Three cats

Isaac hasn't met many cats, but he is intrigued by them. He really likes to meow.

We recently read a short poem in Babybug magazine about a cat -- a little girl pats her kitten; in return, the kitten nuzzles her. As we read it, I patted and nuzzled Isaac. Then I told him that a happy cat will often purr, and I demonstrated how purring sounds. He was fascinated.

Now patting, nuzzling, and purring have joined meowing as our cat-related imaginings. He even says, "Pat, pat, pat." It is so cute, I almost can't handle it.

Actually, animal role-play can be useful as well as fun. For example, Isaac enjoys a book called Close Your Eyes in which a mother tiger gets her cub ready to sleep. Now Isaac doesn't protest when I come at his dirty face with a damp cloth, because I pointed out that the mother tiger uses her tongue to lick her baby clean. All I have to do is say, "Lick! Lick!" and he allows me to wipe his face.

But there can be drawbacks, too. We just read Babies on the Go, about the various ways animal mothers carry their young, and as he seemed interested in how the mother lion carries her cub by the scruff of its neck, I made the mistake of pretending to carry his arm in my mouth. He thought this was hilarious. But soon I got tired of him cramming his hand in my mouth, and he cried when I made him stop.