Recap (Part 3)

At this very moment last year, Daryl was finally born, and a staggering 18 hours in the delivery ward. He weighed 3.205kg, and had a height of 50cm, which is about normal.

We always thank God for giving us such a wonderful baby, and we promise that we will love and take care of you to the best we can.

Recap (Part 2)

By this time last year, my wife had been sent to the delivery ward for some 11 hours, and I had also spent a night in the ward with her. Yet Daryl was still not willing to come out and despite the best effort of my wife, we were still waiting ...

Recap

Around this time a year ago, my wife and I finished watching the opening match of the World Cup between Germany and Costa Rica, and went to bed. Somehow she couldn't fall asleep as she felt that Daryl was moving around quite a bit in her tummy. Worse still, she saw some signs of premature birth as it wasn't the due date yet ...

18 Years Ago

I was just a kid at the time, and the things that took place in Beijing were distant to me. I didn't understand what was going on, and I didn't understand its impact on our homeland either. The only thing I remember is that my dad was crying when he saw the tanks approaching, and what the army did to their own people.

I hope Daryl would find out what had happened on that fateful day 18 years ago. I hope he will remember, and I hope that every Chinese in the world will remember.

Studio 123

We never knew how tiring a photo-shoot can be. We know now, and it was us who were exhausted. Daryl was still playing and laughing at the end, as if he wanted to stay behind and spend the night there.

Swimsuit Model

Any major magazines looking for a smart and lovely kid as a swimsuit model? Why not Daryl? He's young, he's lovely, and he's available! Please call his agent for details. Thanks.

Daryl's First Kiss

Was given to a gorgeous model (on a leaflet).

Daryl and His Car

Daryl visiting the playground, where he tried out the latest model of a blue 4X4 jeep, made of technologically-advanced materials - hard plastic.

Studio Daryl

We must have been bored.

A couple of days ago, we decided to set up a temporary studio and bought some poster colours, drawing paper and things like that.

And take a look at some of his very first works.

Don't think that we were forcing him to do so. He was laughing and yelling all the way. And most importantly, he was not harmed by the poster colours as we washed them all away immediately.

Hey Sotheby's, interested in selling some of his works for us?

Letter from Santa

In May, of all time.

Last November, in anticipation of Daryl's first ever Christmas, we decided to write to Santa Claus in Finland, hoping that he would send us some gift or souvenir. Yet as Christmas went by and 2007 had arrived, we never got or heard anything from him. So we thought that Santa doesn't exist, or may be dead.

But now this. We finally received Santa's reply today (Daryl's 11-month birthday incidentally), and although it's not a hand-written letter, it is a reply nonetheless. Now we can tell Daryl that Santa DOES exist and is alive and kicking. But since he's a very old and busy man (or woman? Well, who knows?), we really have to give him ENOUGH time (say, six months?) to reply us.

So I'd better stop now and start writing to Santa again for this year's Christmas.

Daryl the Poet

Daryl's secret gathering place with fellow poets, somewhere in Kowloon. (No, not the one with panties hanging at the window.)

Spelling Bee

This is how my name is spelt!

Things You Don't Know about Daryl

We, being the notoriously thrifty parents, always buy clothes at least one size too large for Daryl, hoping that he can wear them for as long as possible. While the loose fit outfit makes him a fashion diva with an extremely lovely hip-hop look, it has also given him trouble.

Last week Daryl was wearing a pair of ultra loose khaki shorts and while I was helping him stand during a meal in a restaurant with my family, his shorts simply slid along his legs onto the chair on which he was standing.

Luckily no one (except me) witnessed it firsthand (I found out at least 10 seconds after the pants were gone). Otherwise they would have laughed or even choked to death.

Or he would have been arrested by the Police for indecent exposure.

...

Perhaps it is just babies' nature, I simply have to admire Daryl's courage for expressing explicitly his desire for something which we may find a bit embarrassing.

A number of witnesses have confirmed that Daryl becomes especially happy and excited when being carried by "busty" women. And some have even pointed out that Daryl would touch (but never fondle or caress, for that matter) their breasts with his tiny and soft hands.

This clearly and surely explains why Daryl doesn't like to be carried by me.

And for the record, I never teach him that trick. So don't sue me.

...

We may be in line for the Nobel Prize for discovering a perfect and easy cure for insomnia.

For those of you not being able to have a good sleep night in and night out, here is a simple suggestion.

Buy a baby car seat, strap yourself into it and ask the driver to start driving. I can guarantee that you will fall asleep within seconds.

Still skeptical? Just ask Daryl and he will tell you how well he sleeps when he's traveling in our car.

Pretty Potty Play

Breaking news: Daryl nailed his potty test in flying colours earlier today. He never missed the target and was a perfect two-for-two, despite playing in an incomplete kit (look, his shorts are missing!) in front of the capacity crowd (his nanny and, well, his nanny).

Maximillian's Warning

Maximillian's Warning: Potties are hazardous to your (and your neighbour's) home. They can cause serious flooding, water seepage and various pollution problems. Children and babies without proper supervision should not try using them at home.

Yeah, We Did Go Hiking!

During the Easter Holiday, we decided it was time for us to go hiking with Daryl and Creamy.

While all of us were exhausted and tired by the walk up the "steep" hill, Daryl was the one who had the easiest ride. The theories of quantum physics and relativity say that we don't need to be physically strong to be pushed up and down the hill while sitting in a pram.

The trail at Mount Parker isn't the most physically demanding one, but was hilly enough for the Fab-Four, oh no, the Fat-Four (my wife, our domestic helper, Creamy and myself) to be panting like horses and swearing like sailors while at the very bottom of the hill. And when we saw many elder people running past us with absolute ease, we knew that we should have cut down on our snacks.

But none of us said anything, as we still madly in love with our snacks.

Speaking of snacks, we had a simple picnic and our helper had prepared some delicious chicken and cabbage sandwiches for us. While there wasn't that much food, we had made a serious mistake in our choice of beverage.

By bringing along three cans of regular Cokes (not Coke Light or Coke Zero) with us, we had definitely taken in far more calories than what we had burnt.

It was the best time of the year for hiking and picnic. The weather was fine and it was neither too cold nor too hot. That's why we also saw so many people hiking and picnicking with their babies or pets. But then I suddenly realised that we were the only ones to go hiking with a baby AND a pet, as if their babies and pets are estranged and cannot stand one another, and as if they'd rather have a chubby pet than a lovely child.

It was also the first time our domestic helper had met Creamy. Probably it was an outdoor settings, Creamy didn't bark and seemed to welcome our domestic helper with open arms, or front legs to be exact.

Creamy was obviously exhausted afterwards, as she once again refused to walk occasionally to take a breather on our way home. Just when I was about to scold her for being lazy, I found myself sitting comfortably in the couch, with stinky sweat covering my body, and another big can of Coke and big bag of chips in my hand, and not willing to move or do anything (taking a shower included) at all.

And what did Daryl do after the picnic? He had a huge dinner with rice and congee, and then went to bed immediately. Hey, at least I was still moving a little bit (i.e., picking up the remote controls) after having all the snacks.

Talk about like father, like son.

Hey, We Went Hiking!

Details on our hiking trip coming soon ...

Happy Haagen-Dazs

You thought that children are always an embarrassment when you bring them to an eatery? Think again, as Daryl proves that a 9-month-old kid can ask for a menu, make up his mind and order the things he wants.

Oh Girls!

Luckily Daryl is a boy. Otherwise I would have suffered a massive heart attack when I saw what happened to Daryl on Children's Day.

It was a dinner gathering at the neighbouring Cityplaza for us with his two godmothers and, after enjoying a good meal, we took Daryl to the ice-skating rink. Daryl had been there for a number of times, but that was the first time we went close to the rink. I bet when Daryl saw such a big piece of white ice on the floor, he must have been wondering, "What the heck are they doing on my spilled milk?"

Anyway, as we were watching the boys and girls circling the rink time and again, three girls (I bet none of them was more than 10-year-old) suddenly came straight at Daryl and started yelling at him. They were visibly excited (as the Plexiglass around the rink blocked what they said) and were trying their very best to capture Daryl's attention. They waved and jumped and yelled and spun, and the only things they didn't do was to flash their body and moon him.

I thought Daryl must have been the provocateur by making some obscene gestures to them, so I took a look at him. But he was just sitting there, taking everything into his eyes as if he had seen them all before. (And I don't mean I have flashed my body to him or mooned him.)

I am not sure what had happened to the girls (like whether they were on drugs or stuff like that), but as we were leaving the rink, our conversation was filled with words like "bold", "Oh my God" or even "(bleeping) b_tchy". And luckily their parents were not around as they would have spanked us hard after hearing what we had to say.

But Daryl was just enjoying the ride in his pram, not a bit flinched or disturbed by his crazy and adoring fans. And for a baby who has never produced any albums or starred in any blockbuster movies, the girls' action falls somewhere between childishly funny and plain ridiculous.

I wonder what the girls would have done had Daryl been really a Hollywood star. They would have flashed their bodies to him, mooned him, and then some.

And their parents would have spanked them, hard.

And so there goes my plan of giving birth to a daughter (at least for the moment).

Part-time Parents

Parents in Hong Kong are the unlucky ones.

The unreasonably high living standard makes it virtually impossible for any of us to become a full-time parent. If you are lucky enough, you will have your ass saved by being a tenant of the public housing estates where the rent is cheap and the price is low. But if you aren't one of them, you will have to work your brains out to repay your mortgage with the bank for the teeny tiny flat you have bought, which is so small that you can't even flex your legs when you sleep.

Yours Truly and Yours Truly's wife are the semi-lucky ones. While we aren't tenants of the public housing estates, we aren't flat owners at the moment either, currently renting a flat as our temporary home. But that doesn't mean we don't have to work hard. Milk powder, clothes and food all cost a fortune, and remember, we don't have to spend money on education, piano lessons, soccer class and tutorial, YET.

Yours Truly always blames himself for not being smart enough to be among the top echelons of some international conglomerates. That means Yours Truly's wife can't quit her job to stay home to take care of our Dear Daryl full-time, and that we have to hire a live-in domestic helper to help us out.

Our daily routine looks like this:
- Wake up at 6, and play with Daryl for a short while;
- Leave home at about 7, and watch how Daryl is doing through the IP cameras;
- Go home at about 7 and play with Daryl for a short while;
- Dinner at about 8;
- Play with him for another short while; and
- Daryl goes to bed at about 10.

If you do the math, you can see that there is just a couple of hours (quality or not) we can spend with Daryl every day. No wonder we have found it quite difficult to make him laugh sometimes. Sadly, we have missed so many memorable moments in his rapid development. Very often we have to listen to our domestic helper about the wonderful things that Daryl has done while we are busy at work.

Yours Truly's friend, Angry Eyes, says that she is sad that she can't be a full-time mother. Yours Truly feels the same too. But what can we do?

Get a Mark Six ticket, of course!

Otherwise we'd better suck it up and stop sulking.