The Many Faces of Scarlet Aika

Kei once commented to me that this blog and Path make it look like Scarlet does nothing but smile.  Let the record officially show my thorough, true gratitude, because Scarlet is, in fact, an amazingly smiley little girl... with a seriously amazing smile, at that.  But that's not all.

While I often find myself trying to calm, soothe, or at the very least understand her many other faces, the record (of this scantly read blog) should really also show that I love every angle of this little face with all my heart.  I love the attitude. I love the temper passion.  I love the goofy humor. And perhaps most of all, I love the curiosity I see behind those stunning eyes trying so earnestly to work everything out.  Now, because I (a) am not a gifted photographer, and/or (b) can't realistically capture even a fraction of the enormous personality inside that little girl even if I were a gifted photographer... I thought the next best thing I could do was show the blogosphere a few of the other faces of our Aika-chan.

Sleeping Scarlet & her Bedfellows

Scarlet has, at long last, embraced the swaddle-less sleep (hurrah!), and a part of the fun for me was watching the contest of the bed-fellows unfold...

• Contender I: A nameless taggie dog that joined her just a few times before an early, un-photographed drop out. 'Bye dog.

• Contender II: "Pinku," the pink bear/blanket critter from the Chenhalls girls when Scarlet was first born.  The funny thing was that I had already ordered a stuffed duck (Contender III), but it did not arrive before we were heading out of town for a camping trip.  In the last minute of packing, I just threw Pinku in the bag so she'd have something.  Little did I know, that little indescribable critter was going to give my duck some serious competition for Aika's heart and cuddle preference...

• Contender III:  "Daffy Goose," - so named because when I, myself, was a toddler, I bonded with a rubber duck at my Grandma & Grandpa Beehner's house and named him "Donald Goose."  Daffy was consciously selected for size and, you know, adorable cuddliness... plus I knew where I could get a replacement if the need arises in the future.  I was rooting for him from the day he - finally - arrived.

Here are some of my favorite shots of our girl snoozing with her various bed buddies:

For a little while there, it seemed Aika was going to outsmart me and opt for BOTH of them...

Daffy it is. ♥