it's beginning to feel a lot like christmas.

I can't believe Christmas is only a week away. This has been one of the most fun holiday seasons I can remember for a long time. Having a little one in the house makes it much more special, magical, memorable, etc.

Monkey seems to be enjoying the Christmas fun. Last night, he gave his baby-sitter, Laurel, her Christmas gift. He also has gifts for Rachel and Alyssa, his girlfriends who watch him at Gold's Gym, and an extra-special present for our nanny, Ashley. He's a generous little sweetie.

Monkey and I are both bursting at the seems with excitement about Andrew's upcoming time off from work. His job shuts down for two weeks at the holidays! We have all sorts of plans for his two weeks of vacation - spending a "date day" together when Ashley is here watching Bennet next week, walking to Federal Hill to have lunch at Dangerously Delicious Pies (I got a Restaurant.com gift certificate for 80% off just for the occasion,) bowling with the free bowling game coupon I picked up online today. We're going to have a blast.

If you're not as in the Christmas spirit as we are, or even if you ARE, you should definitely follow this link to download Oprah's "Holiday Hits 2008" album for free! They're only offering it for 48 hours - so step lively!