Quack Quack and Bubble Baths

There are two things that we never leave the house without:  Quack Quack and Mickey.  Quack Quack is Annie's blanket... and he got his name because there is indeed, a little ducky on the corner of the blanket (yes, Quack is a boy).  Quack has been a long time love, but Mickey is relatively new.  She's really into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse these days - and when she saw a stuffed Mickey in Target, she had to have him.  (Thankfully he was on sale!)...but this post isnt' about Mickey.  It's about Quack Quack.

Lately Annie has been really clingy to Quack Quack.  He eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner with her, he goes in the car with her, and he even tries to go outside with her.  We've explained that Quack Quack can't go outside because he will get dirty - and if you follow me on Facebook you KNOW what a catastrophe it is when he has to take a bath (aka...get washed)....

For the last week or so Annie has been pretty insistent that Quack Quack gets in the tub with her.  We have to be fairly strategic since he sits on the back of her chair while she eats - and she typically takes a bath immediately following dinner.  One of us has to grab Quack and get him out of sight while the other distracts her with bubbles (the kid LOVES bubble baths).  Tonight she was a little out of sorts because I had been gone for a while grocery shopping - so I let her take Quack into the bathroom with her.  I told her that he could sit on the potty and watch her, but he couldn't get in the bath.  She was pretty upset at first, but then she seemed ok with that plan - as long as he was in her sight.  And then... I messed up.  While she was distracted with her toys - I threw him out of the bathroom and Steven snuck him in her room.  Not long after she realized her beloved blanket was no longer on the toilet and she had quite the meltdown.  We decided to bring it back in and told her that he could stay, as long as he just watched.  And again, she was upset, but seemed ok with the plan.  Typically we listen to some music while she's in the tub - but because of the whole blanket fiasco, I hadn't gotten my phone to play her music.  She noticed and started asking for her "moosic, moosic" - and so I got up, went into the kitchen to grab my phone, and opened my Pandora app on my way back to the bathroom.  You can imagine my surprise (although it was completely predictable) when i saw Quack Quack IN the bathtub with Annie!!  She had reached over to the toilet (where he was sitting), grabbed him, and threw him in the bath!  She was SO happy!!!  Quack Quack...taking a bubble bath with her - life doesnt get much better.  The problem with this is:  she HAS to have this blanket when she goes to bed.... and she goes to bed shortly after her bath....and her blanket...was in the bathtub with her..

We got Quack out of the tub, wrung him out - and Steven took him downstairs to the dryer.  I'm not sure I've ever seen her melt so terribly.  She cried and cried and cried - she reached for him and yelled "quack quack!!!!! as HUGE tears fell down her chubby little cheeks!  I tried explaining to her that he was all wet and had to go to the dryer, but she didn't care...  

When Annie gets upset or gets her feelings hurt, she likes to hold my hand and/or hold me...which is quite possibly the sweetest/most amazing feeling ever... so she reached her little hand out to me, pulled me close, and wrapped her little arms around my neck, laid her little head on my shoulder, and just cried and cried.  I couldn't help but feel awful for her! She was completely heartbroken.  (And by this point I was completely soaked since she was in the bathtub, after all..)  I am thankful that she knows that she can come to me and I will love on her when she's hurting or sad... and I pray that she will always know that....

We decided to Facetime one of her favorite people: her Pops.  After she cried to him for a little bit she calmed down.  I think it was because he promised her a puppy....  but nonetheless, she calmed down and started playing with her bath toys.  I wish I could say that she completely forgot about Quack, but every now and then she would ask for him.  I would tell her that he was waiting for her and that we'd get him when we got out...and she'd stand up and say "all done, all done" = I want to get out.  

I got her out of the tub, into her jammies, and we even shared some yogurt.  Once it was time for bed, I went down and got Quack out of the dryer - and you cant even imagine her excitement when she was reunited with him (especially since he was nice and warm!).  She grabbed her Mickey and life was completely.  Mickey and Quack Quack....  I put her in bed and she was out within minutes!!

Here's a few photos of Annie and Quack Quack when they reunited after he went in the wash a couple of weeks ago (It's time for him to be washed again....but I keep putting it off...)

We have learned that Annie is a lover - and she's also extremely tenderhearted and gets her feelings hurt very easily.  I can only imagine the kind of heartbreak she will experience in her lifetime...and how many times she will get her feelings hurt.   I've already been praying that God would guard her little heart and that He would give us the wisdom on how to steer her....AND that he would use this in her for his glory...