quinn in pictures

Things around the house that characterize my growing boy:



We are very fortunate that lying is not one of the issues we typically face with Quinn and Reilly. Thus, I have displayed this note prominently for eight years. When Quinn was three and a half, he asked me for something, which escapes me, and I said no. (Parish the thought.) To my surprise, Quinn made his way outside where Todd was, and returned bearing this note. You see, he couldn't bring himself to lie out loud, lol. I was so taken aback by the gall, the misspelling (which embarrasses him to this day), the gorgeous penmanship, and his face as he sheepishly handed it to me. I did not punish him, I laughed until I cried, took the note outside, showed Todd, who doubled over, laughing until he wheezed, and we basically celebrated the awesomeness of our clever, sweet son, and his first, and basically only, foray into the dark netherworld of deceit. And no, he didn't get whatever it was.



A precious Valentines card Quinn bought on his own for his sister. His willingness to express affection freely is one of my favourite qualities of his.



This has been Quinn's towel for four years. It's like seven feet long, with a grid. It's a spa towel. We also have it in white, but he only uses the green one. Thankfully we stay on top of the laundry, so it's available 99% of the time. Meanwhile, I prefer tiny, old, scrubby rag-type towels. To each his own. I'm sure it's going to college with him.



When he's not enjoying the finer, plush things in life, Quinn is busy toting things like this to his friend Israel's house. This is a gun (duh) constructed out of a vacuum hose by my brother Chris, exclusively for Quinn. I'm very un-PC in that I don't try to banish gun play, and I love to think of Quinn learning how to make such things, and impressing his friends with his custom-made implement of death!



Gun-toting thug though he may be, he is very particular about his hair. He currently uses approximately seven gallons of my $16.99 hairspray everyday. I rue the day we gave him control of his hair.



I love the Willow Tree figurines, and had two of them for a long time, but I don't collect things because of a statement in 1990 wherein I express a fondness for an elephant in my aunt's home, and spent the next 15 years receiving every type of elephant everyone I knew could get their hands on. Anyway, two christmases ago, he hitched a ride with my mom, shelled out his very own clams (my kids insist on buying presents with their own money), and presented me with Heart Boy. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen, and I bawled and bawled. It looks like my Quinny, and as he said, it's holding the heart we share.



I am militant about keeping our big bookshelf clean and clutter-free, but due to limited space, I granted Quinn's request to keep his wallet, watch, iPod and however many coveted booklights he can hoard in this box on the bookshelf. As charming as it is that he has stuff, it's also a sign that he's growing up, and I'd like him to slow down.

I couldn't find the book he's reading, but this is his essence. Sweetness, luxury, a healthy dose of simulated violence, and attentiveness to hygiene and using all my hairspray. I don't know what I'd do without Quinn.