M-M-Merry C-C-Christmas

One Christmas when my son, Matthew, was around two-and-a-half years old, Santa gave him a Bumble Ball, a battery-powered vibrating ball with little rubber nubs all over it that, when you turn it on, bounces every which way. He was so exhausted from the travel to Grandma's house and the excitement of Christmas in general that he curled up on the floor with one of the Bumble Ball nubs in his mouth like a pacifier. The ball was on, and as he lay on the floor sound asleep with the ball in his mouth, his head kept bouncing around as well. Once we noticed what he had done, we all had a good laugh and decided to shut off the ball. As soon as we did, however, he opened his eyes just wide enough to find the ball, turn it back on, and stick it back into his mouth. There he lay with his little chubby cheeks jiggling while he slept.
--Shelly Kendall, Trimball, Missouri