An afternoon with Princess Scarlet

She’s a princess in her own right, una heredera verdadera, pampered (but not really spoiled) by her parents, Dr. Vicki Belo and her beloved Dr. Hayden Kho who have brought her on trips around the world, the latest having been to the USA last week, the only baby in the Philippines (and probably in the world) to have her own Instagram account with almost one million followers/viewers (and growing every minute!). Proof: When I posted a short video of her taken during a visit recently at her parents’ home in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City, it drew more than 8,000 views in less than two hours.

Former TV host and Pilipino STAR Ngayon (PSN) columnist Lolit Solis and I have the honor of being among the first to see Scarlet Snow Belo Kho in June 2015, more than three months after a surrogate (Mexican) mother delivered her in the US (well, everybody must have known the baby’s origin by now) on March 3, 2015. That visit coincided with Scarlet’s baptism at the nearby Santuario de San Antonio.

Her father, now leading a Bible-based life, got her name from Isaiah 1:18: Though your sins be red as scarlet I shall make it white as snow. Hayden was quoted at that time, “Our daughter Scarlet Snow is a constant reminder to me of the transforming power of Jesus Christ. All of us have things about us that we don’t want others to know. We have harbored wrong thoughts, pursued wrong experiences, or done wrong things that we are ashamed of. It may not be as offensive as scandalous as, but we all have those dark secrets.”

Two days after the recent Valentine’s Day, Vicki invited Lolit and me to check out how fast and how beautiful and how cute and how smart Scarlet has grown. Vicki reminded us to go at exactly 3:30 p.m. when Scarlet usually wakes up from a nap. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Scarlet attends classes at a Chinese School, with Papa Hayden driving her to and from school.

“She’s a Papa’s Girl,” Vicki told us, “but, of course, Scarlet is also so sweet to me. Hayden accompanies her even to her swimming lessons. Natuto na rin si Hayden lumangoy dahil kay Scarlet.”

Nursing a slight cold, Scarlet took a while before warming up to us. When Lolit tried to cuddle her, Scarlet looked hard at Lolit’s face, perhaps asking, “Is this the woman who took some of the giveaways during my baptism two years ago?” (Mwahahaha!!!) Then, while licking an ice drop (and later taking little bites at a chocolate), she started combing the hair of a doll she was holding when she came down from the second floor.

Asked how much of Scarlet is Dr. Vicki Belo and how much is Dr. Hayden Kho, Vicki estimated, “I think it’s 60 percent Hayden and 40 percent me. Ugali-wise, I think it’s 50/50. She’s well-organized and that’s very Hayden. She’s very funny, has a sense of humor, at magaling magpatawa. And she’s very mabait. She’s a fast learner. She started speaking when she was 11 months old. Ask her what she wants to be…,” Vicki ordered us.

What do you want to be, Scarlet?

Flashing a just-up-from-a-nap smile, Scarlet answered almost in a whisper, “Dermatologist.”

“Wow,” exclaimed Vicki. “I love my daughter!”

Did any of her parents train here to do that?

“No,” insisted Vicki. “Nobody coached her. When Hayden was teaching her how to talk, he asked Scarlet, ‘What do you want to be?’ She thought for a while. ‘Think,’ Hayden told her. And Scarlet mumbled, der-ma-to-lo-gist. She often goes to my clinic and maybe that’s where she heard that word. She says hello to the patients…in fact, to everybody that she meets.”

The girl has a photographic memory; she knows the names of everybody at home.

“She usually starts her day by jogging around the house and says, ‘Hello, Julius! Hello, Ka Nonoy!’ She says hello to everybody; she knows how to make people feel important. She has a good PR.” Just like her mom.

“We follow Biblical principles in raising her,” volunteered Hayden who was busy on his laptop at the library when we arrived and had to excuse himself to run an errand. But first, Hayden gave a sample of how he acts as tutor at home. “What animal has a loooonnnggg neck and can eat from tall trees?” It starts with the letter G.” Scarlet knew the answer but she didn’t want the two visitors to hear it.

“I want to go to my playroom,” Scarlet told her mom.

So off to the second floor we went…and what a playroom we found, complete with toys you can imagine, baby books and, yes, a piano.

Scarlet’s nanny came up with grilled cheese sandwiches. When I wrongly picked the one Scarlet had nibbled at, she stopped me and said, “That’s mine!” and handed me the one that I had half-consumed and said, “Here’s yours!” Sweet girl! As Scarlet played while I took pictures, Vicki kept on asking her questions, “What does the piggy say?...How does the kitten sound?” So on and so forth.

Scarlet was now in her element. She let Lolit hug her and even pose a picture with her. She became more talkative. When she heard her mom asking questions, Scarlet stopped her, “No talking, Mommy!” Vicki shut up, smiling.

“She loves doing selfies,” says Vicki, telling Scarlet to have one with me. Click!!!

Time to go. On Friday, March 3, Princess Scarlet will celebrate her second birthday with what Vicki described as “a simple party,” probably similar to her baptismal party where Scarlet wore branded dresses, shoes and accessories (D&G, etc.), fitting a “royal” baby.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected].)