But, but, but...

Now that Nolan is almost four, tons of words escape his mouth everyday. Mallory is right around the corner, I feel like she might be a bit of a talker herself (don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing). So, out of all the words and phrases that come out of my family's mouths, here are some that drive me CRAZY:

1. "But, but, but..." - This is a favorite of Nolan's lately. It might prolong his bedtime by a good 30 seconds, but in that short period of time he can fit in atleast 30 "buts". I keep on wanting to tell hime that, "Yes, we all do have butts, now let's move on to a new subject." I don't think he'd get my humor.

2. "You're a making me mad!" or "You're not my friend!" - These go in the same classification because they can be replaced with each other and pretty much mean the same thing. My job is to be a mom, not a BFF, and yes, I might make you mad sometime in the process.

3. "I can do it myself"- You might think that this phrase is a blessing, but when Nolan opens the fridge door and tries to pour himself a drink, a big spill is iminent. When he comes out of the bathroom and has gone all by himself and still has his underwear and pants around his ankles, it makes me laugh.

4. "AAAHHHH"- This comes from Mallory whenever she is very happy, sad or mad. It takes a trained eye and ear to figure out which one she means.

5. "You know what I mean?"- This comes from Greg ALL the time. I guess he uses these words a lot of times during the day with his employees to make sure they DO understand what his is saying. I am the smarty pants who always replies,"Yes, I do know what you mean!" This drives Greg crazy as well. When this happens my point is made and my message has gotten across to him.

Things that I would never get tired of hearing:

1. "I love you"- These are the best when I don't have to prompt Nolan with an "I love you" first. They are few and far between, but music to my ears.

2. "You're not pretty, you're beautiful!" - Nolan has only said this once, it melted my heart, and I think I gave him anything he wanted all day because I appreciated it so much.

3. "I can do it myself"- Like I said above, this can mean trouble, or can be great. When Nolan accomplishes things by himself without tearing the house apart, I love these words.

4. This isn't a phrase, but more a look...when Mallory's eyes get really big and she gets really excited. It's like her whole body is saying,"I'm so happy!"

5. "Wow, the house looks really clean, and you look beautiful after a hard day's work"- No, I have never actually heard this, but it might be nice to hear it once..(hint, hint)

It's weird how the same words can mean totally different things by just the way you imply them. I love listening to Nolan as he learns how to speak in different tones and learns different phrases to get his ideas across to me. Hopefully, I'll enjoy Mallory's words as well :)