Monday, December 11, 2006

He Got Flair

Daryl was born six months ago to this very minute (5:28 p.m.). So first of all, happy six-month birthday to Daryl!

We have heard oh-so many times that Daryl looks and behaves more mature than his age. When we tell people that he is only six months old, people would look at us in disbelief, saying that he looks like a one-year-old. In terms of weight, he isn't that heavy. Many babies of his age are heavier than his weight of 18 pounds. And in terms of height, he isn't very tall as his parents are, sadly, both vertically-challenged (no, we're not suffering from dwarfism).

It's from his behaviour and demeanor that we can see his "maturity". He has been able to sit up by himself for a couple of months now, and a little over a month ago, we could pick him up by his armpits and help him walk. Amazingly, Daryl is able to swing his strong and stocky legs one by one, as if imitating the walking motion.

Although he still can't master his vocal chords to produce any meaningful sound, he certainly displays his fondness of talking (unlike his parents) by often being the noisiest person at home. Very often he would "Er", "Ee" or "Ah" the entire morning, as if waking us up and inviting us to play with him.

And he loves to smile. Sometimes he would smile by himself for no particular reason at all. But more often than not, he would smile when we play with him. He is particularly excited playing the drummer or driver on my lap, or read his "Puppy Book", and smiles the brightest. And when we make some funny sounds in front of him, he would simply look at us and, after a brief moment or so, start to smile. His smile has been so attractive and mesmerizing that everyone has fallen for him.

Many people believe that boys nowadays don't have a clue on how to deal with girls. Some may say that many boys are simply like girls. Judging by the number of girls surrounding him since his birth, and by the flair and poise he has been displaying in front of them, we are not worried for Daryl in that regard at all.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Oh Doctor! (Part Deux)

Babies as young as Daryl usually need not see a doctor yet, as they all enjoy a six-month probation … oops, no, sorry, immunity period. People say that babies will not get sick during their first six months, as their mothers have given them all the immunity they have to possess.

But unfortunately for Daryl, he has already become a frequent visitor of our family doctor.

On a Wednesday in late October, Daryl started to have a slight fever after a routine injection at a Government outpatient clinic. This is something very normal and was not a cause for concern at all.

But that was just the beginning of the story.

Since he was still having a fever the day after, I decided to take a day off to look after him (yeah, and to skip work, or whatever). But somehow I myself started to have a fever, which eventually led to my three medical consultations in less than a week (yeah, and a couple of days of sick leave).

Meanwhile, Daryl's fever persisted for some days, and he developed other symptoms like coughing and sneezing as well. So on the following Monday, we decided to bring him to our family doctor, who is notorious for giving extremely strong and drowsy medicine.

However, Daryl was still coughing and sneezing after taking all the medicine. (I guess he must have been smoking and snorting stuffs when I was not around. I'll ask him later.) And he was obviously a little dazed and groggy (stoned?) after taking the medicine. So we had to take him there for a follow-up consultation on Saturday and by then, the doctor and nurses there all remembered him and said he's such a calm and good boy who looks like he's thinking all the time, just like a philosopher as his name suggests!

And when my parents also fell ill (possibly because we had spread the viruses to them) and visited the doctor, the nurses somehow know that Daryl is their grandson, despite the fact that I have never told them about it, and I haven't been to the clinic with my parents for literally ages. What's even more amazing is that they can all remember Daryl's FULL NAME in both Chinese and English, prompting my dad to say that "Daryl must be a very lovely baby. Otherwise they won't remember him that well!" He is a very proud grandfather indeed.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Home Sweet Home

After spending months searching for a new flat, we finally found one, and have now moved in.

It wasn't easy at first. There simply wasn't much flat available close to where we were living when we started. If there was one, it was either too expensive or simply too dilapidated. We don't mind living in flats of poor conditions, but we also have to take Daryl into consideration. We want him to grow up in better places.

So we spent many weekends visiting flats with property agents, who can sometimes be quite obnoxious and annoying. If you hate receiving cold calls, then you will probably detest the company of property agents. They are just the same.

In late October, we finally found one we like a lot. It has recently been renovated, and is quite close to my parents' home as well. Then the next (and probably the most important) thing to do was to bargain. However, the owner stood firm, and we are not the best of bargain hunters. The result: One of the sides is very happy.

Then we suddenly remembered what we had forgotten: Daryl hadn't visited the new flat yet! Older people say that people should bring along their babies when visiting flats. If the baby is happy, then the flat is good and "clean". If the baby cries, then it isn't.

When we finally brought Daryl along to the flat, we had already done all the paper work, which means that we have reached the point of no return. Worried, we showed him the flat and much to our relief, Daryl was smiling and very happy in our new home. He likes it a lot! Thanks Jesus!

And after thorough cleaning, we decided to move in on a Saturday in late November. The actual moving work took almost half a day, as we indeed have loads of things (we were told that there are enough things for a dozen people to live in). We also took Daryl to his godmother's home, lest he would be scared by the noise and the dust of the chaos. Turns out that he was scared by the sound of the piano there! And after two more days of unpacking the 50-plus boxes and drilling holes for boards and stuffs, we finally have a "brand new" home!

Daryl & Dana

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