My husband has never, to the best of my recollection, proposed a blog topic. Yet this morning, he suggested I write about Ducky, a most important member of our household. Who am I to refuse such a request? And so without further ado, I give you the true tales of Ducky Quack Quack.

Ducky is a stuffed animal—a Mallard duck, to be precise—that took up residence with us just over a year ago. I think he followed us home after some sort of vacation transaction wherein we foolishly agreed to exchange hard earned cash for a small stuffed bird. We knew nothing about this duck, his character, or his background, but we were roped into taking him home anyway by the persuasive charm of a then two-year-old. I never saw or even thought about the duck again, until recently. Somehow, Noah rediscovered and has now become quite attached to this faux fowl, going so far as to bestow on it (with the assistance of his sister) a full legal name. Ducky Quack Quack. Which just so happens to work very well with our last name. Ducky Quack Quack is the first stuffed creature in our home be so honored with a first, middle, and last name, but we still just call him Ducky for short.

Don’t be fooled by the cleverly simple name, however. Ducky is no ordinary stuffed animal. He has surpassed even Barney for top honors as the companion of choice for all outings and events. Ducky faithfully accompanies Noah back and forth to daycare every day, to bed every night, and to many other locations in between. If I awarded frequent traveler miles in my car, Ducky would be an elite passenger.

The biggest downside I can see is that I think Ducky has become a little possessive of Noah. He doesn’t seem to want to share him with the other stuffed animals anymore. And to tell you the truth, I think Ducky might even be a bit jealous of the attention Noah receives from the human element in our home. I’ve noticed of late that Noah is never allowed to kiss me anymore when Ducky is around, unless Ducky kisses me first. Fortunately for us, Ducky is quite the affectionate duck. I get hugs and kisses galore from Ducky, which paves the way to get the same from my son.

But that’s not all. Our very own Ducky Quack Quack is also a devilish little prankster who takes great glee in bouncing on people’s heads and sliding down their arms. Ducky isn’t necessarily so adroit at these bouncing and sliding games since he often topples straight to the ground, to squeals of delight from his puppeteer.  But there’s one thing you have to say about Ducky… the unexpected tumbles never stop him. He always gets back up! In fact, I now believe that Ducky is truly invincible. Need more proof? Just look at his diet. This duck eats ALLIGATORS! And SHARKS! I know, because Noah told me so. Just last night, I witnessed it for myself. Ducky scarfed those imaginary ‘gators and sharks down in a single chomp! Not too shabby for a creature that lacks teeth. Sadly, though, Ducky’s table manners leave something to be desired. Because after that daring feast, Ducky belched a big one. And he did NOT say excuse me.

Questionable table manners aside, there’s one thing I really love about Ducky Quack Quack. It’s seeing how he unlocks Noah’s creativity and imagination. To me, that’s priceless. Burps and all.