put on the surgeon tape to close his mouth and bought the Patakara set, his mouth still cannot quite close.  I was once again surfing through the website and stumbled upon this article written by Dr Liew.  This article was written a year ago, but I am glad I did not discovered it too late. I felt almost blessed to discover that there is a doctor/dentist (in Singapore) who raised awareness on how mouthbreathing can affect children, and what's more, the dentist is based in Tanjong Pagar where I lived. I feel really thankful. 

I wasted no time in linking up with Dr Liew on Oliver's mouthbreathing condition.  I was quite amazed to receive Dr Liew's reply on the following day. He advised me to bring Oliver to have his condition assessed. And there we went. I must say that my dentist from Gentle Smile did a good job when Oliver  went for his teeth washed. Oliver was happy sitting here with a radiant smile. No fear at all. Dr Liew interacted with us and asked me lots of questions: Has Oliver visited a dentist and ENT specialist before? Has he taken any x-ray? Did Oliver always feel tired when he is at school? Does he have any issues at school or the teacher gave any comment about him at school? Do I know the affects of mouthbreathing on a child? To have a clearer picture  of his anatomy, he suggested taking an x-ray. We were then led to the X-ray room with this rather gigantic machine for a 360 degree scan. I was quite impressed by the facility in the clinic, and wondered how much this scan was going to cost me. The scanning took us less than five minutes and we were back in the room, and found myself starring into the hidden world of Oliver's mouth. It was pretty amazing when Dr Liew returned later and explained those big teeth of Oliver's and the little space which the teeth would try to occupy; the swollen part of his nose making his breathing difficult (due to runny nose). He then asked Oliver to lay down on the chair and open his mouth. He touched Oliver upper palate and explained that he has high vault palate. That could have protruded his two front teeth, resulting in him unable to close his mouth. He added that the upper jaw bone is shared by our mouth and nose. By widening Oliver narrow palate could open up more space for his teeth to grow and align his front tooth. Dr Liew suggested that we could treat his condition by getting a functional appliance.  The appliance is similar to braces, but has a layer of palate on it. Each palate costs $800 and needs to be put on for around 3 months, if possible 24/7 for better result. The appliance can be removed during eating. Wow, it is really quite a commitment for Oliver, and we certainly need to discuss whether Oliver is prepared for it.  For me, I am prepared for any treatment that is non-invasive and can benefit Oliver, be it short or long term. For Dr Liew, he said it can be arranged anytime... That comment, I am absolutely sure about it. 

Why have I waited so long to try put this place

Moving on to the next level - Octopus

Despite the confusion at the initial stage when Oliver first joined the swimming classes at YMCA in January 2014, Oliver had almost gone through all the swim classes at different levels - from crawling in the baby pool to lap swimming (which was too advance), we are quite happy that he enjoys most of these classes. Yesterday Oliver moved on to the next level that is the Octopus class. The class size was surprising small with only two kids learning, which also meant more attention and time from his coach. $210 for 8 lessons of 45 min per lesson certainly work out to be more affordable than $150 for 4 lessons of 30 min by private coach. 

Relaxing Friday at Pinnacle@Duxton playground amidst the haze

Oliver's list of favourite fruits

1)  pear

2). Apple

3). Grapes

4). Rock melon

5)  oranges

6). Honeydew

7). Papaya

8). Watermelon

Awesome cooking by an Italian man at heart

Pretty amazing that Boon Heng has developed a fetish to cooking Italian dishes. And they not only turned out to be edible, but also delicious!  It certainly breaks our routine of me cooking the usual dishes every week. I can't wait for more surprises...

Papier Mâché making at NLB

Total Defence Day

Eating sweet potato porridge on Total Defence Day during recess. Simple food for my simple boy.

I got a little kitchen helper

Oliver offered to help me prepared dinner. Today, he did a great job cleaning the vegetable. He also offered to cut the mushroom, but I am not too confident on how to guide him. So we sliced a few mushroom together. Think I need to read up more on how to involve children in kitchen. 

Great job Oliver!

CNY school holiday at Gardens by the Bay Children Playground

Working hard everyday after school

School has resumed and life is back to 'normal'.  Homework with lots of hard work everyday.  Poor Oliver seems to struggle with his homework everyday. His short attention span make classroom learning tough for him. Oliver, Jia you!

Alfa babe punctured its tyre

First lesson at British Council

Risotto by Chef Chew on Christmas Eve

2013...2014