Joe and I are in mourning. We knew it was going to happen one day, but when it actually happened, we didn't expect the sadness that arose from it.
Since Colin could speak, he's always referred to oranges (the fruit or colour) as icigogo (ice/i/go/go). The funny thing was, when we said 'icigogo' to him, it was foreign. He thought he was saying orange the whole time, but it always came out as icigogo. We thought it was sooooo cute - as every parent would think about their child's quirks (but really - this one was cute. the cutest quirk. more cute than your kid's or any other child you know).
And then... today, at 3:30pm, while watching the opening sequence to The Backyardigans, he was listing off the colours he saw: "red, ewwo (yellow), boo (blue), geen (green), orange." And just like that, Ici-Go-Go was dead. There was no warning, there wasn't any process, just in a moment.... it was gone.
Joe and I stared at each other, and there was a sense of loss. We almost didn't know what to do, but then it started. We asked Colin to repeat the colours again. And there it was. "Or-ange". Okay, Okay. Joe got the fruit. "What's this Col?" Joe asked. "Or-range". Hmm... "what's this?" "OR-RANGE". Col probably thought we had been abducted by aliens... why were we in such a craze about this colour all of a sudden??
His baby days are fleeting, everyday he becomes more of a big boy. He's in his big boy bed, he likes to choose his own clothes, he takes his own clothes off (sometimes at inappropriate times...), helps cook, does chores like wiping the table... he's growing up.
The best parts of parenting are those treasured moments, when they are babies... I sometimes wish I could bottle up the 'baby-ness' so I could keep it forever, but then they won't grow up. What fun would it be to have an 18 year old son refer to oranges as icigogos? Not so cute anymore huh? Girls may slap him not knowing he was talking about oranges.
I digress. As parents, we grieve the loss of baby days, but we're also looking forward to what kind of young man he'll become. I can't hold on to it, so I'll blog about it. And shed some virtual tears.
Say it ain't so, rest in peace, icigogo.
I love reading your blog! And hearing about how your kids are growing up even tho we're so far away. :) He's definitely growing up to be a smart little man. And I agree, that was a pretty cute quirk but don't worry, there's still lots of cuteness in that little one. <3
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