I brought him downstairs and brought him some cereal. He pushed the bowl away and I asked "what's wrong? 你 don't like this kind?" He climbed out of the chair and walked over to the countertop. I turned around and asked "what?" He pointed to the cookie jar and 说 "those." I stood up and 说 "you can't have 饼干 for breakfast silly!" He looked at me and 说 "yes!" I 说 "not this early" and he repeated "yes!"
I picked him up and tried to get him focused on something other than the cookies. I brought him back to the 表 and 说 "here's your cereal." He 说 "cookies" and I 说 "let me check to see if there's a different kind of cereal." I turned around to look in the cupboard and then I heard something hit the ground.
I looked behind me and noticed that Christian's bowl of cereal was spilled out all over the floor. I walked over to it with paper towels and started to clean up the mess. I looked up at Christian and asked "you didn't throw your bowl on the floor; did you?" He 说 "I don't want that; I want cookies!" I sighed and 说 "look at the mess 你 made Christian!" He 说 "I want 饼干 daddy!" I 说 "I told 你 no Christian."
He didn't like the idea of me telling him no and when I came back into the 厨房 his facial expression showed his irritation. I picked him up and cheerfully 说 "someone's grumpy. We can have 饼干 later; I promise!" He asked "why won't 你 give me a cookie?" I 说 "because I don't want 你 to have a cookie. Do 你 want an apple?" He crossed his arms 说 "no!"
When I went to 床, 床上 that night, I couldn't believe how out of the ordinary Christian was acting. I'm hoping a good night’s sleep will put him in a better mood. I definitely wasn't expecting what happened today. That's not like him at all.
***
I was just walking through the door after a long 日 of work, when I saw Christian and my mother in the living room. I walked in and my mother didn't look happy. I sat down 下一个 to her on the 长椅, 沙发 and asked "how was your day?" She sighed and 说 "Christian hit me today." I almost didn't want to believe her because the idea of Christian hitting anybody seemed so crazy! I asked "what did 你 do about it?" She 说 "nothing; you're his father. Enforcing discipline is your job; not mine Michael. I'm going to head 首页 now; see 你 after the weekend."
She shut the door behind her as she left and I just stared at Christian with a blank look on my face. I didn't know what I should say 或者 do because I didn't think I would be faced with something like this. I 移动 myself closer to him on the 长椅, 沙发 and we sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes. I quietly 说 "it wasn't very nice for 你 to hit grandma. Why would 你 hit her?" He didn't answer me because he was distracted 由 the TV. I asked with an unsure tone of voice "you don't want to have to be put in timeout; do you?"
The 秒 I 说 that, he burst out into tears and ran out of the room. I immediately chased after him and caught up with him at the end of the hallway. I knelt down in front of him and sincerely asked "what's wrong?" He uncontrollably shook as he continued to cry and 说 "no hit me daddy please don't!!!" I asked "hit you? Why would I do that?" I was about to pick him up when he pulled away and I felt terrible.
He ran upstairs and I walked into his room to see his feet sticking out from underneath the bed. I crawled underneath the 床, 床上 and 说 "hey; it's okay Christian." He asked "you won't hit me?" My eyes started to water and I 说 "I would never hit you; EVER!" He 说 "mommy hit me when I was with her!" I pulled him out from underneath the 床, 床上 and 说 "that's not what a normal mommy 或者 daddy does Christian! 你 don't have to worry about her anymore buddy! I don't think it was right for 你 to hit grandma either though." He responded "I call her and say sorry." I 说 "I think that's a good idea."
We went downstairs and I dialed her phone number. I put it on speaker phone and she 说 "hello." I 说 "hi mother; it's Michael and Christian has something he'd like to say to you." Christian 说 "sorry grandma" she 说 "thank 你 for saying you're sorry. I hope daddy told 你 that it's not nice to hit." I 说 "I think we've come to an understanding. We'll let 你 go now because I have to get 晚餐 started; bye." She 说 "goodbye; see 你 Monday."
***
My bodyguard Tim was excited to introduce me to his sister and niece because they are in town for the weekend. I told him that he doesn't need to come into work so he will be able to spend time with his family; but he insisted on at least coming in for an 小时 because his sister is a huge 粉丝 of mine.
Tim, his sister, and his niece arrived at around 10 o'clock in the morning and I 说 "you must be Jessica; it's nice to meet you!" She hugged me and 说 "I've loved 你 since I was a little girl! I 爱情 the new album! I saw 你 on the tour at your Louisiana show!" I 说 "thanks for supporting me; I hope 你 enjoyed the show!" She 说 "of course I enjoyed the 显示 Michael!"
I looked at the little girl she held in her arms and asked "how old is she? What's her name?" Jessica 说 "this is my daughter Sarah; she turned two a few months ago." I grabbed Christian from the 表 and 说 "this is my son Christian; he turned three two weeks ago."
I put Christian on the ground 下一个 to Sarah and he immediately hid behind me. I 说 "I bet Sarah would like to play with 你 Christian." He clung to my leg and Jessica asked "are 你 shy?" I chuckled and 说 "yeah he is." Sarah 说 "mommy bathroom" Jessica asked "can I use your bathroom Michael?" I 说 "of course 你 can. It's right over there."
Afterwards, I asked "she's toilet trained already?" Jessica asked "yeah; isn't Christian?" I 说 "no; I wasn't even thinking about that." Just as we were getting into the conversation, Tim 说 "Jessica; we don't want to miss our lunch reservation." She picked up Sarah and 说 "thank 你 for letting me meet 你 Michael!" I 说 "I'm glad I got to meet 你 too; have fun this weekend Tim." He 说 "I will Mike; thanks for the time off!"
I was getting Christian ready for 床, 床上 after getting him bathed and decided to hint at getting rid of the diapers. I 说 "maybe it's time for 你 to be a big boy." He looked at me like I was crazy and I asked "you don't want to learn to use the potty?" He whispered "no" and quickly tried to change the subject. He 说 "I want a snack daddy!" I quickly 说 "I'll get 你 a snack in a minute. 你 really don't want to be a big boy?" He didn't answer me and I 说 "well; I'd be glad if 你 did! I don't think 你 want to be wearing those anymore; do you? Those are for babies; don't 你 want to be a big boy?" He whispered "no" again and I decided to drop it to think about it for a while.
***
I was woken up 由 a knock at the door. I came downstairs and answered the door. I was shocked to see Rosemary standing there. I immediately asked "you're not going to take him back are you?" "She laughed and 说 "of course not Michael; I'm just required to make a surprise evaluation to make sure I made the right decision with letting 你 adopt Christian. I'm supposed to give 你 an in-depth background of Christian's history. I figured I would come stop 由 unexpectedly early enough in the morning; so Christian isn't awake yet. I only need to ask him a few 问题 when he wakes up and until then 你 and I can have a conversation about his past."
I got the two of us some coffee and we went into the living room. I have to admit that I'm curious to hear about where Christian came from and how he got to the point of being in foster care. I passed her the cup of coffee and she looked like she was about to cry. She 说 "first of all, I can't thank 你 enough for taking Christian and giving him the 首页 that he deserves because I have a feeling he would've been at the orphanage for a long time if it wasn't for you!!!" I hugged her and 说 "you don't have to thank me! I 爱情 Christian and I don't regret pursuing adoption.
Rosemary cleared her throat and 说 "alright; I will warn 你 that some parts of Christian's past are going to be hard for 你 to hear; but I think it's important for 你 to know just in case he asks 你 问题 one day. I took a deep breath and 说 "okay; go ahead."
She 说 "Christian's mother had him a few months after she turned 18 and she was living with her mother at the time. Melissa was always in and out of trouble with the law. Her mom kicked her out with Christian and she decided to 移动 into a three-bedroom place with a guy who would later become her boyfriend Adam. Everything was good for the first six months of Christian's life; but then Melissa seemed to get sick of being a mother." I asked "what about Christian's biological father? I saw the picture of him in the folder of all his information." Rosemary 说 "that picture was the only thing we were able to find of him. We don't know where he is. We don't know if he's alive 或者 dead. We don't know if he's a good man 或者 if he's like Melissa. We don't even know if he knows that Christian exists.
It was stunning to me to find out that there is so little known information about Christian's biological father. I asked "how did Christian end up in the orphanage?" She 说 "the neighbor 下一个 door to Melissa's house reported hearing crying for hours coming from the house. She 说 she thought she had seen Christian looking out the window and crying. She alerted us and we went over there. We had to get a 搜索 warrant to get inside the house because Melissa wouldn't let us in and that's when we realized she had locked Christian in the bathroom while she got drunk to the point of disorientation! We estimate that he was stuck there for close to 24 hours. We think she got fed up with taking care of him and totally forgot about him."
Tears streamed down my face and I 说 "that's horrible! That woman is so demented! I can't believe she would do that to her own son!" She 说 "okay; enough about this! Why don't 你 take me to Christian's room to see if he's awake yet; so I can ask him a few questions." I wiped the tears away and walked upstairs as she followed behind me.
I walked into Christian's room with Rosemary and she 说 "wow Michael; this is the coolest room I've ever seen! Christian is one lucky kid!" I picked Christian up and whispered "wake up buddy!" He opened his eyes and looked at Rosemary. She 说 "hi Christian; do 你 remember me?" Christian 说 "hi" and I put him down on the floor. He started playing with his toy racetrack and I sat down on the floor 下一个 to him with Rosemary. She asked "do 你 like it here with Michael Christian?" He 说 "yeah; he's my daddy." She asked "does daddy take good care of you?" He 说 "yeah; he does!" She asked "what's your 最喜爱的 thing about having a daddy Christian?" He leaned in to give me a 吻乐队（Kiss） and 说 "kisses and hugs!" Rosemary laughed and I asked "what's so funny?" She 说 "I honestly can't believe that he just gave 你 a 吻乐队（Kiss） Michael! Never in 1 million years did I think this shy little boy would ever be open to a parent's affection; let alone just walk up to 你 and randomly give 你 a kiss! His speech is getting so much better and whatever 你 doing is working. He's come so far since the last time I saw him and that's all because of you! I'm 更多 than comfortable with my decision to let 你 adopt him permanently!"
Rosemary got off of the floor and 说 "I better get going now because I have to catch my flight back to London." I asked "will 你 be checking in again?" She 说 "no; I trust 你 Michael. I guess this is the last time I'll be seeing 你 或者 Christian." Both of us gave her a hug and I 说 "it won't be the last time; we'll visit 你 one day!" We waved goodbye to her and started our day.
***
I had been dreading the 日 when Christian would need a haircut because I have a feeling he's not going to like the idea of scissors near his face. I invited my hair stylist Karen Faye over because I knew I would need her help. Christian was watching TV in the living room and moving his hair out of his face.
Christian was sitting on the floor with his back up against the 长椅, 沙发 and I gestured for Karen to slide onto the 长椅, 沙发 and try cutting his hair without him noticing. She was a few snips in when he realized that she had scissors in her hand. He ran behind me and I 说 "it's okay; I just want 你 to have your haircut!" He looked at the scissors as if they were daggers and I picked him up.
I sat down on the floor with him on my lap and 说 "just cut his hair as fast as 你 can Karen.” He started squirming in my arms as I 说 "it's okay buddy!" I felt absolutely terrible as I had to hold him down so she could cut his hair. I only did it because I didn't want him to get poked in the eye.
Once she was done cutting his hair, I looked at Christian and 说 "you look so cute!" That wasn't so bad!" I don't think Christian was very happy with me because he didn't say anything to me until after Karen had left. I was sitting on the floor in front of him while he sat on the 长椅, 沙发 and watched TV.
Out of nowhere, Christian smacked me on the back of my head! I turned my head to look behind me and 说 "that wasn't nice Christian! 你 need to say you're sorry because I told 你 it's not nice to hit." He crossed his arms and 说 "no!" I 说 as I continued to look back at him "you need to say you're sorry Christian!" He 说 "no" again and I really didn't know what to do.
I thought about it for a few 秒 and got off of the floor. I 说 "alright then; I guess it's time for a timeout." I picked him up and once he saw that I was actually bring him to a chair in the kitchen, he 说 "I'm sorry daddy; I'm sorry!" Part of me wanted to believe that he was actually sorry; but I knew deep down that he was just saying that because he didn't want to have a timeout.
I pulled the chair out from the 表 and placed him in it. I looked at him and 说 "it's not nice to hit people Christian!" He started crying and I felt awful. I started the timer on the microwave and 说 "three 分钟 Christian." As I stood there at the counter a few feet away from the table, Christian cried "daddy; I'm sorry daddy! I 爱情 你 daddy! I be good!" It took all the willpower I had to ignore him because I was on the verge of tears!
When the timer finally beeped, I walked over to the chair and asked "do 你 know why you're in timeout Christian?" He 说 "it's not nice to hit daddy! I'm sorry daddy!" I hugged him as I picked him up and 说 "thank 你 for saying you're sorry. Do 你 still 爱情 me even though I put 你 in timeout?" He 说 "yeah" and kissed my cheek.
***
I heard Christian walked downstairs this morning and 说 "come here buddy." He walked into the living room and I had shopping bags in front of me on the floor. He sat down 下一个 to me on the floor and I 说 "wait until 你 see what I got you!" I opened one of the bags and asked "what would 你 think if I told 你 that I threw out all your diapers? He 说 "no 你 didn't!
He went to the place where I usually keep them and when he noticed that I was serious, he looked at me with a blank look on his face. I took some of the Mickey 老鼠, 鼠标 underwear out of one of the bags and 说 "look buddy; Mickey!" He just looked so distraught and I picked him up to comfort him. I know because of his past I can't make this into a negative thing if it's going to work.
I sat him on my lap and sat down on the 长椅, 沙发 as I 说 "it's okay buddy! I promise 你 that it's not going to be the end of the world! Look, don't 你 want to be a big boy?" He started crying and I 说 "look at how cool these are!" He shook his head no and 说 "diaper!" I excitedly 说 "big boy" and he 说 "I'm scared daddy!" I asked "of what; these?"
I picked up the underwear and 说 "these aren't anything to be scared of!" I put them on my head and he started to laugh and I joked "what's so funny?" I brought him into the bathroom and explained to him that there wasn't going to be any 更多 diapers and he didn't want to hear that at all. It was hard enough to convince him to wear the underwear; I don't think I really know what I just got myself into.
There was a knock at the door in the midst of all this; so I went to answer it. It was Frank and he 说 "I brought the book cover for your book Michael; so 你 can see what it will look like! Why do 你 have Mickey 老鼠, 鼠标 underwear on your head?" I reached my hand up to the 最佳, 返回页首 of my head and realized that they were still there. I laughed and 说 "it's a long story!"
Christian came into the 厨房 and 说 "diaper!" I 说 "I told 你 buddy; 你 don't need those anymore!" He started crying again and Frank 说 "on that note I think it's time for me to get out of here; good luck with that Michael." Just as he 说 that, I noticed that Christian was soaked. Frank chuckled and 说 "I told 你 that 你 weren't cutout for parenting Mike" as he shut the door.
I 说 "uh –oh; that's why you're supposed to tell daddy when 你 have to go! It's no big deal buddy; we'll try again 下一个 time." He 说 "I don't like this daddy!" I 说 "like I said, that's why 你 have to tell me 下一个 time!"
***
I invited my sister Latoya over for lunch because she hasn’t gotten a chance to really get to know Christian. I had ordered lunch because I didn't want her to have to wait for me to cook anything. Christian was just coming downstairs after taking a nap when Latoya finally pulled into the driveway.
I let her inside and she helped me set the 表 for the Chinese 食物 that I had ordered. I 说 "Christian; time to eat buddy." He slowly walked into the 厨房 and asked "can I sit on your lap daddy?" I lifted him onto my lap and moved his plate of 食物 in front of him. He looked at Latoya and I 说 "this is your aunt Latoya Christian." He waved at her and started to act shy.
He was barely touching his 食物 and I 说 "you have to eat Christian." He 说 "I don't want this." He dropped his fork on the floor and Latoya got up to grab him a new one. She brought it back to the table; but Christian was still refusing to eat. I tried feeding him because I want to be a fun dad; I don't want everything to end up with him being in trouble. I've only had to put him in timeout once and I don't really want to have to resort to that again.
He just kept pushing the fork away and I looked at Latoya as she 说 "I think he's adjusted to having a daddy Michael." I asked "I know 你 don't have kids; but do think it's normal for him to act like this? He only acts this way when he wakes up from a nap. It's definitely not like him to be like this." She 说 "I think he's just getting used to having a daddy and I have a feeling he wants to test 你 to see what he can get away with. It's just part of being a three-year-old Michael. Every three-year-old challenges their parents’ authority over them at some point. I don't think he's going to act like that for very long because if he's as sweet as 你 say he is he won't want to frustrate you."
Christian grabbed the fork out of my hand and started eating because I think he realized that he wasn't doing what I wanted him to do. I 说 "thank 你 for eating buddy." Latoya asked "what's your schedule like this week Michael?" I 说 "I have an interview with 'Jet’ magazine tomorrow and then I'm heading to New York for a couple of days 由 myself because I have a meeting with a publishing company to talk about my autobiography." She asked "what is the magazine interviewing 你 for?" I 说 "I'm hoping that it's just a small interview because I want to introduce Christian to my 粉丝 and I want the tabloids to stop harassing me. They all want to get a picture of Christian because word has gotten out that I've adopted him and I figured if I let the magazine feature the two of us on the cover they'll leave us alone. I just want Christian to have a normal life and I want the paparazzi to stop harassing him because he's just a kid." Latoya asked "who is going to watch Christian while you're in New York?" I 说 "mother is out of town for a 月 because she and Joseph went on vacation; so my hair stylist Karen is going to watch him for me." Latoya asked "how do 你 think Christian's going to handle being away from 你 for two days? He hasn't been away from 你 overnight since 你 adopted him." I 说 "I don't know if I'm going to tell him until after I'm in New York because I just can't handle hearing him cry! He should be fine during the 日 because I usually don't see him until I get 首页 from work every 日 around 5 o'clock. When it's time for him to go to 床, 床上 at night he might be a little worried because I won't be there to tuck him in like I always am. Karen will know that I'm only a phone call away if she needs me! If she needs me to come back I'll be on the 下一个 flight back here as fast as I can."
***
I looked at my watch because I was worried that the "Jet" magazine journalist and photographer would arrive at the ranch within minutes. I was in the middle of debating with Christian. I sat on the bathroom floor and Christian just looked absolutely terrified. It's all his mother's fault that this is so difficult for him. I think my approach of trying to be extremely positive about toilet training him isn't going to be enough. After 阅读 some parenting books, they say that if it doesn't start to work within the first few weeks I should probably take a break. I hate to say it; but I think it's time for a break.
Christian started crying and 说 "don't leave me in here 由 myself daddy! Don't lock me in here!" I sympathetically 说 "sweetheart; I'm not going anywhere! I'm staying right here and I promise 你 that I won't lock 你 in here like your mother did!" He 说 "I'm not ready for this!" I 说 "okay, okay, but 你 have to promise to tell me when 你 are ready."
I had a feeling that something like this would happen; so I didn't end up throwing out the diapers like I had told him I did. I was hoping that if he didn't think they were there he would be 更多 prepared to use the bathroom instead; but I guess I was wrong. I quickly changed him back into them and he reassured me that he wasn't ready 由 saying "not a big boy yet daddy." I 说 "that's okay Christian."
The journalist and I photographer from "Jet" magazine knocked on the front door and I opened it up. One of the men introduced himself as he 说 "hi; I'm Andrew. I'm so glad 你 decided to discuss Christian for the first time publicly with the interview in our magazine Michael."
Before we started the interview, the photographer took a bunch of pictures of me with Christian; so there would be a lot to choose from to use in the magazine. Christian was surprisingly patient with having his picture taken so many times in a row. I didn't expect him to be okay with these two people that he never met before because he’s usually so shy.
Afterwards, I sat down with Christian on my lap and Andrew across from me; so he could ask me 问题 for the interview. He asked "how did 你 come to the decision that 你 needed to permanently adopt Christian?" I 说 "I just felt like I was meant to be his father and I couldn't leave him with his mother; she was just awful!" Andrew asked "what's the best part about being a father?" I 说 "being able to make him smile and when he just randomly walks up to me to give me a 吻乐队（Kiss） and hug out of nowhere; for no reason at all!" Andrew asked "what did it feel like when he called 你 daddy for the first time?" I 说 "to be completely honest, he brought me to tears when he called me daddy for the first time." He asked "why did he make 你 cry?" I 说 "I didn't cry right away; I waited until he was asleep. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and reality just hit me. I 说 to myself 'I'm officially his daddy now!!!' I just burst out into tears because I knew I didn't have to worry about wondering if he was okay. I had no idea if his mother was even taking care of him when I had to give him back to her. When I finally did get him back, I felt terrible because he was in horrible condition." He asked "how would 你 describe your parenting style Michael? Are 你 a strict dad?" I laughed and 说 "no; I've only enforced any kind of discipline with Christian once so far and that was tearing me apart! I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I disciplined him for every little thing! Plus, he's a really well behaved little guy. I don't really have to deal with him giving me issues. He has the occasional moment where I can tell he's thinking 'oh; I wonder if he’ll let me get away with this.'" Andrew laughed and asked "have 你 mastered the 'you better not do that’ look Michael? Do 你 do the 'I'm going to give 你 until the count of three and 你 better not let me get to three’ thing?" I chuckled and 说 "no; I don't do the whole counting thing! I'll definitely have to try that look 你 were talking about one day. I've always wondered if that actually works!" He asked "if 你 had to pick the worst part about being a father, what would it be?" I 说 "that's a hard 问题 for me to answer because I enjoy pretty much everything about being a father; but I’d probably have to say it would be having to leave him for any amount of time. I always miss him so much; even if it's just for a few hours a 日 while I'm working." Andrew 说 "thank 你 so much for letting me interview 你 Michael!" I 说 "you're very welcome. I think they're going to leave now Christian; I'll make 你 something for lunch because 你 must be hungry! That took a lot longer than I thought it would."
***
I leave for New York tomorrow and I'm just enjoying some quality time with Christian. I had bought some double stuffed Oreo 饼干 and they were on the 厨房 counter. Last night, I was up 阅读 parenting 图书 in hopes that I would find some 更多 toilet training tactics; but I guess I'm going to have to figure out something on my own. I know I'm supposed to be giving him a break and I think he's glad that I'm not asking him every five 分钟 if he has to go; but I know that he's 更多 than ready. He will literally tell me that he needs to be changed before he even goes; which in this case isn't a good thing. I just wish his mother never locked him in a bathroom! Why would she do that to him? She's the reason why he's still wearing those diapers at three years old!
Anyway, Christian had just finished eating 晚餐 about 20 分钟 以前 and I was doing dishes in the 厨房 when he walked in. He walked up to the counter that he can barely see over the 最佳, 返回页首 of and saw the package of 饼干 sitting there. He asked "can I have 饼干 daddy?"
I put the dish I was washing back inside the sink and looked over at the cookies. I looked at Christian and 说 "I'm sorry buddy; 你 can't." He asked "why not?" I picked him up and 说 "because those 饼干 are only for big boys." He looked like he wanted those 饼干 so much and I felt like maybe this might work. I lightly teased him as I 说 "oh; it's too bad 你 don't want to use the potty because I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy these 饼干 all 由 myself." He stuttered with a look of shock on his face as he 说 "but, but, but that's a lot of 饼干 daddy; 你 can't eat all those 由 yourself! Maybe I could just have one!" I had to hold back my laughter as I 说 "I'm sorry; these are only for big boys Christian. 你 could go use the potty so 你 can have some." He sighed and 说 "no; that's okay daddy! 你 can eat them!" I put him down on the ground and he walked back into the living room.
I stood there at the counter and 说 to myself "come on Mike; that almost worked!” I thought for sure the 饼干 would work. I 说 "time for plan B; it's not considered teasing him with the 饼干 if I'm doing it for a good cause." I poured some of the 饼干 in a bowl and walked into the living room.
I sat down 下一个 to Christian on the 长椅, 沙发 with the bowl of 饼干 and that immediately caught his attention. He watched me start to eat one of them and I 说 "wow; these are good!" He tried to grab one of the 饼干 and I 说 "I'm sorry Christian; 你 can't have these!" I could tell that he was debating it back and forth in his mind. He complained "I can't go daddy!" I joked "oh; that's too bad that 你 can't; because all it would take is a few 分钟 and these 饼干 would be yours. I think he was getting frustrated with me because he could tell that I was deliberately making those 饼干 seem amazing. That didn't work either because he just went upstairs to his room. He is definitely making this difficult!
***
I was just returning to the hotel after meeting with the company that's publishing my book and the phone started ringing as soon as I entered the room. I answered it and my hair stylist Karen 说 "thank God 你 finally picked up Michael!" I asked concerned "why; what's wrong?" She asked "will 你 talk to your son? I can't get him to go to sleep. I told him you're in New York and that you'll be back tomorrow night before he goes to bed; but he keeps crying for 你 Michael."
I could hear her pass Christian the phone and he was sobbing. I asked "what's wrong Christian?" He asked "where are you? You're not here to give me good night kisses" I 说 "I know buddy; but I had to do something for work! I'll be back before 你 have to go to 床, 床上 tomorrow." He continued to cry and I started to sing to him the lyrics of "smile."
A few 分钟 later, Karen picked up the phone again and whispered "he's asleep Michael; thanks!" I 说 "no need to thank me. I knew he would have a meltdown when he realized I wasn't going to be 首页 由 tonight. It's getting late; so I'll see 你 tomorrow when I get back. She 说 "bye Michael" and I hung up the phone.
***
I walked through the door of the house and Karen 说 "I just put him to bed; but he might still be awake because he wanted to wait for you." I 说 "okay; thanks for watching him for me. Have a good weekend Karen." She 说 "you're welcome Michael; I'll watch him anytime! I hope 你 have a good weekend too!" She shut the door behind her and I started to make my way upstairs with my bags.
After bringing my suitcase to my room, I walked down to Christian's room to see if he was still awake. When I walked in there, his 床, 床上 was empty and that made me panic. I started looking everywhere upstairs and 说 "Christian." I went back into my room and I could hear whining coming from down the hall. I exited my room and followed the noise down the hall.
It led me to the bathroom and I pushed open the door. Christian was standing at the sink and trying to wash his hands. I don’t think he saw me there watching him and I 说 “hey buddy; what are 你 doing in here?” He asked “daddy can I have cookies?” I 说 “I told 你 buddy, 你 can’t have those unless 你 use the potty.” He 说 “but I did!!!” I walked over to the toilet and realized that he wasn't just saying that to trick me into giving him Oreos. I looked over at him with a stunned look on my face and 说 "oh my God; 你 really did go."
I excitedly picked him up and 说 "THAT'S MY GOOD BOY! I KNEW 你 COULD DO IT!!!" He started laughing at my excitement and asked "I did good daddy?" I 说 "very good; I still can't believe 你 actually went potty! What happened? I thought 你 didn't want to be a big boy Christian!" He 说 "I wanted to make 你 proud of me and I want those 饼干 a lot!" I laughed and 说 "well, I'm definitely proud of you! Do 你 know how long I’ve wanted 你 to do that Christian? I'm so proud of you! 你 have no idea how happy I am right now buddy!"
He loved having me be so ecstatic over him going to the bathroom. What he 说 下一个 completely shocked me. He 说 "daddy I don't need those diapers anymore because I'm ready to be a big boy!" I 说 "thank God; I was worried I'd never be able to get 你 to give those up! I'm seriously SO proud of 你 right now buddy! I didn't expect to come 首页 to 你 wanting to be a big boy! It wasn't as scary as 你 thought it would be; was it buddy?" He 说 "no; but I missed 你 and I wanted 你 to be here daddy!" I 说 "I know buddy; I can't believe I missed it! If 你 had waited about five 更多 分钟 I would've been here. I won't miss the 下一个 time buddy! Let's go get 你 some of those cookies!"
After he had eaten the cookies, I brought him into his room and put him into bed. I covered him with the blankets and knelt down 下一个 to the bed. I 说 "I know 你 were really scared to be in the bathroom; but I'm so proud of 你 for going potty!" He gave me a 吻乐队（Kiss） and he whispered "I did it daddy!” I shut off the light and 说 "yes 你 did; big boy!!!" He 说 "I 爱情 you!" I responded "I 爱情 你 更多 Christian" as I walked out of his room and into mine.
the "Jet" magazine with Michael and Christian on the cover
