I was wondering how the teachers, staffs and students at JCCNV could say Dao’s name with correct Vietnamese tone. Almost everyone gets it right whenever they greet him. I finally found out the person who is responsible for it. Yesterday I dropped Dao’s off as usual and he was greeted by quite a few new faces in his class. His new classmates said, “Hi Dow.” Ms. Tam quickly corrected them, “It’s not Dow. It’s Đạo.”

Isn’t it nice to have a Vietnamese teacher around? I think Ms. Tam plays a big role in his Vietnamese speaking. Dao will be moving up to an upper class at the end of June and he won’t have Ms. Tam around anymore. That’s going to be a big disadvantage for us.

Dao is picking up a lot of words now and he uses them in unexpected moments. Last Friday, we stopped by Pho Hoa Binh in Maryland on our trip to Lancaster. As I was feeding him pho, he kept asking for more (“nua”). I gave him a spoonful, but he spat back out and said, “nhieu qua” (too much).

He used to be able to watch his favorite “Curious George” in the minivan without the sound on so I can listen to music while driving. Now if he doesn’t hear the sound, he would say, “hong (no) work” or “hong tieng” (no sound).

Now he no longer wants to ride the old car. As soon as he sees the minivan, he would say, “Dao di xe moi… Xe cu nghi” (Dao wants to ride the new car… Old car is resting.”

Out of the blue this morning, he said to me as I tried to buckle him into his car seat, “May, May, May o nha May” (May stays at her house). I responded to him in Vietnamese, “Of course, May stays at her house. Where else could May be? Do you miss May?” He nodded his head, “Dao nho May” (Dao misses May). Let’s hope that he won’t be too attached or too emotional when he grows up or else the girls going to break his heart into pieces.

On Saturday, Dao and May met up for another play date. Many things have changed since the last time they were together, which were about three months ago. For the first forty-five minutes, May seemed to have forgotten Dao or she was overwhelmed that a bunch of strangers just marched into her house. Dao, on the other hand, called out her name, gave her a hug, a kiss and then helped himself to the toys as if he was at his own house. Then May felt comfortable again and they were back to normal.

Dao held May’s hand when we went outside. They walked and laughed together. We went to Fuddruckers for lunch and the cutest moment when May fed him. Whatever she puts to his mouth, he just took it, even with chip dipped in ketchup. After lunch we headed toward Port Discovery.

This time I took Samantha and Eric along. Not sure about Samantha, but Eric enjoyed the place. I was glad that we also get to hang out with these two who I love like my own kids. I have many memories with Samantha because I was around when she was born. I shared with her what I could remember when she was a little girl. It seems like yesterday that I was holding her in my arms. Now she’s all grown up. Twelve years have gone by.

Eric is seven now and still in his kid zone; therefore, he still likes to hang out with us. Every time I come to visit my mom, I try to take him out and spend time with him. Dao also loves Eric. He now does everything Eric does. Yesterday, I was sitting on the coach, Eric came, gave me a hug and said, “I love you.” He melted my heart. I really I wish I could spend more time with him and Samantha.

Back to Dao and May, the two that are opposite of each other, but get along so well together. I was looking forward to many play dates in the future, but May, Linh and Son will be moving to the West coast at the end of June. We’re very happy for them, but a little bit sad that we won’t have the convenience of meeting up anymore.

Thanks to Dao and May, Dana and I have found a wonderful couple that we could hang out with because we all happy to see our kids enjoy each other’s company. In a way, Linh and Son are our first friends together. Not that we’re unsociable, but we’re just not a very exciting couple who enjoys each other’s boring company. Unlike us, Linh and Son isn’t a boring couple. They just happen to share the “twin” with us.

Dao (Asian), Brit (Black) and Aiden (White) are the three musketeers in daycare. They play and bond together at school. They even share food and toys with each other. Isn’t it just lovely that kids don’t differentiate their color skins? It would be interesting to see how their relationship grow over the years assuming that they’ll be in class together. Dao is oldest among the three. Aiden is about a month younger and Brit is about two or three months younger. Their teacher told me both Dao and Aiden should move to the next class together since they are like BFFs.

On a different note, Dao received a booklet from school for his birthday. The cover features balloons and Thomas Train. Inside of the booklet is a collection of Dao’s photos and paintings. Dao flipped to one of the artworks and complimented himself, “Dao ve dep” (Dao draws beautifully). I am liking his confidence already. Once in a while, he would say to Dana, “Mommy dep.” No wonder he’s her favorite boy.

Dao now knows the different between his left and right foot. If I put on his socks or shoes, he would tell me if I am putting on “chan trai” (left foot) or “chan phai” (right foot). The other day, he dropped Thomas Train (the heavy one with the battery) onto his foot. I asked him, “Con bi gi?” (What’s happened?) He cried, pointed out to me and said, “chan phai dau” (right foot hurt). I sat him on my lap, gave his right foot a kiss and asked him, “Con dau khong?” (Does it still hurt?). He stopped crying, waved his hand and replied, “het dau roi” (no more pain). I love this method of treatment. A kiss was all that needed, except for when he gets rash on his butt. He would point to his behind and say “dau dit” (butt hurts). My response to him was, “dau dit thi di lai me” (if your butt hurts, go to mama).

Saturday, we treated my sister-in-law and her husband to Korshi for dinner for helping us with the vegetable garden in the backyard. After a whole day of digging, shoveling, tilling, soiling and manuring, we needed a big dinner; therefore, a sushi and Korean BBQ buffet seemed like a good choice.

The only problem was that kid and buffet didn’t go well together. The table behind us was smart. They brought their kid a portable DVD player so the kid was watching “Tom & Jerry” while the parents enjoyed snow crab legs.

At our table, Dao refused to sit on a high chair. He just wanted to sit on his mama’s lap. I went to get the food for them. They couldn’t finished the plate so I had to finished the cold food; therefore, I couldn’t tell if the play was good or bad. About half an hour into the meal, he was already bored out of his mind. I gave him my iPod Touch so he could be occupied like the kid behind us, but there was no Internet connection. The restaurant wouldn’t let us use its network.

So the dining experience didn’t turn out so well at all for $30 a head. Oh well.

On Sunday, we were finally made it to National Zoo. Dao could pointed out most of the animals he knew. We spent about two hours before Dao decided to push his stroller. He did for about half an hour until his energy ran out. He fell asleep so we took him to Costco and then home.

The weekend went by so fast. Now we’re back to our regular weekday schedule.

Dao’s new word: “too.”
“Me an keo, too.”
“Ba cat co, too.”
“Dao rua tay, too.”
“Dao an pho, too.”

Despite our morning and night wrestlings trying to brush his teeth, Dao ended up with eight cavities. The dentist knew that working Dao’s teeth while he’s awaked wasn’t go to fly; therefore, he tried to sedate him. After half an hour of taking the medication, which cost $300, Dao didn’t fall asleep yet, but he determined to worked on him any way. The dentist’s assistant took him right out of my arms while Dao was still holding on to his train. They didn’t let us in.

About forty five minutes later, the dentist came out and gave us the story of how the filling went down. He needed two assistants to hold him down because Dao still didn’t fall asleep. He bit his on his lip once and bit on the dentist’s tool as well. The dentist said, “Wow, he is a strong boy.” I told him, “You only have to deal with him once. I deal with him twice a day.” I came in to pick him up. He was all sweaty and his face was all red, but he was still holding on to his train.

The receptionist told me that after our insurance coverage, we’ll be responsible for about $800. That’s $1,100 for one visit, ouch! Took him home and he has been sleeping for almost five hours already. I am getting work done, but poor lil fellow haven’t eaten anything all day.

I wish I had written down all the things Dao has said. Sometimes he sounds so hilarious. Here is a list of things I could recall:

• “Daddy, bowling nga roi [fall down].”
• “Daddy giup [help] Dao dung [set up] bowling.”
• “Daddy choi voi [play with] Dao please.”
• “Daddy dat [take] Dao di vong vong [go around].”
• “Daddy, di cat co [mow the lawn].”
• “Daddy, doc sach cho [read for] Dao.”
• “Daddy, Thomas go in the tunnel.”
• “Daddy, thay bin [change battery] Thomas.”
• “Daddy, Thomas bi xuoc” [Say what? He must have learned that word from grandparents. I am not even sure how to translate that into English].

I almost forget what today is until we headed to Pho 75 this morning. The joint was closed to commemorate April 30 (the fall of Saigon). We drove to Eden around 10:30am and they were setting up the stage for the event titled “Ky Niem Quoc Han.” We had some noodle soup and headed to Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum.

The museum is located in Baltimore so it took us an hour to get there. The good thing was that Dao fell asleep for 45 minutes. When we arrived, he woke up and fully charged. We wanted to take him on the “Day Out With Thomas” ride, but the tickets sold out weeks ago. Even though we didn’t get to ride the train, Dao had a fantastic time at the table train with older kids and enjoyed the beautiful weather outside.

We took him out to the station so he could see the big Thomas Train. As Thomas departed he wanted to be on the train as well. He cried when I held him back and tried to tell him that Thomas would come back. A few minutes later he calmed down and told me, “Thomas di roi. Dao khoc” (Thomas already left. Dao cries). He sounded as if a girl just broke his heart.

Four hours later, we headed back home, but with some extra time, we headed to Costco. He felt asleep again from Costco to our house, but woke up when got home and changed him. He remembered that I promised him that we would mow the lawn when we get home so he was all excited. We spent an hour and a half to mow the lawn. I used to hate doing this this, but with him next to me, I didn’t mind at all. Love spending time with him and Dana.

We’re planning on taking him to the National Zoo tomorrow. I am sure, he’ll love seeing the animals. At the age, he has many curiosity and so we’ll let him expose and try out new things. The other day, he tried snail and kept asking for more.

I was up late last night finishing up laundry so we can spend the weekend out. While waiting for the clothes to dry to put in another load, I spent time on Facebook rather than reading an exciting book on Miles Davis Quintet. I wasted two hours checking people I knew from high school. Some became doctors; some guys went back to Vietnam to married and some are still playing with cocks. Cockfighting never seems old to some people.

I went to bed around 12:30, which was about 15 minutes later than usual. I got up early this morning and got ready for work. Today Dao has doctor’s appointment for two years check up so I didn’t have to wake him up and brush his teeth. After getting all dressed up, I went back into bed saw him and his mom all cuddling up together. He loves to sleep in Dana’s arm. He took over my favorite spot. Dana needed a bathroom break so I lay down next to him. He got up but his eyes still closed so I quickly grabbed him and pulled him into my chest with his cheek rested next to my cheek. What a soft, smooth cheek on his face. He felt back into sleep and I just held on him tight. The weather was a bit chilly today and he felt so warm. I closed my eyes and enjoyed half an hour that I will never forget.

For some odd reasons, he always gets up early and jumps all over us when the weekend comes. Let’s hope that he won’t up early tomorrow and Sunday so we could have more cuddle time like that. Priceless.

By the way, here’s a video of Dao playing Chuggington Bowling. Pretty creative idea, huh?

You turn two today my boy. What a wonderful joy seeing you being thrilled. Love the look on your face when we sang the birthday song for you and your eagerness to blow out the candle on the beautiful Thomas Train cake Bac Tram made for you. Love the excitement you displayed when you opened up the presents. Love to see you interacted with other kids and participated in egg-hunting activity and painting. Love to see you ran on spare battery until 6pm without an afternoon nap.

Son, it’s still unreal that you are two. Seeing you progress has been one of the greatest joys of being a dad. When folks asked me what do I do for fun and I would tell them “raising my son.” At first, it is just an excuse to hide the boring side of me, but being with you makes my life exciting. You’re my aspiration. Before you came into my life, I thought that being a parent is all about taking care of his kid, but you have proved me wrong. You have been there for me when I need you the most. I feel rejuvenated just being with you. The smile on your face always brights up my day. You’re the little pillow I hug on to at night. You’re the little fellow that could magically lift me up whenever I felt down.

Thank you for everything you have given me so far. I can’t wait to see what you’ll have next for me in the years to come. Happy birthday, dear Dao. I love you.