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 день 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 минута now. I walked into the room just as he was opening his eyes and сказал(-а) "good morning buddy!" I think he was surprised that I was there because he asked "you're not going to work daddy?" I сказал(-а) "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 молоко on the counter and grabbed the piece of paper off of the fridge to see what it was. I knelt down Далее to Christian and asked "what's this?" He сказал(-а) "those are my stickers to Показать Ты 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 Ты haven't showed me this before buddy?" He сказал(-а) "I want to; but Ты are tired." I felt really guilty as I looked down at him and I сказал(-а) "I don't want Ты to ever feel like Ты can't Показать me something just because I've had a long день at work buddy! I don't care how tired I am; Ты can spend time with me."

I looked at the piece of paper and noticed that there were significantly еще yellow stars with about 10 red stars scattered throughout the page. I сказал(-а) "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 сказал(-а) "yeah; I'm sorry daddy" and started crying.

I picked him up and сказал(-а) "it's okay Christian; why are Ты so upset? It's no big deal; Ты know I don't care about that stuff!" He сказал(-а) "but daddy; I don't want Ты to be mad! I want to make Ты 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 Ты see this? This is so good Christian! Why would Ты think that I would be mad at you? I'm happy buddy; trust me! We just need to work on it a little bit еще until there's no red stars!" He сказал(-а) "you're supposed to be mad at me; aren't you?" I сказал(-а) "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 сказал(-а) "good morning buddy; did Ты sleep well?" He shook his head yes and I asked "did Ты already use the bathroom?" He сказал(-а) "yup" and was about to sit at the таблица when I сказал(-а) "I'm making breakfast sandwiches instead of just cereal; so when they're finished cooking I will bring one in to Ты 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 Далее to Christian on the диван, мягкий уголок and passed Christian his sandwich. I definitely think Christian likes the idea of having me Главная 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 диван, мягкий уголок was soaking wet. I looked at Christian and he сказал(-а) "I think I need to go potty daddy." I rolled my eyes and сказал(-а) "I think Ты already did." I joked "why did Ты have to pee on my couch?" I think Christian thought I was mad because he burst out crying.

After cleaning him and the диван, мягкий уголок up, he was still crying and I asked "what's wrong Christian?" He сказал(-а) in between sobs "I made Ты mad!!!" I picked him up and сказал(-а) "I'm not mad at Ты at all Christian; daddy was joking!" He insisted "you're supposed to be mad at me daddy!" I hugged him and сказал(-а) "no I'm not supposed to be mad at you! Do I look mad?" He сказал(-а) "no; but why aren't Ты mad at me?" I сказал(-а) "because I would never get mad at Ты for anything! I might get disappointed in Ты sometimes; but I'll never be mad at you! I thought Ты went to the bathroom already though." He сказал(-а) "I was going to when I came down here; but then Ты сказал(-а) that I could watch Мультики and I kind of forgot." I сказал(-а) "well; I'm not too happy that Ты lied to me Christian. It would've been better if Ты just сказал(-а) Ты had to go. It would've taken just a few минуты and then Ты could have come in here to watch cartoons. Doesn't that make a lot еще 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 сказал(-а) "I think it's pretty безопасно, сейф to say that Ты are officially potty trained now buddy! Ты haven't had an accident in a week; not even at night and that shocks me. I'm so proud of Ты buddy!" He jumped into my arms and was way еще concerned about the bag of Конфеты 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 Хэллоуин commercial came on. I wasn't surprised that they were using "Thriller" as the Музыка on the advertisement because that song has become sort of a Хэллоуин tradition. Christian looked up at the TV and I asked "would Ты like to go trick-or-treating this год like the kids on TV?" He сказал(-а) "get Конфеты daddy!" I chuckled and сказал(-а) "yeah; people will give Ты candy!" He сказал(-а) "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 Ты want to talk about Michael?" I asked "can I ask Ты a hypothetical question?" She сказал(-а) "yeah; I guess." I asked "what would Ты think if I told Ты that I disassociated myself from the Jehovah Witnesses?" She sat there silently for a few минуты and then she asked "this isn't a hypothetical question; is it Michael?" I let out a deep sigh and сказал(-а) "no; it's not mother." She looked up at me and whispered "why?" I сказал(-а) "I'm not trying to hurt Ты 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 сказал(-а) "Michael; you're my only good son! I Любовь 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 Ты did what Ты did and I accept it; but Ты should know that I'll never agree with it!"

She got off of the диван, мягкий уголок 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 постель, кровати 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 by practicing that religion или make my son happy by 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 постель, кровати and he asked "why Ты cry daddy?" I tried my best to dry my tears before he saw me crying; but it was already too late for that. I сказал(-а) "I'm just a little said; that's all." He сказал(-а) "you need a hug daddy" and wrapped his arms around me. I smiled and сказал(-а) "thank you; I think that's exactly what I needed buddy." He сказал(-а) "don't cry anymore!" I chuckled and сказал(-а) "okay; I won't!"

***

Christians surprised me when he сказал(-а) he didn't want to be Mickey мышь for his first Хэллоуин and I'm starting to think that he just wants the Конфеты еще 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 Хэллоуин 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 Фаны 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 сказал(-а) "it sure is buddy!" He asked "what are Ты going to be daddy?" I сказал(-а) "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 куртка was way too big for him and his hands pretty much got Остаться в живых inside the sleeves. I think his Избранное part of the costume was the stethoscope and I think he thought it was real because he kept trying to check my сердце 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 минуты 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 Конфеты 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 сказал(-а) "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 волк mask with a flannel рубашка 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 Ты to scare a three-year-old! I'm glad Ты 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 сказал(-а) "it's okay buddy; I know that boy was mean! He сказал(-а) "daddy; we go home!" I сказал(-а) "yup; we're going Главная right now!" He seemed all shaken up because of what had just happened; so I excitedly asked "do Ты want me to make Шоколад chip блины for dinner?" His eyes widened and I chuckled as I сказал(-а) "I thought Ты would like the sound of that!"

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

After he had eaten most of the Еда I picked him up and whispered "are Ты 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 Ты eating my Конфеты daddy? Ты smell like skittles!" I сказал(-а) with a guilty grin on my face "maybe!" He сказал(-а) "you are; I can see the red on your teeth and your tongue is purple!" I giggled and сказал(-а) "alright; Ты caught me! There's plenty еще left; so I snuck a couple pieces!" He lightly pecked my lips and сказал(-а) "don't eat all of my Конфеты daddy!" I chuckled as I shut off the light and turned the TV on. Christian сказал(-а) "I Любовь Ты еще daddy!" I laughed as I сказал(-а) "hey; I'm supposed to say that! I Любовь Ты еще Christian!"

***

It was weird being able to celebrate Хэллоуин 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 или 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 кухня таблица 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 сказал(-а) "I just wanted to stop in and see how you're doing; and I haven't seen Ты in about a month. How are Ты enjoying your vacation?" I сказал(-а) "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 сказал(-а) "I'll definitely come Michael! I usually celebrate Thanksgiving with my family; but if Ты want me to I can come!" I сказал(-а) "only if Ты want to Frank and if it's okay with your family. I really think Ты should celebrate with them instead Frank because they are your family; not me and Christian!" He сказал(-а) "I consider Ты part of my family Michael; Ты know that!" I сказал(-а) "yeah; but Ты don't feel the same way about Christian!" He сказал(-а) "I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't too keen on the idea of Ты becoming a father; but I'm slowly getting used to it as time passes." I сказал(-а) "Christian is going to wake up soon; so Ты should probably go. Feel free to stop by on Thanksgiving день for a couple of hours; but Ты really should spend it with your family Frank!" He patted my shoulder and сказал(-а) "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 постель, кровати and smacked his head on the floor. I picked him up and сказал(-а) "good morning Christian." He opened his eyes and rubbed them as he сказал(-а) "good morning daddy." I сказал(-а) "I'm going to make Ты some breakfast and while Ты 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 день and went downstairs to make myself a cup of coffee. I went to the pantry and grabbed a bunch of different Еда 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 еще 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 сказал(-а) "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 день outfit. It was a pair of хаки 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 by the time everyone arrived. When they got here, I invited them inside and we all hurried to set the таблица because they were really hungry. I helped Christian get up into his booster сиденье, место, сиденья and sat down in the chair Далее to him. I сказал(-а) "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 Любовь 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 Еда and Latoya сказал(-а) "that was really sweet Michael! I have to say that you're an amazing father!" Jackie сказал(-а) "yeah Mike; she's right! You're a great dad!" I looked at Christian and asked "do Ты think they're right?" He сказал(-а) "you're the best daddy in the whole world!" I hugged him and сказал(-а) "you're the best son in the whole Christian!"

All of us went into the living room to eat Десерт and we sat on the floor. Christian is addicted to Oreo печенье and that's his Избранное food; so I made an Oreo cookie flavored pie. The минута 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 сказал(-а) "here; let daddy feed Ты because I don't want Ты to make a mess buddy!" Janet сказал(-а) "you must be excited celebrate Рождество with him Michael! Ты and him get to celebrate your first Рождество together! Do Ты have any plans for Рождество Michael?" I сказал(-а) "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 Ты 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 Рождество morning?" I сказал(-а) "actually; that doesn't sound like a bad idea!" Jermaine looked at Christian and asked "what do Ты want for Рождество Christian?" He quietly whispered "clothes." All of us were completely baffled by his response and I asked "you really want clothes for Christmas? I can afford to buy Ты anything Ты ever want for a toy; but Ты want clothes?" He сказал(-а) "I like clothes daddy" and Randy сказал(-а) "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 Переместить on to something else!" He joked "can I swap kids with Ты Mike?" I laughed and сказал(-а) "sorry; he's here to stay!" Christian сказал(-а) "kiss daddy" and I puckered my lips as he leaned in to Kiss me. Rebbie сказал(-а) "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 Любовь your daddy; don't Ты Christian?" He whispered "yeah; I'm daddy's boy!" I сказал(-а) "and I Любовь my buddy so much!"

***

I really like the idea of renting a кабина 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 сказал(-а) "okay buddy; I'm going to go shopping for your Рождество presents and Tim is going to watch Ты 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 таблица with tracks and Christian has recently developed an interest in "Thomas the Tank Engine"; so I knew he would Любовь this.

This wasn't just any train table, it's a $1500 train таблица with pretty much every character that is on the "Thomas the Tank Engine" TV Показать 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 Рождество presents; but it'll be well worth it when I see his face on Рождество morning when he sees all his presents!

***

My bodyguards James and Tim pulled up in front of a huge кабина that I had rented in the Canadian countryside. Christian I got out of the car and I сказал(-а) "have a good holiday Ты guys; we'll see Ты when Ты come to pick us up in three days!" James сказал(-а) "we already had someone drop off all the gifts Ты bought and they are in one of the spare bedrooms waiting for Ты to заворачивать, обертывание them Michael!" I сказал(-а) "okay guys; thanks for all the help! Say hello to your families for me!" They both сказал(-а) "we will Michael; have a good Christmas!" I quickly grabbed the cardboard box from the back сиденье, место, сиденья 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 by 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 постель, кровати 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 Космос of the постель, кровати 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 заворачивать, обертывание 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 бекон, бэкон 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 сказал(-а) "good morning buddy! Are Ты ready to have fun today?" He asked "what are we going to do today daddy?" I сказал(-а) "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 Рождество дерево and bake печенье to leave out for Santa Claus. Then we're going to go get ready for постель, кровати because tonight's Рождество Eve and Ты have to be asleep for Santa Claus to come."

After we were done eating breakfast, I сказал(-а) "okay; let's get Ты 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 Стена and realized that it had taken me 45 минуты to get him ready to go outside. I asked "are Ты ready to go outside now?" He asked "daddy?" I responded "yeah?" He сказал(-а) "I have to go potty." I covered my face of my hands and asked "are Ты serious? Do Ты 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 сказал(-а) "it's okay buddy; it's just snow! It isn't going to hurt you!" He started freaking out and сказал(-а) "my boot is stuck in the snow daddy!!! I can't move; help!!!" I сказал(-а) "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 холм, хилл 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 катание на санях was the best thing in the world after that and I must've carried him up that холм, хилл 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 час later, he woke up from his nap and came downstairs. I picked him up and сказал(-а) "okay; are Ты ready to make some печенье for Santa?" The печенье were already in the духовой шкаф, печь 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 печенье 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 печенье were decorated, I asked "do Ты 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 Рождество дерево 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 звезда and put him on my shoulders. I сказал(-а) "go ahead; put the звезда on the вверх of the дерево pal!" Even though he was on my shoulders, he was just barely able to reach high enough to put the звезда up there!

I took Christian off of my shoulders and noticed that it was starting to get dark; so I сказал(-а) "let me switch on the lights on the tree." I think that's when Christian really got excited and I сказал(-а) "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 постель, кровати afterwards. I lie down Далее to him and read him "the night before Christmas." I kissed his forehead and сказал(-а) "sleep well buddy! Don't go downstairs until I tell Ты it's okay! Ты have to go right to sleep after the Показать is over because if Ты don't Santa Claus won't come." He сказал(-а) "okay daddy; I will! I Любовь you" I shut off the light and сказал(-а) "I Любовь Ты more" as I shut the door.

I waited about an час 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 таблица 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 сказал(-а) 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 сказал(-а) "some assembly required" when actually it should have read "all assembly required!” I had to set up the tracks, built the таблица itself, and put the trees in the area they were assigned to going by 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 таблица 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 сказал(-а) "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 постель, кровати and chased after Christian as he ran to the вверх of the stairs. I сказал(-а) "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 сказал(-а) "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 Далее to Christian and chuckled as I whispered "what is that Christian?" He сказал(-а) "choo-choo train!" He walked over to the train таблица and I knelt down Далее to him again as I pointed to one of the trains. I quietly asked "who is that Christian?" He looked at it and сказал(-а) "Thomas!" I gasped and сказал(-а) "wow; Santa Claus must know that Ты like Thomas the Tank Engine!"

I grabbed the empty plate of печенье and сказал(-а) "wow; he ate all your печенье buddy!" He didn't even look up from the train таблица 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 Остаться в живых him.

I sat down on the floor and сказал(-а) "come here Christian; look at all these presents Ты have to open?" He whispered "no; I play with my choo-choo train daddy!" I сказал(-а) "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 кабина 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 сказал(-а) "I'll open this for Ты but I want a hug first." He gave me a hug and lightly pecked my lips and I сказал(-а) "thank you; did Ты have a good first Рождество with me?" He сказал(-а) "yeah daddy; but how did Santa Claus get that big train таблица down the chimney?" I сказал(-а) "I don't know; Santa is just magical like that I guess!!!”