Beady-Eyed Hero: The Return of Mmm-Duck

You've met this guy before. He's Elaina's favorite yellow ducky. And he's my hero.

While his bedtime quacking was some cause for concern initially, it's turned out that his quacking has never, to my knowledge, awakened Elaina. Beyond that, this ducky has proven himself a dedicated companion and a genuine comfort to Elaina, especially at bedtime.

Bedtime Hero

Recently, Elaina's been getting more teeth and hasn't always been in the best of moods at bedtime. More than once, she's been crying at bedtime and I either: realize that ducky is not there and bring him to the crib; or he's already there and just needs some prompting to start quacking. In either case, once ducky quacks, Elaina settles down more often than not.

A Foolhardy Act

What father in his right mind, home alone with a little girl who's known to be an erratic napper at best, sneaks in to take a picture just after she falls asleep? However, I felt that Mmm-Duck (as he's known around here) needed credit for his dedicated service. (And how can I not have pictures of Elaina sleeping with her ducky?) I started with the flash off, but that was too dark, so yeah, I turned the flash on. I started with a shot over her shoulder so the flash wouldn't wake her...but then I couldn't see her face.... Can you believe I got away with this? She didn't wake up, so I can blog about this rather than kick myself for spoiling her nap.