We have a zoo

I don't mean that our house is chaotic. It is, but that's not where I'm going here.

Who says autistic kids don't role-play? Over the past two weeks, we've accumulated an ever-growing zoo of wildlife in our house. It began when John started being a cat, which basically entailed him crawling around on all fours and meowing. But he didn't stop there. He tried to eat the cats' food and lick water out of the cats' bowl. He crawls over and wants you to pet him on the head.

Now he's expanding his repertoire. By "expanding" here I mean he basically changes the sounds he makes. He crawls up to you, and barks, says "baa," or perhaps "ribbit." He is, to his credit, changing up the routine a bit. Yesterday, he hopped over (on all fours - this is funny to watch) and said "ribbit." Dogs also hop, apparently, though I don't know why. For an elephant, he comes over and trumpets while holding his hand straight out, pretending it's a trunk.

The elephant gets a lot of action. He'll do the elephant anywhere, especially places like restaurants where they're not terribly interested in having a 3-year-old kid make an extremely loud trumpeting noise while holding his arm out in what looks, to the unknowing, like a Nazi salute.

The elephant also likes to use his trunk to spray water on people, after which Burrito will come over and wipe off your face. At least he's cleaning up after himself...