My writing time may be limited today, as our neighbors seem to be involved in some kind of noisy construction project a few yards from AJ�s window, so he�s not sleeping at the moment. Actually, I can hear him lying in his bed singing �Be-bop-a-lula, she�s my baby.� It�s his new favorite song (next to �Jingle Bells� and �Santa Claus is Comin� to Town�). I love hearing him belt out �I don�t mean maybe!� which is always several decibels louder than the rest of the song in his rendition. His enthusiasm is infectious.

AJ�s really getting into early rock. We�ve taught him how to twist, which is about the funniest thing to watch ever. His center of gravity is so low and he is so flexible that his dance moves defy logic (and gravity!) and border on contortionism. We�re thinking of starting a preschool version of Soul Train in order to showcase his terpsichorean talents.

I bailed on my extra morning shift of what passes for dissertation work in favor of Christmas shopping with my husband this morning. It was fun to drive around the countryside with the snow coming down. And we actually finished most of our Christmas shopping, which made it even better.

Christmas has become a major ordeal since I married my husband, who has a huge family that we see often. Our families alone require us to buy presents for more than 20 people each year. I love buying presents, but dealing with that many at once gets complicated and it seems that I can never start early enough. It always feels like we�re not going to get it together and I�m always worried we�ll forget someone, but it always seems to work out. Shopping for AJ has been fun this year, though. He�s easy � he loves just about everything as long as it�s new. It�s funny hearing about what others are giving him. He�s the only boy in his generation on both sides of the family, so the presents are, well, so boyish. Sports and cars pretty much covers it, although I always make sure to get him something cuddly too. He�s still my baby, after all.

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