Apparently, there is a tooting hippopotamus on the TV show NCIS. Our friends love the show and ordered one of these stuffed animals. It just so happens, that you can reach your whole arm in there and move the mouth. The first time Xander saw it, he got excited. Then when he saw the mouth move, he was TERRIFIED! He smiled and laughed at two feet away, but any closer and he looked like he was going to scream. He walks backwards, never taking his eyes off the thing, if it gets too close. It took about three months of intermittent visits for him to actually hold the hippo.
It has been a few weeks since we have seen the hippo. Just two days ago, we went to a different library for story time. She read all sorts of books about the zoo. When she was done, she put her hand in a bin, and out came a turtle. She held it well enough that I am sure some of the little ones couldn't tell her other hand was inside. Xander laughed and pointed. He was thrilled! Then came a snake, a little bear, an owl (which we also loved), and a couple others. He seemed so excited and loves animals! (He also sleeps with various stuffed animals every night.)
We continued to do our craft project, and all was well. When we were done, however, some of the kids got out the real-looking puppets. They left a couple on the floor, and I asked Xander to help me put them away. He went to the turtle, bent down to pick it up, then stopped short, right before he actually touched it. He got a little scared, and backed away, but still had a smile on his face. I am sure he couldn't tell if it was going to "come alive" and start moving if he touched it.
So, being the great mother that I am, I picked up the turtle, put my hand in it, and moved the little head and legs. The legs covered the eyes and the turtle curled up inside its shell. Then it came out to play Peek-a-Boo. Xander laughed and laughed. He shouted "Boo!" back at it. I used a funny voice, like a turtle, and asked Xander for a beso. He nodded 'Yes' to the turtle and came close. He had that scared look on his face, but he kept coming. He gave it a quick kiss, then retreated just as fast. It only got better from there. He continually came to touch it, then got terrified and ran away. He wouldn't touch it again at all. (I, of course, as well as the librarian, couldn't help ourselves from laughing hysterically.)
I put the turtle away and asked him to put away the other animals. He stood there with a blank expression on his face, shaking his head NO. He wouldn't speak or move. But when I put the others away, he wanted to play with them again. It is the most hilarious thing I have seen. He wants so badly to play with them, but just can't make himself. I came home and told Brandon I want to invest in some "real-looking" puppets (not just the ones that look like gloves). They are a little more expensive than I thought. We might just have to visit that library a little more often :D
