One time at a friend’s kid birthday party, the guys decided to sing some karaoke. One dude sang one of Dam Vinh Hung’s hits “Goc Pho Reu Xanh,” on top of his lung. I didn’t want to get up and walk out so I sat there being tortured. A little four-or-five-year-old girl walked by with her hands covering her ears made us all laugh even the singing dude, yet he still didn’t get the point.

I don’t sing in public because somehow my voice doesn’t sound the same through the microphone. Nowadays the only person I would sing to is Cu Dao. It’s my last trick, if everything else fail, to keep him from crying. I don’t pull it out too often because he seems to get bored with old tricks fast. As soon as I would begin to sing, he would start to smile. When I hit Bang Kieu’s girly register he would chuckle. I had to sung my heart out in order to capture those gorgeous smiling photos of his. I had to trench my soul during our road trips to prevent him from screaming.

Being with Cu Dao really sets me free. I can do any silly things I want to. He leaves all my worries behind and all my stress away. The time we spend together, the world is our. One day he will be too embarrass to introduce me to his girls and friends, but for now I am enjoying every second of it. Cu Dao rocks my world.

Friday evening Dana and Duke picked me up at the Metro. We drove to Lotto for some Korean food and picked up two big-ass jackfruits (36 pounds each) before heading to Lancaster to visit my mom for the weekend. About ten minutes on the highway, we had to bust an exit because Cu Dao was crying and his mom couldn’t stopped him. We changed him, drove on for about fifteen minutes and he started to scream again. We stopped at McDonald’s for the dollar-menu sundae. Dana took over the wheel and I tried to entertain Duke in the backseat. I made him laughed out loud until he was exhausted. I gave him the bottle. He knocked it out and slept the whole way through. Am I good or what?

Duke got up when we arrived around 10:30 pm. He wanted to play to with grandma and didn’t go back into bed until midnight. The next day, Duke, Dana, my boy Nate and I went to the outlet to do some shopping before heading to Eric’s birthday. Duke has so many cousins now and two are just a year or two older than him. My cousin who has three 3 kids advised me not to hold Duke too much or else he would get used to it.

The thing is I am not trying to spoil him. I am more like making up to him. On weekdays I don’t get to spend time with Duke too much. I get home from work around 6:30 pm, take a shower and get to play with him for half an hour before supper. After doing the dishes, it would be around 8:30. Dana and I would give him a bath and then send him off to his crib. The next morning, I get to play with him for another half an hour before leaving to work. Therefore, I really want to spend time and hold him whenever I get a chance and usually the weekends are the best time to do so. I am just hope that he won’t be too spoiled.

Our our back to Virginia, Dana drove and I played with him until he fell asleep and he did the whole way through. Watching him sleep makes me realized that what people saying are true. Cu Dao looks so much like his dad, but much cuter and much more handsome than his dad. My cousin even said that he looks “ngầu hơn” his dad because of his striking eyebrows when he does his serious look. All I can say is that Cu Dao is so far my best achievement in life.

The other night I heard a high-pitched voice while sleeping. I mumbled to Dana, “why are you playing Bang Kieu’s songs in the wee hours?” About a minute later, the voice jumped an octave above Bang Kieu’s highest falsetto. I woke right the hell up and there was Cu Dao soaring out in a voice that I have never heard him cried before. I thought he was doing that “neu ngay nao tinh ta daaaaaaaaaaa phai” in Bang Kieu’s rendition of “Phut Cuoi,” although I don’t recall letting him listening to any of Bang Kieu’s recordings. I am still not sure where it was coming from, but I am so glad that he hasn’t pull that shtick again.

Duke turns five months today. It’s unbelievable how fast time has zipped by. Bringing him home from the hospital seems like yesterday and the video of him crying as soon as he breathed air still plays clearly in my mind. Watching him laughing, turning, crawling and growing everyday is a bundle of joy. Every time I hold him in my arms, look at him, smile at him and get a smile back, I feel very fortunate to have him in my life. It’s truly a blessing. I love you, my Cu Dao!

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!