Chapter 6,

March 15, 1999,

I woke up this morning and was so excited because today's my fifth birthday. I raced downstairs and сказал(-а) "wow; Покемон everywhere!" There were balloons with the characters faces on them from the TV Показать and a big pile of presents sitting on the table. Dad wasn't up yet because he didn't expect me to be awake for at least another half an hour. I went into the living room and waited for him to wake up

I was amazed that dad was able to pull all this Покемон stuff off because I wasn't into Покемон until about a месяц назад when I had come across an episode of the Показать on TV. For the past three years now all that I had been interested in was superheroes and the звезда Wars movies, which made it easy on dad because he knew exactly what to get me for my birthday and Christmas. He sat through a couple episodes of Покемон with me and I tried to explain the whole concept of the Показать to him but; he never understood why I liked it so much.

Finally; dad came downstairs and сказал(-а) "happy birthday AJ!" I hugged him and сказал(-а) "thanks for the Покемон party decorations daddy!" He сказал(-а) "you're welcome; it took me forever to find them because I didn't know what I was looking for!" Grace followed behind him with Prince holding her hand and Paris in her other arm. Prince сказал(-а) "it's my birthday!" Dad сказал(-а) "no silly; it was your birthday last month!" Dad сказал(-а) "come on AJ; I want Ты to see what gifts I got you!" I сказал(-а) "I hope Ты got something that I will like because I know Ты always get the Покемон characters names wrong!" He laughed and сказал(-а) "I have a real strong feeling that you're going to like what I got you!"

We went into the кухня and sat at the таблица with my gifts on it. He grabbed the one off the вверх and passed it to me. I ripped it open and сказал(-а) "oh my gosh; Ты kept telling me that I wouldn't get a Game Boy until I was 10 years old!" I started to tear open the other presents and I got three different Покемон games. I сказал(-а) "thank Ты so much daddy; I Любовь you!" He сказал(-а) "I Любовь Ты more! Now there are some rules that go along with that Game Boy! First of all, I don't want Ты playing that all день long. секунда of all, if Ты don't listen to me that will be the first thing that I take away from you. Last of all, these games are small and Ты better not lose any of them because they're really expensive!" I сказал(-а) "I'll try my best not to lose them!"

March 21, 1999,

I was sitting at the таблица in the кухня playing my game boy and dad was clearing the table. He сказал(-а) "I want Ты to do something else, Ты can playing with it some еще tomorrow before Ты have to do your school work!" I ignored him and he сказал(-а) "I know Ты can hear me.” I continued to play the game with my eyes pretty much glued to the screen and he сказал(-а) "you better put that down!"

He walked over and took it out of my hands. I shot him a dirty look and сказал(-а) "give it back!" He сказал(-а) "don't talk to me like that; go play with your action figures или see what Prince is doing!" I tried to grab the game boy out of his hand and he put it on one of the high shelves that was mounted on the wall. I сказал(-а) "as soon as Ты walk away I'm going to get a chair and grab it!" He sighed and сказал(-а) "you better not because if Ты do I'm going to send Ты to your room and Ты won't be allowed to watch TV или do anything fun!" I laughed at him and сказал(-а) "yeah right!" He сказал(-а) with a serious look on his face "I'm not messing around and I don't think it's funny at all!"

I climbed on the chair and smiled as I reached for the Game Boy. He сказал(-а) "you have three секунды to put that back up there before I put Ты on punishment." Putting me on punishment was the same thing as being grounded to other kids but dad didn't like the word grounded so he changed it to punishment!"

That didn't stop me from getting off the chair and as soon as he tried to take it from me I ran as fast as I could! He caught up to me though and took it out of my hands. I started laughing when he picked me up and сказал(-а) "you're going to your room!" When we got to my bedroom door he opened it up and gently tossed me on my bed. I looked up at him with a shocked look on my face and asked "wait; am I really on punishment?" He сказал(-а) as he looked at me "I told Ты I was serious!" I сказал(-а) "I promise I won't do it again!" He сказал(-а) "it's too late for that now!"

He shut the door behind him and Grace сказал(-а) "for a five-year-old AJ is pretty strong! I'm glad that Ты can still carry her while she's trying to kick Ты because I know I can't do that anymore!" He сказал(-а) "yeah I know; I'm just glad that she thought I was joking because she made a little bit easier on me. She's easy to carry when she's not flipping out but when she is It makes her feel 20 pounds heavier! I have no idea what I plan on doing when she is nine years old because if I keep doing that I'll end up pulling my back out!"

March 23, 1999,

Well; because of the stunt I pulled with the Game Boy a few days назад I'm stuck up in my room doing absolutely nothing. The only thing that I've been allowed to do for days is school work; which is obviously not fun! I'm allowed to come downstairs to eat but that's about it and it's driving me crazy! I must've really hit a raw nerve with dad because he doesn't want to listen to me when I try to convince them that I'm sorry and that I won't do it again! The only thing that he has сказал(-а) to me is that he would come and talk to me before he is going to let me off of my punishment!

I was sitting in my room filling out a worksheet when I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. My doorknob turned and dad stood there looking at me in complete silence. One thing he has definitely learned as a parent is how to make me feel guilty! Grace can't make me feel guilty but; just looking at dad after I've done something wrong makes my stomach turn! He definitely uses it to his advantage!

He came over and sat on my bed. I didn't say anything and just stared at him for a few minutes. He asked "so; have Ты been having fun up here by yourself?" I сказал(-а) "NO! I'm so bored!" He сказал(-а) "that means that that was true punishment because you're supposed to be bored out of your mind!" He pulled out the chair I was sitting in and сказал(-а) "come here; sit Далее to me!" I walked over and ended up sitting on his lap instead. I сказал(-а) "I promise Ты that I really am sorry for not listening to!" He kissed the вверх of my head and сказал(-а) "I told Ты from the very beginning that I didn't want Ты playing Покемон all day! Ты are getting to be very disrespectful to me and it's really starting to bother me!" I сказал(-а) "I truly don't remember what I'm doing when I get that irritated and I understand why I got in trouble!" He smiled and сказал(-а) "I know that and I also know that I can be a little annoying at times but; that's part of my job as a daddy!”

April 14, 1999,

For about five days now I've secretly been intimidated by Prince! When I say that I don't mean that I'm scared of him but; I'm worried that he is almost too good! This is the first time that I've felt jealous of him since he has been born. Most of the time; I think he knows that he is better behaved than I am. I know he's only two years old but; I think he's trying to almost rub it in my face! Dad doesn't notice that lately he has been constantly comparing me to Prince. I know he means well but; it kind of has been making me feel like I am the bad child! I don't want to bring that to dad's attention now because I know he will feel awful about it!

I was sitting in the living room and Prince was in the play room. Dad was in the кухня putting some things away when I came in to the room and sat at the table. Prince came running in and сказал(-а) "juice please daddy!" Dad reached for a bottle and Prince сказал(-а) "no; I want Spiderman cup!" I сказал(-а) "that's my cup; he's too little to use it." Dad poured the сок into the cup and passed it to Prince. Dad сказал(-а) "Alanna; he is not a little baby anymore! If he doesn't want the baby bottle anymore; he doesn't have to use it! I wish Ты would've дана up using bottles that easily! I remember that I had to argue with Ты about giving them up and Ты were screaming at the вверх of your lungs!"

I looked at dad and сказал(-а) "I'm sorry that I can't be as perfect as Prince is!" I ran upstairs and he сказал(-а) "wait AJ I didn't mean…" He followed me upstairs and got to my room just-in-time for me to slam my door! He opened it up and I had curled myself into a ball on my bed. I wasn't crying but; I was really upset! He сказал(-а) as he knelt down Далее to me "I didn't mean it like that AJ! What's wrong?" I looked up at him but; didn't say anything! Then out of nowhere; I сказал(-а) "I am a bad kid!" Dad scooped me up and sat down on my bed. He сказал(-а) "you're not a bad kid! I don't want to hear Ты ever say that again! Don't let anyone tell Ты that Ты are because you're not!" I сказал(-а) "I never listen to Ты and I know I don't! I wish I would listen to Ты but; I just can't!"

Dad looked me in my eyes and сказал(-а) "stop saying that!!! God made Ты exactly how Ты are supposed to be and I know that's never going to change! To me I couldn't have ended up with better kids if I picked them myself! I сказал(-а) "all week long; the only thing Ты have talked about is Prince! AJ; look at Prince… Isn't he cute? You're so good Prince! I Любовь Ты Prince!" The look on his face сказал(-а) it all! He asked "what do Ты mean? Give me an example!" I сказал(-а) "said all right; like yesterday!" He asked "what happened yesterday?" I сказал(-а) "well; Ты made me feel like I didn't even exist because Ты were spending so much time with him. I know that he listens to Ты better than I do and that bothers me!" Dad сказал(-а) "oh; AJ if I had any idea I was doing that I would've stopped! I never want to make Ты feel like Ты aren't good enough! If Ты catch me doing that again all Ты have to do is remind me and I'll make sure not to say anything like that anymore!" He kissed me and сказал(-а) "by the way… You'll always be perfect me! Ты don't have to try to be good enough… ever!"

April 28, 1999,

I'm so happy because one of dad's best Друзья Mark Lester is coming for a visit all the way from the UK with his oldest son! His oldest son is from his Назад marriage and his name is Kyle. Kyle is only a few months older than I am and am excited to have someone to play with that is the same age as me! Mark has two other children with his current wife but; their only toddlers so they're not coming.

I woke up this morning and ran downstairs. Dad was sitting in the living room and I asked "when are they going to get here?" He сказал(-а) "in a couple еще hours. Are Ты excited to see Kyle?" I сказал(-а) "I can't wait to Показать him my room; we haven't seen them since we traveled all the way to see them last year!" He сказал(-а) "speaking of your room; Ты need to go clean it before they get here." I сказал(-а) "why? It's not a mess!" He сказал(-а) "if Ты don't think that room is a mess then Ты must be blind because it looks like a tornado destroyed it!" I сказал(-а) "I hate cleaning my room! Do I really have to?" He сказал(-а) "yes Ты do." I threw my hands up in the air and complained as I walked up the stairs."

It took me almost 3 hours to finish cleaning my room because I kept getting distracted by the TV. Dad walked down the hallway and into my room. He stood there in shock then сказал(-а) "wow; I don't think your room has been this clean since Ты are learning how to walk! I'm impressed! He hugged me and сказал(-а) "Mark was just on the phone; they'll be here in about five minutes!" I сказал(-а) "I'll get dressed for the день so I'm ready when Kyle gets here!"

I quickly put on a pair of jeans and a Покемон T-shirt. When I walked downstairs Mark and his son were just coming inside. Kyle was behind him and I сказал(-а) "hi!" He ran up to me and сказал(-а) "hi; I was so excited when I found out we were coming here for a whole week to see Ты guys!" I сказал(-а) "I know; come on I want to Показать Ты my room!" Dad smiled as I grab Kyle's hand and took him upstairs. Dad сказал(-а) "that's the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Mark looked over at dad and jokingly asked "how much Ты want to bet the two of them will be married someday?" Dad chuckled and сказал(-а) "that would be so funny if that actually played out that way!"

When we got to my bedroom, Kyle сказал(-а) "wow; Ты have so many boys’ toys in here!" I сказал(-а) "I don't like girly toys, my Избранное thing is Pokémon!" He asked "do Ты like watching the Power Rangers on TV?" I сказал(-а) "sometimes if it's on I will watch it! I like the blue Ranger the best!" He сказал(-а) "I like the red one the most!" I asked "do Ты like Pokémon?" He сказал(-а) "yeah; I like it when there is a gym battle on the show!" I pulled a big binder out of a drawer in my room and put it on the floor in front of Kyle. He opened it up and сказал(-а) "you have so many of the Покемон cards!"

Almost an час later dad and Mark laughed as the two of us came running down the stairs. Mark сказал(-а) "here comes the stampede!" We were having so much fun running around that our light up sneakers started having problems! I walked up to dad and сказал(-а) "thank Ты so much daddy for letting my friend come visit me!" He сказал(-а) "oh how sweet; you're welcome!" I сказал(-а) "I want to have a sleepover downstairs with Kyle tonight; can we?" Dad сказал(-а) "yeah that's fine; Ты guys can watch Дисней Фильмы in the living room on the flatscreen!" Kyle сказал(-а) "wow; thanks Michael!"

Later on after we had dinner; Kyle and I got dressed in our pajamas. We went into the living room and there was a huge blanket spread out across the floor. Mark brought over a stack of DVDs and put them in front of the two of us. We went through them and picked out звезда Wars episode one. Dad сказал(-а) "all right; don't stay up really late Ты guys!" Dad and Mark laughed out on the porch while they were talking to each other because they could hear the goofy conversations Kyle and I were having with each other! The funny thing was that we didn't think they could hear us!


May 8, 1999,

I came running downstairs and noticed that dad wasn't there. Grace сказал(-а) "your dad's working on his new album so; he won't be back till dinnertime." It had been a long time since dad had left us with the nanny and I was really not looking вперед to it. Grace and I are always butting heads because she doesn't let me do most of the things that dad lets me do. She doesn't want me to break anything или she doesn't want to have to punish me. That's why she doesn't let me do anything and it drives me nuts. Every time I go to go outside she's like "oh AJ; I don't want Ты to go outside! Wait for your dad to get back and Ты can go out with him!

I was in the play room most of the день playing video games или watching TV because there was nothing better to do. I was bored out of my mind! I think the worst thing about being the oldest child is that I don't have any interest in doing the things that Prince and Paris do because they're younger than I am. By the time dad gets Главная I'm usually a ball of energy.

August 17, 1999,

I woke up this morning and could hear barking coming from downstairs. I hopped out of постель, кровати and put on my Spiderman slippers and walked down to the living room. I looked at dad and asked "did Ты hear that?" He сказал(-а) "I didn't hear anything!" I heard the noise again and dad сказал(-а) "I heard something that time!" The two us walked to the back door and there was a dog laying on the porch. The dog was a reddish colored golden retriever from what I could tell because he was so dirty and matted.

I ran out the door and dad сказал(-а) "wait; Ты don't know whether he is mean или not. I don't want him to bite you!" The dog got up and dad slowly walked backwards with his hand on my shoulder. I asked "how did he get in here anyway?" The dog walked up to dad and started licking his hand and I сказал(-а) "I think he likes you!" Dad сказал(-а) "he looks like he's only about a год old! I got down on my knees and he started to lick my face. I looked at dad and I think he knew what was about to ask him. He сказал(-а) "if we keep him you're going to have to help me take care of him." I сказал(-а) "I will; he can be my dog!" Dad smiled and сказал(-а) "all right let's get him inside and clean him up because he's a mess!"

He followed us upstairs and to our surprise just jumped in the bathtub with his tail wagging. I got a T-shirt and swim trunks on so I could help give him a bath. Dad сказал(-а) "so what do Ты want to name him?" I сказал(-а) "Drake!" He сказал(-а) "that's a cool name!" After селезень, дрейк was all clean he jumped out of the tub and shook himself dry. I сказал(-а) "thanks for letting me keep him daddy!" He сказал(-а) "you're welcome!" I still have селезень, дрейк today plus the other two Собаки Jackson and Kenya. We used to have a dog named shadow when I was a newborn baby but, he passed away the день after my third birthday.


September 3, 1999,

I think селезень, дрейк is getting used to living here with us. He usually lays Далее to me in постель, кровати every night but this morning I was woken up by the sound of dad saying "gross; I can't believe Ты would lick my face!" I jumped out of постель, кровати and ran into dad's bedroom. селезень, дрейк was casually laying on the постель, кровати and dad was wiping his mouth with a washcloth. I started laughing and сказал(-а) "what… He just loves you!" Dad chuckled and сказал(-а) "I just didn't expect for a dog's tongue to be the first thing I see when I opened my eyes in the morning!"

селезень, дрейк jumped off the постель, кровати and I chased him down the stairs. Dad was about to come down with us when Prince yelled "daddy" from his bedroom. Dad сказал(-а) “hang on AJ; stay up here until I get Prince out of his room. Then I'll make Ты something to eat." I walked back upstairs and followed dad into Prince's room. Dad had just gotten rid of Prince's детская кроватка last week and I'm glad because since then Prince doesn't seem so perfect compared to me. He's definitely in his terrible twos now! They're nothing like they were with me but, it does make me look little bit better behaved now.

After breakfast all of us went into the living room to spend time together because dad has been working on his new album lately. This is the first time we will be able to spend the whole день with him since the beginning of the week and I'm so excited! I сказал(-а) "I'm so happy your Главная all день today daddy!" He sat down on the floor Далее to Prince and I. He сказал(-а) "I can't wait spend time with Ты guys… I actually have a surprise to tell you!" I asked "what?" He сказал(-а) "I sent Grace on a vacation to see her family so; it's just going to be the 4 of us for the Далее two weeks!" I asked "but don't Ты need to work?" He сказал(-а) "I really needed to take a break and I really miss Ты guys when I'm working on the new CD!" I сказал(-а) as I climbed onto his back "yes; two weeks with just you!"

Most two-year-olds like Prince go through a biting phase; thankfully I missed out on that phase because I was too busy kicking people when I was his age! Prince is definitely now a biter but; I'm hoping now that dad is going to be the only adult here watching us for the Далее two weeks that he will be able to break Prince of that habit!



September 4, 1999,

I woke up this morning to Paris jumping up and down on my постель, кровати saying "AJ!" I opened my eyes and dad, Prince, and Paris were in my room. I asked "what are we going to do today daddy?" He сказал(-а) "anything Ты want; within reason of course, nothing too crazy!" I got up and dad сказал(-а) "guess what I'm going to make for breakfast!" I asked "what?" He asked "what's your Избранное thing that I cook every once in a while?" I сказал(-а) "chocolate chip pancakes!!!" He сказал(-а) "Yes!!! After I change Prince and Paris's diapers Ты can help me make the pancakes!"

I was about to walk out of the room and go downstairs when dad сказал(-а) "hang on; I don't want Ты to go down there yet because I have the stove heating up! I don't want Ты to fall by accident and get burned! Come with me; it's only going to take a few minutes!" I followed him as he carried Prince and Paris into Prince's bedroom. Dad sat down on the floor and I passed him the wipes. He looked at Prince and сказал(-а) "you know what Prince? I think you're getting too old for diapers." Prince playfully сказал(-а) "no, no, no!" Dad chuckled and сказал(-а) as he tickled him "yes, yes, yes! Maybe we'll start working on getting rid of them this week!"

We all went downstairs and into the kitchen. I grabbed a stepstool and dragged it over to the stove so I could help dad make pancakes. Prince and Paris were in dad's eyesight playing in the play room and watching a movie. He сказал(-а) "I'll do the stuff with the шпатель just because I don't want Ты to get hurt but; Ты can put the Шоколад chips in and help me figure out how big to make the блины okay?" I сказал(-а) "okay! I'm going to put a lot of Шоколад chips in them!" He сказал(-а) "okay then!" When it was my turn to put them in I dumped the whole entire bag into the one batch of pancakes. Dad сказал(-а) "oh my gosh! All of us are going to have a sugar rush… But that's okay! It's daddy's rules for the two weeks so; if Ты want to go crazy Ты can!" I сказал(-а) "I thought that Grace goes by your rules when Ты aren't here?" He сказал(-а) "she does but; I know she can be really strict specifically with Ты when I'm not here!" I сказал(-а) "yeah she can be; I know she is trying to keep me from getting into trouble или getting hurt but, she can take it a little too far sometimes!" Dad сказал(-а) "well she loves Ты and she know Ты can be better behaved than Ты are most of the time; am I right?" I сказал(-а) "I guess I can try a little bit еще to listen to her!" He сказал(-а) "maybe if Ты showed her that Ты can listen to her she would let Ты do some of the stuff that I let Ты do when I'm here!"

Dad brought our plates to the таблица and put Prince and Paris in their highchairs. He cut their Еда and when he got to me I asked "can I cut it myself?" By the look on his face I don't think he wanted to let me but; I think he knew that I'm growing up and that there's nothing he can do to stop that from happening!" He passed me a нож and сказал(-а) "be careful!!!" I struggled for the first few минуты and he сказал(-а) "here; let me Показать Ты how to cut it! You're freaking me out; Ты come so close to cutting your finger!" He took the plate and started to cut the блины and if I didn't tell him to stop I think Ты would of cut the entire thing without giving me the chance to try again. After watching him, I easily cut the last few pieces on my plate and he took a sigh of relief!

September 5, 1999,

We were watching TV in the living room when I сказал(-а) "daddy; I'm bored! Can we do something?" He asked "what did Ты have in mind?" I сказал(-а) "slip and slide!" He сказал(-а) "I’ll tell Ты what; after I put Prince and Paris down for their nap because they're too young to use that the two of us can!" I asked "but what if one of them wakes up and wants you! You'll be outside with me so Ты won't be able to hear them!" He сказал(-а) "every once in a while I'll go inside and check on them to see if they are awake."

After lunch, dad put Prince and Paris down for their nap. I was outside playing with селезень, дрейк when he started dragging the slip and slide across the lawn. He hooked up the hose and water started to spray everywhere. I ran down the side but; was having some trouble with sticking to the plastic. I looked at dad and сказал(-а) "this thing isn't slippery enough!" He ran inside and came back out with something in his hand. He сказал(-а) "cooking oil should make it slippery enough AJ!" He poured a small amount onto the plastic part of the slide but, all the oil began to pour out really fast and before we knew it the slide was drenched.

Before he could stop me, I ran down the slide and when I went down on my stomach towards the end I shot halfway across the yard because it was so slippery. Dad was worried that my knees had gotten hurt and walked up to me. He asked "are Ты okay Alanna?" I lifted my head off the ground and started laughing because there were трава stains all over my face. Dad couldn't help but laugh to because of how hilarious I thought it was!" Then all of a sudden we both look over our shoulders and we see селезень, дрейк coming right towards us because he was sniffing the slide. Dad, the dog, and I ended up piled on вверх of each other with the two of us laughing our butts off!


September 10, 1999,

Grace will be back from her vacation in a couple еще days and dad will be back in the studio working on his new album. Dad is trying to spend as much time with us before he has to start working again! I don't know why he calls this a break because he's probably working twice as hard taking care of the three of us by himself than he ever would standing in a sound booth recording a song! Now that Prince is talking really well, he likes to try and get me in trouble; which Ты all know I don't need any help with that! I'm just waiting for dad to catch Prince in the act of doing something he doesn't approve of!

Prince, Paris, and I were playing in the play room when dad decided to come in and spend time with us. I climbed into his lap and Prince must've been jealous because he decided to hit me. Dad looked at him and сказал(-а) "that wasn't very nice at all! Say you're sorry to AJ! We don't hit in this house!" I сказал(-а) "it's okay; he doesn't have to apologize!" Dad сказал(-а) "yes he does!" Prince сказал(-а) "I'm sorry" and gave me a hug!

The thing that kind of bothered me is that Prince just apologized and moved on. When I do something wrong I don't just admit it, I drag it out as long as possible. I was kind of hoping that Prince would get into some serious trouble; just as payback for all the times that I've gotten in trouble for something that he did!