Journal of Adrian Au

Jan 14, 2012

2012-01-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Adrian begins his 1st ski class (out of 8 lessons) at Ski Dagmar this season.

Trying out the helmet, goggles & ski boots

Getting ready

Meeting the 2 Coaches

High five...

Waiting for his turn to get on the magic carpet

Dec 31, 2011

2011-12-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

We put the Christmas tree in a new area in preparation for a new start in 2012. We are blessed to have a great year in 2011. Mama took the time off and has been taking Adrian to go skating almost everyday during the holiday.

Hoping for a great year again in 2012 and Adrian remains healthy and happy as always!

Dec 15, 2011

2011-12-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

What a surprise to learn that one of the QMH doctors called our family in HK on Adrian’s progress, we then replied by sending an email to his doctors there to update them on how Adrian has been doing in the past 2.5 years. Looking back on how fast Adrian was diagnosed and received treatments back then, we are truly thankful for their professionalism. We appreciate their thoughts for reaching out to us and hope we’d continue to bring them good news on Adrian.

Dec 12, 2011

2011-12-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

Adrian performing at Casa Christmas concert.

Playing Glockenspiel on Away in a Manger

Adrian as "Prancer"

Adrian spotted Papa's camera

Dec 11, 2011

2011-12-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

Adrian at his friend, Moses' birthday party at Markham Museum.

Dec 9, 2011

2011-12-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

It's the second year we received complimentary tickets to the Nutcracker Dress Rehearsal. Adrian being a year older, he seemed to be more interested in the show and understands the plot better. What a festive way to start the holiday season.

Dec 4, 2011

2011-12-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

Adrian & Santa 2011

Dec 3, 2011

2011-12-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

Adrian at his friend, Nicolas' birthday party. The kids had fun "touching" all the little animals.

Then followed by Christmas Party with friends at the Party Room.

Nov 17, 2011

2011-11-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

It’s the regular 6 months check up day for Adrian at Sick Kids. Papa took him to the ultrasound and then met with Dr Baruchel. Everything went well and he’s scheduled to come back in May 2012.

Oct 30 - 31, 2011

2011-10-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

When Adrian met a REAL Police....

Trick or treating at the mall...

Halloween at School

Oct 29, 2011

2011-10-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

First time at Camp Ooch downtown participating the Family Halloween Fest. It was fun filled from pumpkin carving, to haunted houses and different carnival games for the kids. Adrian dressed up as a Police this year for Halloween!

Oct 21, 2011

2011-10-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

We had the first parent teacher interview this evening with Adrian’s class teachers. We were ecstatic to hear from the teacher that Adrian did exceptionally well at school. He’s progressing well on his Readers, will soon be introduced to rhyming words etc. The teacher also had him started writing story book (i.e. a page where Adrian will draw a picture on top and write a sentence or two at the bottom) and it’s not the first time we heard others’ comments (from both his class & Art class teachers) that Adrian is very creative and imaginative. In terms of Maths, Adrian has done all the basics and skip counting and is now moving onto the stamp game where addition will be introduced. Overall, the teacher is very pleased with Adrian’s progress at school. And we are glad to know his social circle has broadened – apart from hanging onto his best friend in class all the time, he’s having a bigger social circle and is making a few other new friends at school in this new school year.

Oct 8, 2011

2011-10-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

Adrian spent the day at Blue Mountain with the grannies while we stayed home sealing the asphalt driveway on the Thanksgiving weekend!

Sep 24, 2011

2011-09-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

The Annual SAC Homecoming - this is our 3rd time here since 2009!

Sep 4, 2011

2011-09-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

We spent the day at the waterfront attending the Canadian International Air Show. The show runs for almost 4 hours and it's quite boring at times, but the kids had fun getting autographs from different pilots.

Before the Air Show

Pic with the pilot

Pic with the Heavy Metal Jet Pilot

Pic with Snowbird pilot

Osprey

Pic with Red Bull pilot

Snowbird performance

Aug 29, 2011

2011-08-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

A Magical Day for all of us… Adrian's Wish of having a playroom makeover has finally come true! The first surprise started off with a limousine waiting outside our house to take Papa and Adrian for a day at the Wonderland while the IKEA crew showed up later for the makeover.

Though we've seen the floor plan of the layout, they wouldn't let us come down for a peek until the moment…. The Playroom was revealed to Adrian promptly at 4pm. Oh boy, was Adrian surprised!!!! The playroom is so colourful that it incorporates everything we had asked for (Adrian mentioned he likes red, rainbow colors. We wanted plenty of storage and shelves, an area for floor play and some frames for his artwork etc.). Adrian was a bit shocked afterwards and it sure takes time for all of us to soak it all in. It’s absolutely beautiful!

The MAW Slogan says "We grant wishes to Children with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy." We truly appreciate the effort and hard work from Make-A-Wish for making this happen, not to mention the planning and generosity of IKEA Canada & Sony Canada. We wish Adrian remain healthy and enjoy his playroom in the years to come!!

The Limo came to pick Adrian up for a day at Wonderland.

The "Moment": Surprise!

Aug 25, 2011

2011-08-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

The goodies from IKEA have all been delivered this afternoon. We've also received the agenda from Make-A-Wish for Monday.

9:15 - MAW Wish Grantor will arrive at the house

9:30 - The car will come pick up Papa & Adrian for a day at Wonderland

10:00 - IKEA will arrive & makeover begins

3:15 - Car will pick up Papa and Adrian from Wonderland

4:00 - Playroom reveal to Adrian! :)

Wohoo... 4 more days!!!

Aug 21, 2011

2011-08-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

We received the floor plan from IKEA over the weekend. In preparation for the Wish Day next week, we followed the designer’s direction to paint one of the Playroom walls - RED (Adrian’s favourite colour!).

Aug 6 - 12, 2011

2011-08-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

We did a road trip to Rochester, New Jersey & New York City in a week with the grannies. Even though the trip was not as kids oriented, Adrian enjoyed the opportunity of staying in various hotels during the trip. My fault for overlooking the opening hours for the Museum of Play in Rochester, that’ll give us an excuse to come visit later.

@ FAO Schwarz

@ Times Square

@ Toys' R Us Times Square

Boarding the Ferry touring Manhattan harbour and Statue of Liberty

July 31, 2011

2011-07-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

Ever since we knew "The Wish" Adrian is going to get later this year through Make-A-Wish, we made everything possible to make it happen.

First, we decided to furnish our basement – the area of his future playroom. Two designers from IKEA and our Wish Grantor came this morning to gather ideas from us, most importantly from Adrian and did some measurements on the play area. The Wish - "Extreme Playroom Makeover" is scheduled to take place on Aug 29th. The crew from IKEA will come with all the goodies and do the installation work in just ONE day! An added bonus for Adrian is MAW will send him out for the day with Papa, just so that it is a surprise for Adrian when he gets home. We are excited to see how it’ll all turn out that day!

July 17, 2011

2011-07-17T17:05:00.001-07:00

Giving special needs children the ride of a lifetime - Adrian participated in the I Wish Ferrari this year. It's our first Ferrari encounter and Adrian was lucky to be able to sit with the driver (i.e. owner of the Ferrari) to enjoy a 15 mins ride!

All kinds of Ferraris, and a Lamborghini too

Really thankful the driver let Adrian plays with the gear before the ride.

Ready to take off

15 mins Ferrari ride begins...

All the goodies from the organizer.

July 16, 2011

2011-07-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Adrian has been missing his best bud in the summer and he's been longing for this day to come. We were at his best friend's birthday party this afternoon and Adrian had a blast reuniting with his school friends. Will see all his friends again in September.

July 11 - 15, 2011

2011-07-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

Adrian joined the Camp Ooch camp at Camp Robin Hood this week. It's pretty cool the school bus came right to our house for pick up and drop off. Things that he's done at the camp includes circle time, archery, swimming, canoeing, doing arts & crafts, gym, karate etc. We are glad to know he's well taken care of and has enjoyed the camp tremendously.

July 10, 2011

2011-07-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Our first time to Fantasy Fair, but Adrian's second time (he's been here before at school field trip). Adrian enjoyed the rides as usual and it's cool to spend an afternoon in this indoor air-conditioned amusement park.

July 8, 2011

2011-07-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

Spent the day in Honda Indy - Adrian's first experience on racing car event. All thanks to Make-A-Wish for the complimentary tickets.

Jun 18, 2011

2011-06-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Adrian finished a year of Yamaha Music Course with a recital on Jun 18. It's amazing to see how he can play simple songs in both hands.

May 12, 2011

2011-05-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Various appointments at SickKids today and we started off the Cardiac Echo at 08:30, followed by an abdomen ultrasound at 10:30. Even though we didn’t finish the scans until noon, both tests were easy and painless while Adrian was entertained by different TV/movies.

Met with Dr Baruchel at 12:45 going over results from the latest MIBG Scan as well as the ultrasound Adrian just had. What a relief to know everything is normal with no evidence of disease. The ultrasound and urine test will repeat in 6 months’ time and we’ll see doc again in Nov 2011. They collected Adrian’s urine sample again to check the HVA/VMA reading this time.

@ Cardiac Echo

@ Ultrasound after the scan, waiting for technician to show results to doc.

Next came the appt at Audiology at 13:00 for Adrian’s hearing test. It’s been a year since Adrian last had his hearing test (he missed the last one several months ago) and so being a year older – the audiologist used a different (yet similar) test for Adrian this time. The result showed that Adrian’s hearing has gone a little worse than before and the audiologist had to reprogram his hearing aids with the new audiogram. Then we were off to the hearing aids centre (just a block away) for new ear moulds as Adrian outgrew his, but we got sent back to SickKids because both his ears needed to be flushed (with lots of ear wax) in order to make new ear moulds. So there we were going back and forth and it was almost 4pm when we finished everything.

We’ve accomplished lots spending the day at SickKids today. Adrian did NOT get any stickers this time because he behaved so well throughout the day like a big boy! He was so tired the end of the day that he passed out the minute he was put on his carseat.

May 3, 2011

2011-05-04T13:33:00.001-07:00

Adrian began his last block of 6 speech therapy sessions with Rebecca at Markham Stouffville Hospital today. Similar to the past, Rebecca assessed Adrian in this first session to see where he’s at now. She’s pleased to see Adrian has made improvements since December that he's speaking in longer sentences. Adrian scored somewhere between 6-7 with a passing mark of 7 for his age appropriate language skills. Things that will need to work on in the following 5 sessions include reinforcing s-blend words, plurals (Adrian misses all the "s" / "es" for plurals) and grammars (make Adrian aware of the difference between "He" / "She" etc.).

Apr 28 - 29, 2011

2011-04-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

The MIBG scan is scheduled at 13:30 but we didn’t get called in until 14:00. The scan lasted an hour and we’ll call the doc tomorrow to find out the result!

Dr Baruchel returned our call past 5pm on Friday letting us know the MIBG Scan result is NORMAL! :) Adrian is scheduled to return to Sick Kids on May 12th to see him and the other follow up appointments.

Apr 27, 2011

2011-04-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Adrian had the MIBG injection done at 11 this morning. With the Fukushima ordeal, we learnt more about the radioactive isotope. The Isotope that was used in MIBG is I-123 with a half life of 13 hours. Adrian was required to take Lugol's solution for 3 days (the day prior, the day of & the day after the injection) to protect his thyroid against radiation. It’s scary to know the amount of radiation Adrian has been exposed all through the years via different scans (MIBG / CT Scan). Unfortunately these tests are inevitable and will help us to detect any evidence of disease, if any.

Apr 22, 2011

2011-04-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

Spent the afternoon at Puck’s farm on Good Friday. Adrian did Easter egg hunt, jumping castle pony ride & hay ride in the farm. He's made some new friends during our stay there.

Apr 19 – 20, 2011

2011-04-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

We were shocked to have received a VM from Adrian’s Oncologist at Sick Kids this evening about the latest urine result. Spoke to the doc the next morning and were told about Adrian’s slightly elevated HVA results (normal being < 14, the latest measures 16). Though the doc said not to worry until he sees the latest scan result, he is going to arrange a MIBG scan for Adrian in the next two weeks just to play safe. The coordinator called later today notifying the isotope injection will take place on Apr 27 follow by the MIBG scan on Apr 28. Hoping for normal results as it is always.

Apr 17, 2011

2011-04-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Adrian had a disco themed birthday party this year with 7 other birthday buddies. The venue resembles the real disco where the kids had fun doing crazy moves and dances. Adrian enjoyed it tremendously! :)

Apr 14, 2011

2011-04-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

We feel emotional when it comes to this day of the year - our little man has made it to 5 years old today! Adrian has transformed into an independent BIG boy through the year. He is more verbal and confident in expressing himself. Another change is he's steering away from "Thomas & friends" to "big guys" stuff like Spiderman / Batman / Pokemon these days.

Wishing Adrian a long life, good health (remian NED) & happiness in the years to come...

Apr 11, 2011

2011-04-15T07:54:00.001-07:00

Adrian took the Monday off and headed to the paediatrician for his body check. Adrian now weighs 35 lbs and he’s 108 cm tall. In addition to all the measurement, the doctor examined Adrian very closely and the poor little guy also got an immunized shot prior to turning 5 years old on Thurs.

Mar 31, 2011

2011-03-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

After bringing home 3 months’ of flash cards, Adrian started his first reader today. According to the teacher, he'll start to bring home the reader and worksheets, finish them in 2 nights, return the set to school and have another one and so on.

Mar 19, 2011

2011-03-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks Auntie E for the complimentary tickets to the Disney On Ice – Toy Story III show. That's the only activity for Adrian during March break! :)

Dinner @ Marche

Feb 14, 2011

2011-02-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

It’s not easy being the parents of a cancer surviving kid. We get paranoid each time we know Adrian is sick or he complains he’s not feeling well on his tummy etc.

Ever since Adrian was sick (sore throat) mid January, he has a tendency to wake up in the middle of night wanting to sleep with us on our bed. We have to walk him back to his own bed and reassure him before he falls asleep again. This happened again last night that he woke up 3 times! Adrian still goes to school in the morning as he used to… getting ready for Valentines’ day party at school. It’s not until the teacher called us around 2pm then we realized Adrian was really sick at school. The grannies quickly picked him up from school, took him to see a doc and then we found out he has scarlet fever. The doc prescribed him antibiotics, hydrocortisone cream (for the rash) and tylenol. We'll keep him home until his rash clears up in the next couple of days...

Feb 10, 2011

2011-02-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

The appointment at SickKids had been rescheduled twice and finally it’s on the go. Papa took the day off and took Adrian for the long overdue follow up appointment today.

- The appointment with Dr Baruchel was fruitful. Doc wasn’t quite concerned on Adrian’s "marble poop" & many others.

- Doc noticed Adrian is falling behind on his height – he used to be at 50% and now dropped to 25%. The removal of the adrenal gland may have an impact on the growth hormones. Will refer Adrian go see an Endocrine Specialist if this continues to be the trend.

- Doc mentioned he’d keep Adrian on the Oncology Day Clinic for another 4 years or so (usually 5 years in remission but since Adrian only began seeing him last year). Adrian will then be transferred to "post-cancer treatment" clinic to continue monitor the side effects of treatment (chemo etc.)

- Ultrasound / urine test / blood test will be the ongoing monitoring plan. They are going to book the next ultrasound in 3 months’ time. Doc will only request a MIBG if he has concerns due to its radiotoxicity.

Because the appointment overran at the doc, Adrian missed his hearing test. He only had the urine & blood test followed by the appointment. Adrian continues to be the brave little guy and didn’t shed a tear during blood test. Good job, Adrian!

Feb 6, 2011

2011-02-08T19:34:00.001-08:00

Annual CNY Party with the kids...

Feb 5, 2011

2011-02-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

2nd time tobaganning...oh boy was it fun!

Feb 3, 2011

2011-02-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

We have the 2nd parent teacher interview on Chinese New Year Day. It’s always nice to meet up with the teachers to know how Adrian is doing in class. We are glad to hear Adrian is doing well academically (not behind kids his age) – he knows all his phonics and is able to pronounce the 3-letter words (next step will be the 4-letter word then Reader), numbers incl odd /even numbers etc. What’s interesting to hear is the teachers said he could have done even better IF he didn’t cling to his best buddy all the time!! It’s funny to know how much he attaches to his buddy. According to the teacher, he often checks out what his buddy is doing in the midst of his work and he’s most focused when his buddy is on nap. Oh Kids...

Jan 18, 2011

2011-01-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

Adrian starts to bring home these flash cards from school. Knowing that he is doing well with building 3-letter words, doing these flash cards will be the last step before proceeding to "Reader" as per the teacher.

Jan 10, 2011

2011-01-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

This certificate was placed in Adrian's cubby today. He was one of the few kids who was presented at the assembly this morning at school. Great work, Adrian!

Jan 8 - 9, 2011

2011-01-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

On many occasions, people often are surprised when they know Adrian had never built a snowman nor make a snow angel. Considering he's never really played in the snow, we made all these happen this weekend.

Jan 8, 2011

2011-01-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

Adrian @ his first drawing class (with 4 other girls). Surprised not many boys are interested in drawing these days... He enjoyed it nonetheless.

Dec 31, 2010

2010-12-31T12:48:00.000-08:00

2010 has been a great year for us – it’s the first whole year that Adrian get to experience living in Canada. We are amazed each day seeing how big our little boy has grown. Our wish remains the same, hoping he’d remain NED for the rest for his life – be Happy & Healthy as always!

Dec 20 - 25, 2010

2010-12-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

Here comes our family trip to the Sin City - Las Vegas.

Spending 6D5N at Vegas was refreshing - we spent days checking out different hotels on the strip, enjoying shows (Bellagio fountain, Atlantis at the Forum Shops, Shark Reef, Gondola ride etc.), shopping and feasting at buffets!

Dec 18, 2010

2010-12-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

We registered Adrian to a gingerbread decorating session with a few friends at Loblaws. Despite none of them showed up due to sickness and other commitments, we all had fun!

Dec 11, 2010

2010-12-12T19:58:00.001-08:00

A nice stroll at the Toronto Christmas Market...

Dec 10, 2010

2010-12-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

Complimentary tickets from MAW to the Nutcracker Dress Rehearsal. Thanks to Papa who acts as our interpretor for the show. Adrian loves checking out the orchestra pit and the running around during intermission.

Dec 9, 2010

2010-12-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

Adrian did a good job performing in Christmas Concert at school this morning. He remembers all the lyrics for the songs!!!

Hawaiian theme singing "Christmas Island"

"Jingle Bell"

Last song singing "Mon beau Sapin"

Dec 4, 2010

2010-12-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

The Annual Christmas Party with the kids...

Nov 29, 2010

2010-11-30T11:53:00.001-08:00

Adrian fell in love with a book that he brought home from the school library namely, "Go, Dog. Go!". After reading it to him a few times and he’s capable to read it out loud to himself every night before bedtime. The book is an easy read that talks all about dogs doing things. We decided to look up a little info about this book and then we realized it’s a classic children book. We bought a brand new book (and a few others from the series) for Adrian’s keepsake after returning the copy back to school.

Nov 5, 2010

2010-11-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

After transferring the application from Hong Kong to Toronto, Adrian is now a registered wish kid at the Make-A-Wish organization at the Toronto branch. We had an hour meeting tonight with 2 volunteers from MAW (& interview with Adrian) and we are happy to have nailed down the Top 3 wishes for Adrian. Though we anticipate the wish may not be granted in a year or so but we are excited that it's been written down and will be subject to the board's approval in a few weeks' time!

Nov 4, 2010

2010-11-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

After Adrian's speech therapy session ended on Aug 24, Adrian will have another 6 weeks speech therapy sessions starting today with the same SLP at Markham Stouffville. The session began with a quick reassessment to see where Adrian is at. Adrian is thrilled to see Rebecca, the SLP, again and he showed significant improvements in mastering the "h" & "s" sounds.

Some of the findings and areas that need to be worked on in the upcoming sessions include:-
- Adrian is able to master a lot of sounds correctly, however, his speech clarity decreases as his sentence gets long.
- Increase his ability to answer open ended questions (e.g. what’s happening to that guy over there?)
- Continue to reinforce sounds like "f", "th" etc.

Oct 31, 2010

2010-10-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

Following the tradition from last year's, we went trick or treating at the mall this afternoon with some friends. Adrian is so proud to be a knight this year. :)

Oct 29, 2010

2010-10-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Halloween Party at school...

Adrian is holding hands with his best buddy in class.

Oct 24, 2010

2010-10-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

After knowing the Wiggles are coming to Toronto for concert again, we got in touch with Make-A-Wish Toronto and finally we were offered complimentary tickets for wish kid like Adrian to the show!

Go Bus to downtown

Before the show

Show time...

Singing "Rock-A-Bye your bear"

Oct 22, 2010

2010-10-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

On a PA Day like today, Adrian is booked with appointments:-

- First formal eye exam with an optometrist. Compared to his last eye check up in March 2009. This exam is more comprehensive which includes identifying different sizes of alphabets, eye movement ability & alignment. At the end of the test, Adrian was asked to wear a 3D glasses and did some test to check for "lazy eyes". Adrian is very cooperative and he passed all the tests with flying colors.

- We noticed a lot of feedback when Adrian has his hearing aids on, so we brought him down to SickKids Audiology clinic to have his ears flushed and then paid a visit at the nearby hearing aids centre to check the aids and make another custom earmold just in case.

- Seasonal flu shot is scheduled for tomorrow morning at the Pediatrician office.

Oct 21, 2010

2010-10-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

We had the first Parent-teacher interview this evening with Adrian's teachers. It's the FIRST time we ever heard teachers use the terms "talkative" & "Chatterbox" to describe Adrian. Regardless of Adrian's liking to hang out with kids younger than him (maybe a way to boost up his self confidence that he's capable to do more than his friends because he's older), the teachers have very favorable reviews on him and we hope Adrian continues to enjoy his new class in the school.

Oct 16, 2010

2010-10-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

Another day at Wonderland... :)

Oct 12, 2010

2010-10-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Adrian resumes his nap-free routine today. The teachers told us that Adrian only napped on Monday and remained well awake for the rest of the week. They suspect Adrian only wanted to nap because of his best buddy in class!

Oct 9, 2010

2010-10-19T13:45:00.001-07:00

Oktoberfest in Waterloo/Kitchener area

Oct 8, 2010

2010-10-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Fall in Wonderland...

Oct 4, 2010

2010-10-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

With Adrian complaining about tiredness every day after school, we’ve decided Adrian will resume the napping routine starting today at school. Though Mrs Gordon doesn’t think he is tired and she suspects Adrian wanted to nap only because he wants to be with his best friend, we’ll see how it goes for a week. After all, his health is in top priority!

Oct 2, 2010

2010-10-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Adrian's first practice on Glockenspiel - we signed him up for the Orff Instruments class in the after school program at school.

Oct 1, 2010

2010-10-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

Attended the Curriculum Night at school last night and was very well informed on what Adrian learns/will learn in the coming year. We feel very blessed to have Adrian under the hands of a very experienced teacher and TA. Even though we knew in advance that the teacher was not supposed to talk about each child’s individual progress, Mrs Gordon told me a little bit of Adrian after the Q&A session. It’s totally amazed to hear Mrs Gordon speaks very positive on Adrian – like how he knows all the phonic sounds and is able to make words in class (like CAT, MAT, BAT etc.) and she also compliments on his printing saying he writes neatly within the lines and so on. I was basically speechless and was too ecstatic to hear all about it. With me always worrying how Adrian is behind with his peers, Mrs Gordon reassured us that he’s NOT. That’s the nicest thing to hear for the day… Look forward to hearing more about Adrian’s progress in 3 weeks’ time during the Parent-Teacher interview.

Sep 25, 2010

2010-09-26T18:17:00.001-07:00

It's the second year we attended the SAC Homecoming and Adrian had so much fun!

Sep 19, 2010

2010-09-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

Birthday party @ My gym

Sep 17, 2010

2010-09-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

The teacher from school called us this morning and suspected Adrian got pink eye (2 kids in the class got pink eye last week). Adrian has been sick (cough & running nose) since the beginning of the week and he did have lots of discharge from his eyes for the past 2 days. Mama went to pick up Adrian right away and brought him go see his pediatrician. Adrian remembers the setting in the doctor’s office and kept asking if we were there for the needles... The doc said he’s got an eye infection and URTI and prescribed him eye drops and antibiotics. Hopefully he’ll get well soon.

Sep 13, 2010

2010-09-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

It’s heart breaking to know a family we know in Toronto who went through the same thing as we did whose son is experiencing Neuroblastoma relapse. And in fact, we were just having a party celebrating this little guy’s 6th birthday at Reptilia Zoo yesterday and we got this piece of sad news today!

Today is the National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day – I want to dedicate this post to all the amazing kids who we have come across through the years. What an inspiration to see all of you are so very brave fighting the disease. Hoping we could find a cure to all childhood cancer!

Sep 11, 2010

2010-09-12T19:20:00.001-07:00

Adrian @ Markham Children Festival.

Sep 7, 2010

2010-09-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

First day back to school after the holidays – Adrian is officially a Casa student at the BIG campus building. Not only is parking at the big building a challenge for us, Adrian also has to once again get used to have some new friends, new class teachers & classroom. We met with his class teacher when dropping off Adrian and told her briefly about Adrian’s hearing problems. She seemed to be well informed as we’ve noted it on the registration form already. We later met with the co-class teacher after school and she said Adrian did fine in class that he’s playing puzzle the whole afternoon. It’s good to know he is off to a great start - he seemed to like his new class and the teachers as well!

"Generic" uniform bought from Target! :)

Sep 1 - 5, 2010

2010-09-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

With the fact that Adrian adores Elmo & Big Bird (he needs to watch an ELMO video on youtube EVERY NIGHT before going to bed) – we decided to make our very first road trip to Sesame Place near Philadelphia and did some sightseeing there in this Labour Day long weekend. Adrian behaved very well during the 16 hours drive (both ways), we managed to fulfill a lot of Adrian’s wishes – meeting the characters from Sesame Street in person, sampling different dry & wet rides in Sesame Park, free play in Please Touch Museum, touring at the Crayola Factory and the hands on experience at the National Canal Museum. We all had a blast in this mini-vacation and we look forward to having many more trips with Adrian as he grows older!

Aug 24, 2010

2010-08-26T11:07:00.001-07:00

In anticipation of Adrian going to JK in September (and that it's confirmed the School board will provide 1:1 AVT for Adrian), the therapy that he’s been going since April at Markham Stouffville Hospital is coming to an end. Adrian enjoyed working with Rebecca, our SLP through the Infant Hearing Program and he’s thrilled to see her at each session. During the last 2 sessions, Rebecca did another assessment on Adrian and we are pleased to see Adrian did make some significant improvements. Generally, he speaks more - although the sentence structure is not quite there yet but he’s making good progress. Also, we need to continue working on the clarity of his speech by reinforcing sounds like "s" & "f" that Adrian had problems hearing them. As Rebecca said, Adrian is the happiest kid she’s ever worked with as he’s happy on everything! Though we've made the decision of not attending JK at Public School (therefore may not be eligible for the 1:1 AVT provided through the School board) but to continue at his current Montessori School, according to Rebecca – he will be qualified for another 2 blocks of sessions (I block of 6-7 sessions in fall and then another block in Spring) before he turns 5 under the YRPSLP.

Aug 17, 2010

2010-08-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Adrian came home after school looking very upset yesterday. He told us one of the boys pushed him (and he fell on the floor) in class and hurt him. The teacher made the little boy said sorry and Adrian said he replied "thank you"??!! Even though he said he’s still going to play with this little boy but he felts very intimidated. He woke up from a nightmare crying in the middle of the night and then he slept til 6:30 and came to our room to find us. He must have felt really bad from the experience... Talked to the teacher after school today trying to understand what had happened – the teacher confirmed the incident and said she gave the little boy "Time Out" for pushing.

Aug 14, 2010

2010-08-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

What a busy day today with Adrian’s skating class in the morning, followed by a Birthday Party and then a short visit at the Wonderland (our 5th time this year!).

Aug 7, 2010

2010-08-10T12:22:00.001-07:00

Our entire household (incl Adrian) went for dental check up and regular teeth cleaning today at our family dentist. The last dental appointment over a year ago with Adrian was brutal… Now that he’s more grown up and not afraid of needles anymore, we know that he’s going to be all right.

As Adrian put it, it started with Papa’s turn, Mama’s turn and then Adrian’s turn at the end. Having sat patiently and looked through the whole procedure – Adrian sat nicely on the dental chair and had his mouth wide opened for the dentist. We (and everyone at the clinic) are so amazed how calm and cooperative for a 4 years old behaved at the dental office - taking instructions on whatever the dentist asked him to do. It surprised the dentist that he was able to do EVERYTHING he needed to without any hassle. We are totally impressed and are so proud of him!

Aug 1, 2010

2010-08-03T19:19:00.001-07:00

Adrian began 6 sessions of summer skating class yesterday at the community centre. He was finally able to get up by himself whenever he falls on ice!

July 31, 2010

2010-07-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

We had our FIRST beach experience in Canada at Sibbald Point Beach. Despite the overcast weather, Adrian had fun playing in the sand and chilling out in the water with other kids.

July 24 - 25, 2010

2010-07-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Weekend trip in London, ON and Adrian had many first's…
- First time eating a corned beef sandwich & hamburger!!!!
- First time taking part at the "Day out with Thomas" event and an up close encounter with the BIG engine, Thomas!
- First time visiting Mama's school, residence and the place where Papa & Mama first met….
- And, we revisited Storybook Garden before heading back home – what a fun-filling weekend!

July 17, 2010

2010-07-18T11:15:00.001-07:00

Shopping & Breakfast @ Ikea

Rest of the day @ Wonderland

July 10, 2010

2010-07-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

We hit the water park @ Wonderland, followed by Snoopy Rocks on Ice show and a few rides!

July 5, 2010

2010-07-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

After staying with the grannies for a week, Adrian came home and started summer camp at the new campus today. What a relief to know that he enjoyed the camp despite all the new faces; new teachers and he also survived without naps!

As Adrian becomes a big “4”, he is smarter all of the sudden. For example:-
- He hadn’t wetted his pants at school since he turned 4 in April.
- He has more "sense of space" when it comes to coloring.
- He’s able to use short English phrases(e.g. It’s broken, I'm tired, I like the story etc) and answer simple questions in English.
- Not only can he recognize his name, he can also spell and write his own name (in uppercase case only).

Jun 25, 2010

2010-06-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

No school this morning but the grannies took Adrian to the pediatrician for his vaccinations. The appointment was long overdue with Adrian getting 2 shots today – second dose of MMR & DTaP-IPV(Hib). Adrian helped pull up his short sleeves shirt and the shots were administered on both of his arms (not thigh like last time). Adrian was extremely well behaved that even the doctor was amazed why this little guy didn’t even have a tear when poked! As you can imagine, Adrian only got a candy but no more stickers – it’s funny how Adrian used to get tones of goodies from doctors/staff at SickKids, well they didn’t need to “bribe” him now because he’s not afraid of needles anymore! We are proud to say Adrian has finally caught up on all his vaccination meaning he is immunized like all other kids his age!!!! He won’t need the next shot(s) until he turns 5 next year!!!! Hooray!!!

Jun 24, 2010

2010-06-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

How the time flies… Today is the last day of school for Adrian! The school organized a play day yesterday with the kids as well as a little "graduation" ceremony in class. Adrian was delighted to see the grandparents and Papa were there sharing this great milestone with him. As the teacher put it on the report card, Adrian has really broken out of his shell and has transformed into an independent boy through the year. Adrian has no idea that he may not be in the same class with some of his friends next year in Casa, we’ll try to stay in touch with some we know and hope their friendships will grow with them.

Adrian is going to spend next week at the Grandparents’ and then summer camp starts the week after at the big campus – that’s where Adrian will spend the next 2 years there doing the Casa program!

Jun 11, 2010

2010-06-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Grandma came with Adrian to the school Field Trip at Lionel's farm.

Jun 5, 2010

2010-06-07T18:43:00.001-07:00

We spent the afternoon traveling to see the "Walking with Dinosaurs" show. Though Adrian didn't quite understand the script, he enjoyed the show immensely and kept saying "wow wow wow" whenever there's another dino storming onto the stage. The Dinosaurs are breathtaking life-sized replicas and we wonder if Adrian knows that they have become extinct in reality?! :)

Jun 3 - 4, 2010

2010-06-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Adrian behaved very well these 2 days while we were at SickKids.

- Hearing test went well. The audiologist took his aids for inspection to make sure they are working properly and at the same time, Adrian was sent to have his ears flushed to get the ear wax out. Like last time, he was very cooperative and did everything he was asked to do. The hearing test was performed a little different this time (with Adrian had his hearing aids on) and the audiologist was pleased to know that Adrian became more responsive on high pitch tones than before.

- MIBG Injection took 10 mins to complete. We told Adrian that he’s going for needles and he immediately promised that he’s not going to cry. He was so willing to put his hand forward without a minute of hesitation and didn’t shed a tear when he was being poked! While the injection took a few minutes to complete, Adrian even had conversations with the nurses and everyone was amazed how brave this little boy is! He sure is a big boy now!!!

-MIBG Scan the next day at 08:00. The Wiggles & the Diego shows have kept Adrian lied still for the entire scan that takes about an hour. Big credit to Adrian as the technician was able to do his head scan for the first time. Imagine Adrian had both his eyes shut lying STILL on the table with the scanner only an inch up his head. He’s really growing up and is starting to know what is going on with the scan.

- We’re not able to see Dr Baruchel – but our contact nurse advised us that the results for Adrian’s urine, blood & ultrasound tests from last week were all NORMAL. It’s only 10:00 by the time we finished everything and we took the time exploring Sick Kids before meeting Papa for lunch. Adrian spent some time hanging out at the waiting area of the oncology clinic, checking out the library room and playing with other kids in the playroom for an hour. With such a beautiful day outside, we had a nice stroll to the Eaton Centre after lunch and there we saw booths setup at Dundas Square promoting Ontario Tourism. Adrian had so much fun exploring different booths, meeting Santa in summer suit and even gem panning!

Imagine doing gem panning at Dundas Square for FREE! It's pretty cool!!!

Santa promoting his village in Bracebridge ON

May 29, 2010

2010-05-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

Another day @ Wonderland. Adrian was lucky that he got a 40" bracelet this time which enabled him to get on a lot of the exciting rides!! Oh boy he just loves roller coasters!

Getting on "Thunder Run"

At the SpongeBob 3D show. Adrian looks like 側田 in this pic!!

"Blast Off"

Finally "Ghoster Coaster"!!!

May 27, 2010

2010-05-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

Adrian has been complaining of back pain on a few occasions last week and this week. After a phone call to our contact nurse at Sick Kids yesterday, we decided to bring Adrian in to see his Oncology Specialist for a check up. This is also the FIRST time Papa took Adrian to the hospital meeting with the specialist to raise our concerns. Adrian was seen by Dr Baruchel shortly after arriving at Sick Kids at around 10am. He passed the first screening after being thoroughly examined by the doctor. Next in line are the emergency abdomen ultrasound, blood test, collecting urine sample, meeting with Dietician (as requested by us) etc. What a relief to hear that the ultrasound result was normal! Knowing that Adrian didn’t cry a bit during the blood test really amazed us – he’s such a brave little boy! Before call it a day at Sick Kids, Papa took Adrian to the nearby hearing aids centre to check his hearing aids as well. We will be back next Thurs & Friday for the rescheduled MIBG Scan/hearing test (originally booked in July) and will meet with Dr Baruchel again for the result on blood test & urine!! Keeping our fingers crossed!

May 24, 2010

2010-05-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

Adrian @ Black Creek Village on Victoria Day

May 22, 2010

2010-05-22T11:37:00.001-07:00

We got complimentary tickets to watch the 3D movie - Shrek The Final Chapter! Adrian was so fascinated at the 3D effects of the movie and kept sitting still for an hour with his 3D glasses. It's only the last 30 mins of the movie that he started to get impatient. He enjoys the movie experience (with FM system compatible with his hearing aids) nonetheless and keeps talking about Shrek & Fiona after the movie! :)

May 20, 2010

2010-05-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Grandparents' Day at school - Grannies were invited to visit his class this morning and had picnic lunch afterwards at the gym.

Adrian & his class teacher.

May 18, 2010

2010-05-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

My Hero... Adrian!!

May 15, 2010

2010-05-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

We spent Sat afternoon @ Canada’s Wonderland – we all dressed warm as the weather was a bit chilly, but it’s a perfect time to hit the park with less waiting time for rides. It’s a pity Adrian is not tall enough to get on some of the exciting rides as the minimum height requirement is 40” (he’s only 38”5 )! One thing for sure is we’ll be back many more times this year as we bought the season pass!!! :D

Adrian @ Planet Snoopy entrance inside Wonderland.

May 12, 2010

2010-05-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

We came across the news about two HKU Professors (who also happen to be Adrian’s doctors at QMH) shaved their heads yesterday to raise funds for Children Cancer Foundation in Hong Kong. The fund raising event is jointly organized by HKU LKS Faculty of Medicine & the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. We feel so blessed Adrian had 2 shavees honoring him in this event.

May 11, 2010

2010-05-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

We all took the day off and headed to the public school for the “Transition to Kindergarten” meeting. It’s a good 1.5 hour meeting and we’ve managed to go through major items like Adrian’s background, strengths & weaknesses, our expectations and what kind of service/support are available for Adrian during the school year. The principal was kind enough to offer a tour with us to the gym, library and most importantly the JK classroom. So we have a better idea on what to expect should we decide to let Adrian join the public system.

May 8, 2010

2010-05-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

With the theme “Mother’s Day” this week, Adrian learned a new song at school and came home singing bits and pieces of the song...

“I love you forever, I love you… always… you…. Mommy” :) 

Adrian loves school and he always talks about a few of his friends that he’s especially close with at school. As our family went out for Mother’s Day dinner at the restaurant tonight, Adrian began talking about that one friend and told us she sat at the table across the hallway from ours. We had no ideas how true it is but there’s indeed a girl sitting at that table but the girl had no reactions seeing us (& Adrian) whatsoever. Towards the end of the dinner, Papa took the initiative and brought Adrian there to meet with that girl (& her father) and say hello… Wow, what a coincidence that she really IS Adrian’s classmate – the girl whom Adrian talks about day and night! The father of that girl was also surprised that Adrian could recognize his friend (i.e. his daughter) at the restaurant. What sharp eyes Adrian has!!! We're really impressed!