Liam’s first word was “no”, and judging by the frequency with which he uses it, it’s still one of his favorites.  Sometimes, though, a simple no won’t do, so Liam has gotten creative.  He does a “no” accompanied by a full body shake.  He’ll spit his tongue out, raspberry style, as a no.  He’s recently started saying, “Well, maybe not”, but it doesn’t mean “maybe” anything, it means “you are NOT going to do THAT.”

My personal favorite is when, instead of just no, we get “Nope nopey nope nope nope.”  It means, of course, emphatically no, and the adults around Liam have started using it, too — I think each person in the family said it at least once on the Italy trip.

It’s really excellent and very multi-purpose.  Someone cuts in front of you in line?  Just say “nope nopey nope nope nope”.  The waitress tries to take your plate before you’re finished?  “Nope nopey nope nope nope.”  The kids try to climb the bookcase?  “Nope nopey nope nope nope, misters.”  You don’t want to eat your peas?  “Nope nopey nope nope nope.”.  It works for anything.