HazardsMind:
Ummm, does the head move or tilt? Maybe give it some movements so that when it is reading the card, it will look up or at her and tilt its head. (Non creepy like)
The head tilts with the opening and closing of the book. Not separately controllable. Only one motor in this. His head tilts down when the book is open and up when the book is closed. I could simulate it a bit by cycling in between the open/closed state (making him nod "yes" for example.) Tilting side to side would not be simple without Adding another motor and mechanism.
Dr_Ugi:
You could run an RTC and make it say "Happy Valentine's day" etc for a number of significant days in the year. You could also add a LDR so that if it suddenly gets light at around her wake-up time then it could say "Good morning" or similar. Not every day, perhaps, just every now and again.Also, if there's an IR receiver and she has a TV in the room then can you program it to recognise the "on" TV signal? He could say "Hey, can I watch too?" occasionally.
Great suggestion regarding the RTC. The only issue is how to re-set the time if the batteries die. I know to use a backup battery for the RTC, but I am thinking if that dies, too. Perhaps through the IR interface? Hmm... something to definitely consider.
I had thought about the LDR idea, but didn't want it going off every time she turned off and on her light. Though I do know approximately the times she gets up and goes to bed, so I could use the RTC to help filter that. Another good suggestion.
I definitely thought of using a TV remote of some sorts to interact with it. I really like the idea of "can I watch, too." Unfortunately, she doesn't watch TV and no TV in her room. I was thinking of getting a generic IR remote though to interact with it. Perhaps to put it in certain modes while I am over there to change it up and surprise her with different behaviors when I am not there.
Keep the ideas coming!