There are few things in this world sweeter than little kids learning to talk. Their little minds are working overtime, their mouths are doing their best, and somehow the words that come out are often better than the real thing.

Honestly, kids spend the first few years of life just out here rebranding the English language and daring us not to love it.

This morning I was listening to a Kylie Kelce podcast and it got me thinking about all those funny, precious things little kids say that become part of your family forever.

Jake called his pacifier a fofo.

Jarrett called eyebrows eyebrowns.

One of the other little chilis (my pet name for Jarrett’s babes) in the family said pampoline instead of trampoline, which frankly makes just as much sense.

Harvey and Urban both said dog-dog instead of just dog. Until I watched a forgotten video, I didn’t remember that about Urban. We forget all of that cuteness sometimes.

My sister had some cute ones too. One of my favorites was Kika-penni, which meant bikini. I still think that sounds like something far fancier than a regular old swimsuit.

But my all-time favorite, the one that still gets me every single time, was Jake saying “I 2” instead of “I love you too.”

And here is the sweetest part of all, he never outgrew it.

Jake still says “I 2” every single time. Without fail. But only to about three people in this world. So when you hear it, you know you are in very rare company. That little toddler phrase turned into one of the purest expressions of love he has, and I do not care how old he is now, that still melts me on the spot.

Then there was the Christmas of the meatmakits. That child, meaning Jarrett, was absolutely determined. He wanted meatmakits for Christmas and he was not backing down. He kept asking for them over and over, completely certain that Momma should obviously know what he meant.

I did not.

Teddy did not.

Jake did not.

SANTA DID NOT!

We asked everybody trying to decode it. We repeated the word to each other a hundred times. We guessed. We puzzled. We were getting dangerously close to Christmas with no clue what Jarrett wanted, and I had just about decided he was going to end up heartbroken because I was apparently too dense to crack the code.

Then, just a couple of days before Christmas Eve, the boys were watching Power Rangers and I happened to sit down with them for a few minutes. Suddenly a character said, “Meet my kids!” and Jarrett lit up like he had just witnessed a Christmas miracle.

“Mommy! Meatmakits! Meatmakits!”

And just like that, the mystery was solved.

Meet my kids.

Meatmakits.

Of course. I mean, naturally the child had not been asking for some random nonsense. He had been very clearly requesting the latest Power Rangers toy, and I was the fool wandering around in confusion like a sleep-deprived detective with no leads.

Thankfully it was a brand new item, Walmart still had it in stock, and Santa’s workshop came through just in time.

Christmas was saved.

That is the thing about those little kid words. At the time, they are hilarious. Sometimes confusing. Sometimes enough to make you question your hearing, your intelligence and whether you should really be trusted with tiny humans at all. But later, they become part of your family story.

They become the things you still laugh about decades later. They become the words that instantly take you back to sticky fingers, little feet in footie pajamas, cartoons on the television and a house full of noise and life.

And every now and then, if you are lucky, one of those little phrases never goes away. It grows up right along with them.

So yes, I still smile when I think about fofo, eyebrowns, pampoline and kika-penni.

But “I 2” will forever be my favorite.

Because what started as a little boy learning to talk became a grown man’s way of saying I love you to the people who matter most.

And that, right there, is about as precious as it gets.

XOXO, Jani