The cutest broken record

Jack gets into what I call verbal ruts, where he says the same things over and over again, all day long. Currently tops on his play list: "Mommy, I like you!" and "Are you happy?"

He tells me, "I like you!" constantly. It's very frequently the first thing he says to me in the morning.

Of course, when he says this, I usually answer back, "And I like you!"

Then he often asks me, "Why do you like me?"

If I say something like, "Because you are my sweet boy," he comes back with, "And why do you like me also?" And again and again until he gets tired of it.

If I ask him, "Why do you like me?" he says, "Because I like you." When I ask, "And why do you like me also?" he either gets stumped or repeats, "Because I like you."

He'll repeat "like you" over and over and over again, counting how many times he says it.

"Is that 30?" he asks.

Sometimes he intersperses it with, "I love you." Or he'll alternate it, "Like you, love you, like you, love you." It's almost always pronounced, "Wike you, wuv you," but every now and then he'll say, "Like ya!" and then he says the "l" properly.

It used to be when I answered, "And I love you!" he would tell me, "Don't love me, only like me." So I don't say it as often, but when I do, he tends to be more receptive now. Typical male.

He also asks, "Are you happy?" throughout the day, although less frequently than telling me he likes me. Which, of course, leads to, "Why are you happy? And why are you happy also?"

He tends to ask this more when he knows I'm stressed out or annoyed about something, like when I grumble at another car on the road.

If I'm truly upset or annoyed about something, he'll tell me, "Mommy, I'm making you happy by smiles" and then he crinkles his face into one of those sweet smiles that remind me of cookies and sunshine. It generally does help get me out of my bad mood. And he'll usually add a kiss upon request.

While some conversational variety would be welcome, I have to admit that at least this broken record is stuck on some pretty adorable tunes.