"Uh-oh!"

With surprise and alarm, Isaac points at a spot on the kitchen floor and says, "Uh-oh, dog poop!" I feel a rush of dread and look where he's pointing. Then he says, "Get bag," and he leans over and uses an imaginary plastic bag to scoop up the equally imaginary poop. "Garbage," he says, as he pretends to throw it away.

Thirty seconds later he says it again -- "Uh-oh, dog poop!" You'd think that I'd learn, and that eventually I would stop looking for the poop, but you'd be wrong. He delivers his line so convincingly that he fools me over and over again. He's a terrific actor.

Isaac plays a lot of games based on mundane adult activities -- he enjoys pretending to drive, clip nails, cook, prune, mop, and so forth. He likes it even better if he can use the real adult tools while he pretends. One of his newest games began after he watched Craig put together some IKEA patio furniture. Now Isaac touches all the screws in a piece of furniture, preferably using a real screwdriver, then announces, "All tight." Sometimes he gives the furniture a gentle shake before he repeats, "All tight." He also likes to emulate the people who clean our house -- especially Mario, who uses a long-handled broom to remove cobwebs from the ceilings. "Mario come. Mario clean house," Isaac says. Then he brandishes his own mop (a Swiffer with a shortened handle) as he says with enthusiasm, "Mop down spider webs!"

I can understand pretending to cook, and even pretending to clean, but I have to say I don't understand the appeal of picking up pretend dog poop. At least he doesn't try to pick up real dog poop.

Edited 5/20/07 to add:

Today Isaac was playing the dog poop game outside, and after saying, "Pick up dog poop" several times and doing it himself, he pointed at me and commanded, "Mama use bag. Mama clean up." Great. Now I even have to clean up the pretend poop.