A Mother's Deceit

Anya, Elephant, and a piece of bread. This is Anya's "smile for the camera" smile. At least for today.

That stuffed animal above is an impostor. And, thankfully, my child doesn't seem to care. We've probably mentioned once or twice on this here blog Anya's "lovey", Elephant. It was purchased by her great aunt and uncle Carl and Marion when she was 7 months old. She was pretty much instantly attached to this odd stuffed animal that made farting noises when you squeezed its belly and a very fake, over the top, obviously-a-person-making-the-sound "elephant" trumpeting.

Once Chris and I realized Elephant was going to be her lovey, we started looking for a duplicate for when the original gets threadbare. About once a month for 2 years we searched without any luck and had given up hope. The thing was originally purchased at Kohls and apparently was discontinued awhile back. Anyway, about 2 weeks ago, either Chris or his parents brought up Elephant in conversation and one was magically found this time on Ebay. Maybe I'm dumb, but I paid $25 to "buy it now" for the replacement elephant. She's THAT attached to her elephant - who is now getting threadbare and no longer makes any noises.

It arrived this morning while Anya was at nanny share. When I picked her up, I told her that I took Elephant for a special bath and he's extra soft and cuddly today. She of asked what I dropped Elephant in to make him so dirty as to need a bath. I lied and told her the dirt. She came in the house, looked at him, squeezed him, and there was that farting sound. She asked why he was all of a sudden making noises again and I just pretended I didn't hear her (I'll come up with something if she asks again). And then she shrugged and took him to her room for nap time. Crisis averted!

Now to remember to switch them out once new Elephant starts getting threadbare.