It usually takes me a couple of years to complete an album because I'm such a perfectionist; so Frank thinks I should start working on it as soon as possible. He agreed that I should have from October to January off because I've been working so much lately and I feel bad because I haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time with Christian.

Today's the first ngày of my vacation and it's going to take me a while to get back into the routine of taking care of Christian completely on my own every day. I woke up around 9 o'clock in the morning because I knew Christian would be awake any một phút now. I walked into the room just as he was opening his eyes and đã đưa ý kiến "good morning buddy!" I think he was surprised that I was there because he asked "you're not going to work daddy?" I đã đưa ý kiến "not for three months."

I picked him up and brought him downstairs. I put him down on the ground and noticed something taped to the refrigerator. I put the sữa on the counter and grabbed the piece of paper off of the fridge to see what it was. I knelt down tiếp theo to Christian and asked "what's this?" He đã đưa ý kiến "those are my stickers to hiển thị bạn how many times I used the potty daddy. The red stars are the accidents and the yellow stars are the good ones." I asked "how come bạn haven't showed me this before buddy?" He đã đưa ý kiến "I want to; but bạn are tired." I felt really guilty as I looked down at him and I đã đưa ý kiến "I don't want bạn to ever feel like bạn can't hiển thị me something just because I've had a long ngày at work buddy! I don't care how tired I am; bạn can spend time with me."

I looked at the piece of paper and noticed that there were significantly thêm yellow stars with about 10 red stars scattered throughout the page. I đã đưa ý kiến "it's definitely getting better. I wish some of those red stars weren't there; but it's getting better! We'll work on it while I'm on vacation. You're still having quite a bit of accidents huh buddy?" He đã đưa ý kiến "yeah; I'm sorry daddy" and started crying.

I picked him up and đã đưa ý kiến "it's okay Christian; why are bạn so upset? It's no big deal; bạn know I don't care about that stuff!" He đã đưa ý kiến "but daddy; I don't want bạn to be mad! I want to make bạn happy! I didn't do good!" I don't have any idea why Christian is so critical of himself; but it makes me feel horrible!" I grabbed the piece of paper and asked "do bạn see this? This is so good Christian! Why would bạn think that I would be mad at you? I'm happy buddy; trust me! We just need to work on it a little bit thêm until there's no red stars!" He đã đưa ý kiến "you're supposed to be mad at me; aren't you?" I đã đưa ý kiến "of course not" and hugged him as tight as I possibly could!

***

I'm a daddy on a mission this week and my mission is to hopefully complete this potty training thing with Christian. He is almost completely trained and I can't wait to put this thing behind us because I'm running out of carpet cleaner.

Christian came downstairs after waking up this morning and walked up to me as I stood at the counter drinking my coffee. I knelt down and gave him a hug as I đã đưa ý kiến "good morning buddy; did bạn sleep well?" He shook his head yes and I asked "did bạn already use the bathroom?" He đã đưa ý kiến "yup" and was about to sit at the bàn when I đã đưa ý kiến "I'm making breakfast sandwiches instead of just cereal; so when they're finished cooking I will bring one in to bạn and the two of us can eat in the living room while we watch cartoons."

After the egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches were finished cooking, I came into the living room with them on a plate. I sat down tiếp theo to Christian on the đi văng and passed Christian his sandwich. I definitely think Christian likes the idea of having me trang chủ for three months because I think he was getting sick of eating cereal every morning.

Christian had ketchup on his face; so I leaned over to wash it with a napkin and that's when I realized the đi văng was soaking wet. I looked at Christian and he đã đưa ý kiến "I think I need to go potty daddy." I rolled my eyes and đã đưa ý kiến "I think bạn already did." I joked "why did bạn have to pee on my couch?" I think Christian thought I was mad because he burst out crying.

After cleaning him and the đi văng up, he was still crying and I asked "what's wrong Christian?" He đã đưa ý kiến in between sobs "I made bạn mad!!!" I picked him up and đã đưa ý kiến "I'm not mad at bạn at all Christian; daddy was joking!" He insisted "you're supposed to be mad at me daddy!" I hugged him and đã đưa ý kiến "no I'm not supposed to be mad at you! Do I look mad?" He đã đưa ý kiến "no; but why aren't bạn mad at me?" I đã đưa ý kiến "because I would never get mad at bạn for anything! I might get disappointed in bạn sometimes; but I'll never be mad at you! I thought bạn went to the bathroom already though." He đã đưa ý kiến "I was going to when I came down here; but then bạn đã đưa ý kiến that I could watch hoạt hình and I kind of forgot." I đã đưa ý kiến "well; I'm not too happy that bạn lied to me Christian. It would've been better if bạn just đã đưa ý kiến bạn had to go. It would've taken just a few phút and then bạn could have come in here to watch cartoons. Doesn't that make a lot thêm sense than going through all of this?" I think he started to get what I was saying because he gave me a hug and a kiss.

***

I excitedly shouted "high five Christian!" He looked at the chart taped to the fridge and gave me a high-five. I đã đưa ý kiến "I think it's pretty an toàn, két an toàn to say that bạn are officially potty trained now buddy! bạn haven't had an accident in a week; not even at night and that shocks me. I'm so proud of bạn buddy!" He jumped into my arms and was way thêm concerned about the bag of kẹo on the counter than what I had to say.

I passed him some M&Ms and we went into the living room to play with his toys. I usually keep the TV on and a Halloween commercial came on. I wasn't surprised that they were using "Thriller" as the âm nhạc on the advertisement because that song has become sort of a Halloween tradition. Christian looked up at the TV and I asked "would bạn like to go trick-or-treating this năm like the kids on TV?" He đã đưa ý kiến "get kẹo daddy!" I chuckled and đã đưa ý kiến "yeah; people will give bạn candy!" He đã đưa ý kiến "okay" and I was kind of regretting bringing up the idea of trick-or-treating because I just realized that I have no choice other than to disassociate myself from the Jehovah's Witness religion. Sometimes I wish the rules weren't so strict because I want Christian to experience holidays just like any other child. I hope mother won't be too mad at me!

***

Yesterday my paperwork was approved and I've been officially disassociated from the Jehovah's Witness religion. My mother's on the way over and I don't know how she's going to take the news. The worst part is that Christian is taking a nap; so I can't use his cuteness as a distraction from our conversation.

Once she arrived, the two of us sat down in the living room and she asked "what did bạn want to talk about Michael?" I asked "can I ask bạn a hypothetical question?" She đã đưa ý kiến "yeah; I guess." I asked "what would bạn think if I told bạn that I disassociated myself from the Jehovah Witnesses?" She sat there silently for a few phút and then she asked "this isn't a hypothetical question; is it Michael?" I let out a deep sigh and đã đưa ý kiến "no; it's not mother." She looked up at me and whispered "why?" I đã đưa ý kiến "I'm not trying to hurt bạn mother because I know how important me being a Jehovah's Witness is to you; but I want Christian to experience the things that I never got to growing up!" She đã đưa ý kiến "Michael; you're my only good son! I tình yêu my children equally of course; but you're the only one that ever listens to me anymore! All the others got sucked into the world of greed and I think any hope of getting them back is long gone now! I understand why bạn did what bạn did and I accept it; but bạn should know that I'll never agree with it!"

She got off of the đi văng and walked into the kitchen. I followed after her as she opened the front door and I shouted "mother; wait! I'm not trying to hurt you!" She didn't seem mad at me which was a good thing I guess; but I think it definitely saddens her to have me abandon one of the things that the two of us shared over the years.

I ran upstairs to my room and sat on my giường as I started to cry. I always try to make others happy instead of myself and I felt like I had to choose between Christian and my mother. I could either make my mother happy bởi practicing that religion hoặc make my son happy bởi letting him experience things like Halloween, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. Part of being a father is putting my son first before anyone else. I'm hoping all this will pay off in the end because right now I feel like the world's worst son.

Suddenly, I noticed Christian climbing onto my giường and he asked "why bạn cry daddy?" I tried my best to dry my tears before he saw me crying; but it was already too late for that. I đã đưa ý kiến "I'm just a little said; that's all." He đã đưa ý kiến "you need a hug daddy" and wrapped his arms around me. I smiled and đã đưa ý kiến "thank you; I think that's exactly what I needed buddy." He đã đưa ý kiến "don't cry anymore!" I chuckled and đã đưa ý kiến "okay; I won't!"

***

Christians surprised me when he đã đưa ý kiến he didn't want to be Mickey chuột for his first Halloween and I'm starting to think that he just wants the kẹo thêm than the whole experience of trick-or-treating. I think he finally settled on being a doctor after changing his mind over and over again. I hope he's okay with that because I just bought the costume and I have a feeling he's going to look so adorable. I got the costume just in time because Halloween is today. I came up with the idea of buying myself a costume as a disguise; so I can go trick-or-treating without a giant mob of những người hâm mộ knowing that I'm even near them.

I was in the living room opening up the costumes when Christian came in and noticed them. He asked "is that my doctor costume?" I đã đưa ý kiến "it sure is buddy!" He asked "what are bạn going to be daddy?" I đã đưa ý kiến "I'm going to be Spiderman because that's the only thing with a mask that will cover my whole head." I helped him put his costume on and he looked so cute. The white áo khoác was way too big for him and his hands pretty much got Mất tích inside the sleeves. I think his yêu thích part of the costume was the stethoscope and I think he thought it was real because he kept trying to check my tim, trái tim beat.

After I got my costume on, we went outside and Tim dropped us off in the middle of town. I told him to pick us up in about 45 phút because I figure any longer would be too long for Christian; since he just turned three a few weeks ago.

Christian was having a blast knocking on the doors. I was always trying to get him to ask for the candy; but he's way too shy for that. He didn't even really want to take the kẹo because he was too afraid. He would only take it if I took it from the bowl first and he took him from me.

I looked down at my watch and realized that Tim would be looking for us in a few minutes; so I đã đưa ý kiến "this is going to be the last house Christian because we have to go home." We walked up to the door with Christian holding my hand and the doorknob turned. The door swung open and a teenager wearing a chó sói, sói mask with a flannel áo sơ mi growled at Christian.

Christian immediately freaked out and started hysterically crying as he clung to my arm. I picked him up and looked at this teenage boy as I asked with an irritated tone "seriously? That was so immature of bạn to scare a three-year-old! I'm glad bạn think that's so funny dude because I don't at all!"

I carried Christian off of the property and back to the SUV where Tim was. I climbed into the car with him on my lap as he continued to cry. I đã đưa ý kiến "it's okay buddy; I know that boy was mean! He đã đưa ý kiến "daddy; we go home!" I đã đưa ý kiến "yup; we're going trang chủ right now!" He seemed all shaken up because of what had just happened; so I excitedly asked "do bạn want me to make Sô cô la chip bánh xèo, bánh kếp for dinner?" His eyes widened and I chuckled as I đã đưa ý kiến "I thought bạn would like the sound of that!"

bởi the time we got back to the ranch, it was almost 7 o'clock at night and we usually eat bữa tối, bữa ăn tối at 5; so I wasn't surprised to see that Christian was getting tired. He was practically falling asleep at the bàn while he was eating his pancakes. I sat down tiếp theo to him and fed him bites from his plate as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

After he had eaten most of the thực phẩm I picked him up and whispered "are bạn ready to go night – night Christian?" I patted his back as I carried him upstairs and got him ready for bed. I brought him into his room and put him under the covers. I thought he was almost asleep at this point; but when I leaned in to give him a kiss, his eyes shot open and he asked "are bạn eating my kẹo daddy? bạn smell like skittles!" I đã đưa ý kiến with a guilty grin on my face "maybe!" He đã đưa ý kiến "you are; I can see the red on your teeth and your tongue is purple!" I giggled and đã đưa ý kiến "alright; bạn caught me! There's plenty thêm left; so I snuck a couple pieces!" He lightly pecked my lips and đã đưa ý kiến "don't eat all of my kẹo daddy!" I chuckled as I shut off the light and turned the TV on. Christian đã đưa ý kiến "I tình yêu bạn thêm daddy!" I laughed as I đã đưa ý kiến "hey; I'm supposed to say that! I tình yêu bạn thêm Christian!"

***

It was weird being able to celebrate Halloween because I've never been allowed celebrate it before and now I have to figure out how to celebrate Thanksgiving because that's right around the corner. My mother still won't talk to me ever since she found out that I left the Jehovah's Witness religion and I don't know if she's mad at me hoặc not. I wish I could convince her to leave the religion as well; because I want her to be able to be a part of all these new experiences with us.

I was sitting at the phòng bếp, nhà bếp bàn waiting for Christian to wake up and there was a knock at the door. I got up to answer it and my manager Frank was standing there. I invited him inside and he đã đưa ý kiến "I just wanted to stop in and see how you're doing; and I haven't seen bạn in about a month. How are bạn enjoying your vacation?" I đã đưa ý kiến "I finally disassociated myself from the Jehovah's Witnesses and now I'm just trying to figure out how to celebrate Thanksgiving. I'm thinking I should invite as many people as possible over to the house for Thanksgiving." He đã đưa ý kiến "I'll definitely come Michael! I usually celebrate Thanksgiving with my family; but if bạn want me to I can come!" I đã đưa ý kiến "only if bạn want to Frank and if it's okay with your family. I really think bạn should celebrate with them instead Frank because they are your family; not me and Christian!" He đã đưa ý kiến "I consider bạn part of my family Michael; bạn know that!" I đã đưa ý kiến "yeah; but bạn don't feel the same way about Christian!" He đã đưa ý kiến "I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't too keen on the idea of bạn becoming a father; but I'm slowly getting used to it as time passes." I đã đưa ý kiến "Christian is going to wake up soon; so bạn should probably go. Feel free to stop bởi on Thanksgiving ngày for a couple of hours; but bạn really should spend it with your family Frank!" He patted my shoulder and đã đưa ý kiến "will do for sure!" He shut the door behind him and I walked upstairs to check on Christian to see if he was awake yet.

I walked into his room and he was once again hanging off the side of the bed. I ran to catch him before he fell off the giường and smacked his head on the floor. I picked him up and đã đưa ý kiến "good morning Christian." He opened his eyes and rubbed them as he đã đưa ý kiến "good morning daddy." I đã đưa ý kiến "I'm going to make bạn some breakfast and while bạn eat, I'm going to make some phone calls to invite your aunts and uncles to come over on Thanksgiving."

I went downstairs and made Christian some oatmeal for breakfast. Afterwards, I went into the living room and started to call each one of my siblings. Surprisingly, all of them agreed to come over and I'm hoping it's not because my brothers want to ask me for money to pay for another one of their "get rich quick" schemes. I really hope I don't regret inviting them because it usually doesn't end very well for me!

***

My alarm clock started beeping and I opened my eyes just as the sun started to come up. I got ready for the ngày and went downstairs to make myself a cup of coffee. I went to the pantry and grabbed a bunch of different thực phẩm to start preparing for our Thanksgiving meal this afternoon. I am a pretty good cook; but I've never tried to make some of these foods before and I hope I don't screw it up. I was at a complete loss about how to cook a turkey and this was one of those times when I wish I could call my mother for advice.

I know that that's going to take the longest to cook, so I put that in first and hoped for the best. I decided that it's probably best if I cook the things that I'm most familiar with first; so I made the mashed potatoes and vegetables before starting the thêm difficult things. I'm not really familiar with baking things; I just hope that these pies turn out okay.

After I had gotten the three pies into the oven, I heard Christian coming downstairs. He walked up to me and I đã đưa ý kiến "hey buddy; I've got to pick out your clothes for the day!" I turned the TV on in the living room and went upstairs to get his clothes while he watched cartoons.

I came back downstairs and helped him get dressed into his little Thanksgiving ngày outfit. It was a pair of kaki, khaki pants, white socks, and a long sleeve white T-shirt, and a sweater vest with a checkered pattern of brown and orange. I combed his hair because I want him to look good when everybody came over.

I only allowed Christian to eat small snacks because I didn't want him to lose his appetite bởi the time everyone arrived. When they got here, I invited them inside and we all hurried to set the bàn because they were really hungry. I helped Christian get up into his booster ghế, chỗ ngồi and sat down in the chair tiếp theo to him. I đã đưa ý kiến "I guess I'll say grace as fast as possible because I know we all want to eat. A lot has changed in these past couple of months for me and I never thought I would be in this position; but I don't regret it one bit because I tình yêu my son so much. I'm so thankful that God brought Christian into my life because I can't even imagine what my life would be like without him; amen."

I started to fill Christian’s plate with thực phẩm and Latoya đã đưa ý kiến "that was really sweet Michael! I have to say that you're an amazing father!" Jackie đã đưa ý kiến "yeah Mike; she's right! You're a great dad!" I looked at Christian and asked "do bạn think they're right?" He đã đưa ý kiến "you're the best daddy in the whole world!" I hugged him and đã đưa ý kiến "you're the best son in the whole Christian!"

All of us went into the living room to eat món tráng miệng and we sat on the floor. Christian is addicted to Oreo bánh quy, cookie and that's his yêu thích food; so I made an Oreo cookie flavored pie. The một phút he started to eat his piece of pie, I could tell that he was going to make a huge mess. I took the plate from him and đã đưa ý kiến "here; let daddy feed bạn because I don't want bạn to make a mess buddy!" Janet đã đưa ý kiến "you must be excited celebrate giáng sinh with him Michael! bạn and him get to celebrate your first giáng sinh together! Do bạn have any plans for giáng sinh Michael?" I đã đưa ý kiến "I don't really know what I'm going to do yet; but it's kind of irritating that it doesn't snow here in LA! Christian won't get to experience a white Christmas!" She suggested "why don't bạn take Christian to Canada and rent one of those fancy log cabins; that way there will be snow on the ground when he wakes up on giáng sinh morning?" I đã đưa ý kiến "actually; that doesn't sound like a bad idea!" Jermaine looked at Christian and asked "what do bạn want for giáng sinh Christian?" He quietly whispered "clothes." All of us were completely baffled bởi his response and I asked "you really want clothes for Christmas? I can afford to buy bạn anything bạn ever want for a toy; but bạn want clothes?" He đã đưa ý kiến "I like clothes daddy" and Randy đã đưa ý kiến "I definitely wasn't expecting to hear him say that! What three-year-old wants clothes for Christmas? My kids just throw any clothes they get behind them and di chuyển on to something else!" He joked "can I swap kids with bạn Mike?" I laughed and đã đưa ý kiến "sorry; he's here to stay!" Christian đã đưa ý kiến "kiss daddy" and I puckered my lips as he leaned in to Kiss me. Rebbie đã đưa ý kiến "he's seriously the cutest thing ever Michael!" Christian sat in my lap and I asked "Christian; who is your best friend?" He pointed up at me and Marlon asked "you tình yêu your daddy; don't bạn Christian?" He whispered "yeah; I'm daddy's boy!" I đã đưa ý kiến "and I tình yêu my buddy so much!"

***

I really like the idea of renting a lều, cabin in Canada for a few days and I am going to rent one after all. I was upstairs getting Christian ready to take a nap when I đã đưa ý kiến "okay buddy; I'm going to go shopping for your giáng sinh presents and Tim is going to watch bạn while I'm gone!" I turned the TV on and walked out of the room.

My other bodyguard James took me to a department store that was closed just so I could go shopping for the day. I bought so many clothes for Christian that it filled up three shopping carts. After I had gotten a bunch of clothes, I went to the toy section to buy him some fun things. At the back of the store, I saw a huge 300 piece train bàn with tracks and Christian has recently developed an interest in "Thomas the Tank Engine"; so I knew he would tình yêu this.

This wasn't just any train table, it's a $1500 train bàn with pretty much every character that is on the "Thomas the Tank Engine" TV hiển thị and I think the cashier at the store was shocked that I was actually going to spend that much money on one item. I ended up spending $15,000 on all of Christian's giáng sinh presents; but it'll be well worth it when I see his face on giáng sinh morning when he sees all his presents!

***

My bodyguards James and Tim pulled up in front of a huge lều, cabin that I had rented in the Canadian countryside. Christian I got out of the car and I đã đưa ý kiến "have a good holiday bạn guys; we'll see bạn when bạn come to pick us up in three days!" James đã đưa ý kiến "we already had someone drop off all the gifts bạn bought and they are in one of the spare bedrooms waiting for bạn to bọc them Michael!" I đã đưa ý kiến "okay guys; thanks for all the help! Say hello to your families for me!" They both đã đưa ý kiến "we will Michael; have a good Christmas!" I quickly grabbed the cardboard box from the back ghế, chỗ ngồi with all the cookie baking ingredients inside it and waved goodbye to them as they pull out of the driveway.

I carried Christian inside with one hand as I carried the cardboard box with the other. I turned on the light with my elbow because both my hands are full and put the box on the nearby counter. It was way past Christian’s bedtime bởi the time we got to the cabin; so I carried him upstairs to get him ready for bed.

I found a room that was perfect for Christian to sleep in because it had a TV and a big giường that I think would be hard for him to roll out of in the middle of the night. I covered him up with the blankets and kissed his forehead after I turned the TV on. I don't even think he will be awake long enough to even watch one episode of cartoons.

I walked down the hall and found the room where all the presents were. That's when I realized how many presents I had actually bought because this entire room was covered with stuff. I walked into the room and sat down on the small không gian of the giường that wasn't covered with anything. In one corner of the room, I noticed over 30 rolls I'm wrapping paper and a bucket full of rolls of tape. I whispered to myself "this is going to take forever to bọc all of this stuff! Why did I wanted do this all of this on my own?" I must've spent most of the night wrapping gifts and when they had all been wrapped I counted about 250 presents. I know what you're thinking; I'm crazy!"

***

I was downstairs cooking thịt ba rọi, thịt xông khói and eggs for breakfast when Christian walked down the stairs of the cabin. He walked up to me and I picked him up as I đã đưa ý kiến "good morning buddy! Are bạn ready to have fun today?" He asked "what are we going to do today daddy?" I đã đưa ý kiến "well, before we do anything we're going to eat breakfast. Then we're going to go outside to play in the snow and go sledding. We're going to decorate the giáng sinh cây and bake bánh quy, cookie to leave out for Santa Claus. Then we're going to go get ready for giường because tonight's giáng sinh Eve and bạn have to be asleep for Santa Claus to come."

After we were done eating breakfast, I đã đưa ý kiến "okay; let's get bạn ready to go play in the snow!" I went to the closet and grabbed everything we needed. I began to get him dressed in his snowsuit, jacket, gloves, hat, and boots. I looked up at the clock on the tường and realized that it had taken me 45 phút to get him ready to go outside. I asked "are bạn ready to go outside now?" He asked "daddy?" I responded "yeah?" He đã đưa ý kiến "I have to go potty." I covered my face of my hands and asked "are bạn serious? Do bạn really have to go?" He nodded his head yes and I couldn't help but laugh at how much time I had just wasted getting him ready to play in the snow; just to have him tell me that he needed to go to the bathroom before we even made it out the door.

Afterwards, we finally made it outside and it didn't look to me like Christian had ever seen snow before. He wouldn't let go of my hand and I đã đưa ý kiến "it's okay buddy; it's just snow! It isn't going to hurt you!" He started freaking out and đã đưa ý kiến "my boot is stuck in the snow daddy!!! I can't move; help!!!" I đã đưa ý kiến "okay; how about we try something with a little less walking involved?" I climbed onto the sled and put him on my lap. We slid down a huge đồi núi, hill and thank God I was on the sled with Christian because I had to swerve out of the way so we wouldn't hit a tree. Christian thought đi xe trượt tuyết, sledding was the best thing in the world after that and I must've carried him up that đồi núi, hill over 30 times; so we could slide back down!

I brought Christian back inside and fed him some lunch before I put him down for a nap. While he was sleeping, I started to set things up so we could make cookies. An giờ later, he woke up from his nap and came downstairs. I picked him up and đã đưa ý kiến "okay; are bạn ready to make some bánh quy, cookie for Santa?" The bánh quy, cookie were already in the lò nướng because I knew Christian was far too young to actually help me make the cookies; so it's better just to have him decorate the cookies.

When they came out of the oven, I let them cool down for a few minutes; so they were still warm but not warm enough to burn Christian. I passed Christian a cookie and he put SO MUCH frosting on those bánh quy, cookie that it was overflowing off the sides. I had to stop him because if I didn't there wouldn't have been enough frosting for the other cookies. After the bánh quy, cookie were decorated, I asked "do bạn want to lick the spoon that I used to make the cookie dough with?" He smiled and I passed in the spoon as he walked off into the living room.

I followed after him with boxes of decorations and sat down on the floor. The smell of the pine needles from the giáng sinh cây filled the entire living room as I started to put ornaments and lights on the tree. I made sure to not buy any glass decorations because I wanted Christian to be able to help me decorate the tree. Once that it was decorated, I passed Christian the ngôi sao and put him on my shoulders. I đã đưa ý kiến "go ahead; put the ngôi sao on the hàng đầu, đầu trang of the cây pal!" Even though he was on my shoulders, he was just barely able to reach high enough to put the ngôi sao up there!

I took Christian off of my shoulders and noticed that it was starting to get dark; so I đã đưa ý kiến "let me switch on the lights on the tree." I think that's when Christian really got excited and I đã đưa ý kiến "okay; let's go eat some macaroni and cheese!"

After he was done eating, we went through his typical bedtime routine and he climbed into giường afterwards. I lie down tiếp theo to him and read him "the night before Christmas." I kissed his forehead and đã đưa ý kiến "sleep well buddy! Don't go downstairs until I tell bạn it's okay! bạn have to go right to sleep after the hiển thị is over because if bạn don't Santa Claus won't come." He đã đưa ý kiến "okay daddy; I will! I tình yêu you" I shut off the light and đã đưa ý kiến "I tình yêu bạn more" as I shut the door.

I waited about an giờ and a half and went to check on Christian to make sure that he was sleeping before I started to bring things downstairs. It took me about 50 trips up and down the stairs to bring everything into the living room. The final trip was for the train bàn that I still needed to put together. I tried my best not to make noise as I pushed the gigantic box down the stairs.

I dumped the contents of the box onto the floor as gently as I could; but it still made a racket. I was so worried that that woke Christian up; so I ran upstairs to double check on him again. Once I realized that he was asleep for the rest of the night, I went back downstairs and lay down on my stomach. I opened up the instructions and started to flip through the pages as I đã đưa ý kiến to myself "Spanish, French, Japanese, German; where the hell is the English version of these instructions?" I found them at the very end of the manual; but that just confused me. It took me from 9 o'clock at night to 3 o'clock in the morning to put together that train table! The box đã đưa ý kiến "some assembly required" when actually it should have read "all assembly required!” I had to set up the tracks, built the bàn itself, and put the trees in the area they were assigned to going bởi the number written on the train table. I'm just glad that I built this thing because I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to figure out how to do it; I'm not a very handy person at all and I'm surprised that I figured out how to put this train bàn together all on my own!

***

I heard "daddy, daddy, wake up daddy" as I felt Christian jumping on my chest. I opened up my eyes slightly and groaned in pain as I đã đưa ý kiến "okay; okay I'm up!" I rubbed my eyes and looked over at the alarm clock as I noticed it was only just barely 7 AM. I got out of giường and chased after Christian as he ran to the hàng đầu, đầu trang of the stairs. I đã đưa ý kiến "wait for daddy Christian! Don't go downstairs yet because I want to take pictures.

I grabbed my camera as I followed behind Christian and đã đưa ý kiến "okay; let's see if Santa Claus came last night" his mouth dropped wide open as he walked in so living room and I snapped pictures with the camera. I knelt down tiếp theo to Christian and chuckled as I whispered "what is that Christian?" He đã đưa ý kiến "choo-choo train!" He walked over to the train bàn and I knelt down tiếp theo to him again as I pointed to one of the trains. I quietly asked "who is that Christian?" He looked at it and đã đưa ý kiến "Thomas!" I gasped and đã đưa ý kiến "wow; Santa Claus must know that bạn like Thomas the Tank Engine!"

I grabbed the empty plate of bánh quy, cookie and đã đưa ý kiến "wow; he ate all your bánh quy, cookie buddy!" He didn't even look up from the train bàn and that's when I realized it probably would've been a better idea to cover that up with a blanket and have him open it at the very end because I think I Mất tích him.

I sat down on the floor and đã đưa ý kiến "come here Christian; look at all these presents bạn have to open?" He whispered "no; I play with my choo-choo train daddy!" I đã đưa ý kiến "you can play with your choo-choo train later buddy; look at all these presents that daddy spent hours wrapping!" I started to tear open one of the presents and that caught his attention because he took the present out of my hands. Once he realized that there were toys and clothes underneath the wrapping paper, he was unstoppable. He ripped through everything like a tornado and before I knew it, the entire living room floor of the lều, cabin was covered with stuff.

Once everything had been opened, Christian started to come up to me and was asking me for help taking things out of the packaging. I đã đưa ý kiến "I'll open this for bạn but I want a hug first." He gave me a hug and lightly pecked my lips and I đã đưa ý kiến "thank you; did bạn have a good first giáng sinh with me?" He đã đưa ý kiến "yeah daddy; but how did Santa Claus get that big train bàn down the chimney?" I đã đưa ý kiến "I don't know; Santa is just magical like that I guess!!!”