I'm training a ringer!

I have gotten a little obsessed with Christmas cookies.
Every year, I hassle people - Brian, my mother, my grandmother, friends - to make Christmas cookies. Typically people are not exactly brimming with enthusiasm. Something about calories, or fat, or having delicious things that have a lot of calories and fat hanging around the house during the bleakest, most housebound time of the year.
But I'm still obsessed. And this year, three things are coinciding to make it the best Christmas cookie year ever.
1. I'm pregnant. Fat? Calories? Hahahahaha. Already there.
2. My mom's group is going to have a Christmas cookie exchange. Excuse to bake!
3. I'm training a ringer.
Christopher has discovered a new love - baking. It allows him to sit on the counter (under close supervision, of course) and "help" me measure ingredients, pour them into the bowl, spill things all over the place. He loves it. I can tell myself I'm introducing him to reading, following instructions, and math (he looked at me blankly today when I asked him to add 1/3 and 2/3, but he'll catch on soon). He was grouchy this morning, until we started to make muffins. By 8 a.m., we had a batch in the oven and he was happy as a clam.
I think it will be pretty easy to transition him to cookies, especially since he's become obsessed with the subject (thanks, Cookie Monster). So, I'll be able to set up a sweatshop and feed my obsession - literally. Let the countdown to Christmas season begin.