These days I don’t have to stay up in the middle of the night anymore. Duke is sleeping better, but his mom is the reason I can get some sleep. She has been nursing him every two to three hours a night. Every time he cries, all I have to do is get up and move to the other side of bed. It’s time to switch breast.

Although she stays up and feeds him at night, she still gets up and goes to work. At work, she not only has to do her job, but also has to pump milk for him three times a day. Even though her job is more stressful than mine, she manages to pull 110% in production. (I can smell a bonus check coming.) Not sure how she does it, but I am very proud of her. It’s definitely a good thing to marry up.

Last Saturday, Dana and I took Duke to the 19th Annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival. We came to see Holly Cole and she was alright. Duke behaved well when we were there. He sat on my lap listening to the music without saying a word. He was a chick magnet as well. A lady was making faces trying to make him smile, but he just gave her that serious look instead.

The other day, Dana put him on the keyboard. When he hit the keys, the sounds excited him. He started to kick his feet and banged his hands. It looked like a good sign.

Cu Dao is wearing us out with his constant energy. He wouldn’t stay still and always wanted us to play or talk with him. He would roll over whenever we put him down on a flat surface. Yesterday he almost rolled off his car seat, which were sat on a chair, before I had a chance to buckle him up.

Whenever Dana feeds him, he would kick and move to all type of positions. As usual, Dana would bring him to bed in the middle of the night so she could feed him and then sleep. Last night Cu Dao didn’t want to sleep. He stayed wide awake and kept on talking while both of us were exhausted. He rolled over, talked and talked. I rubbed his back gently and suddenly I felt the wetness on my cheek. He was licking me. I was so tired and the fresh milk on his lips felt nice so I let him kissed me or drooled all over my face for a bit. I must admit. I enjoyed it.

Cu Dao was having a hard time falling asleep last night. I wrapped him up and played him his favorite CD, but he tried to roll over as soon as I placed him in his crib. I stood beside his bed in the dark observing him trying to free himself. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Duke started to cry. I stood there heartlessly letting him sobbed until he screamed. I picked him up and he squirmed on my arms until his face touched my chest. I placed my lips on his head and just held on to the kiss. He stopped moving and began to close his eyes. I rested my cheek against his forehead and felt the heat coming off him. The moment was so peaceful and precious that I didn’t put him back into his crib even after he was already deep asleep. I stood quietly, watched and listened to every breath he took for almost an hour.

The first Monday back to work was way too damn hard after spending two and a half weeks with Cu Dao. I miss the father and son daily routines. I miss jogging with him in the beautiful morning weather. I miss feeding him even though it was tough. If he finished the whole bottle, I felt like I have accomplished something. I miss making him laughed out loud. I miss taking him to visit his mom at work so we can get lunch and he could get his milk straight from the source. I miss napping next to him listening to Lullaby: A Collection. This album works every time putting Cu Dao to sleep. All I have to do is wrapped him up and turned on the CD. I wish I could have done more with him, but I am glad we had a bit of quality time together.

Because Cu Dao’s hair isn’t growing evenly, I have been itching to shave his head. In the past, I shaved both Samantha and Eric, but I couldn’t do it to Cu Dao yesterday. My hands were shaky so I let Dana do it. I also made a promise if we were to shave his head, I would shave mine as well. So I lived up to my words. Obviously, Cu Dao looks so much cuter than his daddy.

Cu Dao has been sleeping through the night for more than a week. We put him to bed around 10 and he doesn’t get up until 5:00. That’s the great part. The not-so-great part is that he doesn’t like feeding through the bottle. It took him an hour and a half yesterday for me to feed him 3 oz.

It has been quite a busy week for Cu Dao. Last Thursday we drove 4.5 hours to New Jersey for my brother-in-law wedding. We had fun seeing the family again. Thanks to Thu Hoai and the Magic Night for kept us on the dance floor. I also took some great photos for the newly wedded couple as I was trying to hone my photography skill. My family (mom, sister, Sammy and Eric) also joined us at the reception. Then we all drove back to Virginia on Sunday. My folks hang out with me around the area while Dana at work for the past three days. Got a speeding ticket right in D.C. These damn cops.

Dana, Duke and I will be joining my in-laws in Wildwood for the weekend. I am looking forward to relax and to win some money at the Casinos. I still have one more week to spend with Cu Dao before returning to work.

He is up now. I better take him out for a stroll. Enjoy your Friday. Peace out!

As we were looking at Duke’s recent photo, I said to Dana, “Our boy got swag.” My wife had no idea what I was talking about. Just look at that face, no one on the corner has swagger like Duke and he just turns three months yesterday.

Time flies by so fast and everyday with him is a joy. A smile on his face washes away all my stress. Since the day he was born, nothing could bring me down. He’s the reason I stay up at three in the morning and he’s also the reason I get up at 5 in the morning. He’s the reason I strive everyday to bring him a comfort life. My job as a father is just starting. I still have a long way to go, but seeing smile every time I talk to him reassures me that I am doing a fine or at least so far so good.

These days I have become a frequent reader of the mama’s blogs. Mad love goes out to chi Quyen who has always giving advice whenever I have baby issues, Chuoc Con’s mama for letting us see the little girl grows day by day, May’s mama for deep personal thoughts, Tully’s mama for some cultural experience, and of course the mama-to-be. Thanks all and keep blogging, mamas!

Last night, we put Cu Dao to bed around 9. He woke up an hour later and we thought it’s going to be another long-waking night. After Dana nursed him, she put him back to his crib around 11 and we didn’t hear him cried until 5 in the morning. We both couldn’t believe it. Duke slept 6 hours straight. I wish he pulls more nights like this because daddy can’t play at three the morning anymore.

Cu Dao’s acne is also going away. I guess the salty water from the beach works. He looks so beautiful this morning.

New study reveals how kids can easily learn two languages at once according to AP:

Scientists now know babies are born with the ability to distinguish all of them, but that ability starts weakening even before they start talking, by the first birthday.

I’ve been speaking both languages to Cu Dao, more Vietnamese than English. We’ll see if the study actually works.

Cu Dao gets his first experience of the beach over the weekend. Saturday morning, we headed to Virginia Beach with grandma, aunt and uncle. Half way through the 3.5-hour drive, we got pulled over for tinted window for the first time. Unbelievable!

The nice thing about driving was that Cu Dao slept the whole way through. We arrived around noon and headed toward the beach. He slept some more on the beach under the umbrella. When he woke up I took him into the water. I dipped his feet first and he cried. I pulled him up and he stopped crying. I dunked his entire body in and he screamed his lung out, but stopped immediately when I held him tight into my arms.

Cu Dao slept again when we took a night stroll along the strip. We enjoyed all types of entertainment from jazz to break dance. He slept quite well that night and woke us up at six the next day. We walked along the boardwalk and breathed in the morning fresh air

We hit the beach again before checked out. Dana held him in her arms and walked along the beach. It was a priceless image. I then took him into the water again. The water seemed to clean up some of his acnes.

The traffic on the way home was horrendous. Cu Dao slept for three hours. Woke up, screamed, got fed and then got back to sleep for two more. The result was that he wanted to play at one o’clock in the morning with daddy. Being a parent is a tough job. I feel like I am on cloud nine most of the time due to lack of sleep.