Enter...Rudolpha!

Possibly the best gift we received this Christmas?

I know it sounds crazy, but I think it was the first one we opened at my parents' house on Christmas eve. My mother brought it over to Corb during dinner, along with a huge smile on her face. "This was the first present we bought this year," she said. "Ted's dad saw it and insisted we get it."

And that's when Corb met...Rudolpha. It was love at first sight.

(Actually, Corb insists that Rudolpha's name is actually spelled "Yrudolpha." He says the Y is silent. I personally think he's crazy...er.)

Okay, so the first question you may be asking is: why in the world would my parents feel so compelled to buy Corb the disembodied plastic head of a frog?

That answer's fairly easy, actually: Corb's nickname for my mother is Betty Barnacle, the Crazy Frog Killer, after all. For those of you who watch Little Britain, it's kind of a variation on the crazy frog lady from season two. For those of you who don't...well, YouTube it, for God's sake!

So, for the past few years, we've been buying my mom frog-themed presents. Last year, she received a light green froggy watch that she brings with her as a good luck charm to casinos all over the world. This year, she decided to turn the tables on us.

Of course, the thing is, once you actually HAND Corb a disembodied plastic frog head that you can manipulate like a hand puppet, you know you're in for a lot of trouble. Half an hour later, we were all laughing so hard our stomachs were hurting, and Corb had come up with a name for his newfound friend.

Rudolpha. Named after a character in an absolutely abysmal Christmas film he had seen the day before called "Twice Upon a Christmas," starring Kathy Ireland and with Miss Patti from Gilmore Girls as the Tooth Fairy. According to Corb, Miss Patti actually wore a horrendous costume with wings on her back. (It sounds too awful to be true, and my eyes are bleeding just thinking about watching it.)

These past few days, Rudolpha has been with us everywhere. Corb's even figured out ways to get her to pick things up with her mouth. As we speak, he's trying to figure out a way to get her to answer phone calls for his job at Binkley International. He's having a little trouble fitting the headphones onto her head, though.

Anyway, so please to meet Rudolpha! I'm sure you'll be getting to know her quite a bit in the months to come.