Sometimes, the Boy tries to be cute. He sees the camera out and decides to scrunch up his face into a silly expression. But sometimes, it seems to come more naturally. And sometimes, it’s positively eerie — in a positive way, of course.

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Today, while sitting on the bed waiting for the girls to get ready so the three of them could head to a friend’s for a birthday party, E and I decided to read a book. And he selected his new favorite, a book on colors from the library. He knows red. He wants to know them all. But he knows red.

We began.

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Pointing to the strawberry, he said, “Red!” No hesitation. We turned to the next page.

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E was a bit hesitant, but wanted to do well.

“Um, red?”

“No, purple.”

“Urple?”

“Yes. Purple.” And we turned the page.

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“Um, red?”

“No, buddy, it’s green.”

“Green?” And we turned the page.

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“Um, red?”

I started wondering at this point if it was a game. He does like to be silly. Still, I played along, game or no.

“No, little man, it’s yellow.”

Next page.

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“Um, red?”

I realized at this point that perhaps he doesn’t know red. Perhaps it’s the only color name he knows.

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He knows blue. He’s used the word before, and correctly. I was expecting “Um, blue?”

“Um, red?”

No, he doesn’t know red. Or blue. Or yellow. Or green. He doesn’t know his colors.

We turned the page.

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“Um, red?”

We turned the page.

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“Um, red?”

“It’s not funny anymore,” I wanted to say, even though it was.

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Yep — red.

We turned to the final page. Pink. Close to red. “Red” would be a close enough answer, especially to a colorblind daddy like me.

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“Um, yummy!”

No, it wasn’t a game, but it sure seemed like a set-up.