Pokey

Last year, we introduced you to Pokey. Quin got Pokey for Christmas, and never looked back.

18 months later, Pokey is still Quin's closest friend. He goes absolutely everywhere, and is known as "Pokey", or more frequently "Bear!" He loves Pokey so much, that his heart literally aches after just a few minutes apart. He walks (read runs) around the house calling "Beeeaaarrr" like a search party looks for a lost child. If he doesn't find Pokey quickly, it becomes [whining, crying, exasperated] "Bear!" Oh, poor Quin, feel my brow! I can imagine it now, Quin will someday be the star in his school's rendition of "Streetcar Named Desire", and he'll scream "Stella!", mimicking his calls for Pokey as a toddler.

Pokey sees so much Quin time that we have two Pokeys (don't tell Quin). One gets a washing while the other gets to see Quin. One time Quin was down in the laundry room with Elizabeth, and he accidentally saw Pokey's twin hanging from a hanger, drying, by one ear, like some morbid scene in The Blair Witch Project movie. He was quite taken aback by this horrendous display of creepiness. Thankfully, he seems to have forgotten.

You may notice if you look through our photos of Quin that Pokey appears in a good portion of them. They really are best friends.

Pokey is to Quin as Hobbs is to Calvin. Imagination has taken over, as Quin frequently feeds Pokey, giving him a few bites of his graham cracker. Unfortunately, sometimes he decides yogurt is what Pokey is yearning for.

A few months back, Pokey was injured in a freak flying accident. A large wound appeared in his armpit after traveling across the room and careening into the wall. (Seriously now, would you constantly throw your loved ones across rooms?) Quin walked around holding Pokey gingerly in his arms, telling us Pokey had an "Owee". Some anesthesia, stitches, a few minutes of recovery time, and physical therapy later, and Pokey was good as new.

I wonder how long it will be before Quin gives up Pokey. Will we have to ween him off the bear? When I was a kid, my favorite blanket was cut into progressively smaller pieces. Will we have to resort to the gruesome tactic of slowly amputating Pokey's limbs until a disembodied bear head remains? Will he have to carry around a single ear in his pocket? Will his lucky charm be a bear foot on a key chain?

Ugh. Should have got him a blankie.