When my daughters were little, sweet sentiments and silly statements spilled from their lips on a regular basis. I’m sure of it. I just have no proof of it.

More than 20 years later I can’t recall the specifics of those cute comments and more my daughters uttered because instead of writing them down for safe keeping, I committed them to memory. And we all know where that leads: to forgetting them.

I won’t do the same with my grandchildren. I’m determined to keep track of the words coming out of my grandson’s mouth—at least the cutest, wackiest, or most profound—by putting them down on paper. I occasionally write about his silly statements on my blog. At the very least, I add them to a list of pronouncements and announcements I have committed to a document saved on my computer. I’m considering purchasing blank journals for such a purpose, one for each of my grandchildren to come.

So far, I accumulated quite a few anecdotes in my first grandson’s name. I’ve noted the way he says everything from his dog’s name and his granddad’s name, his call-outs for sweets he calls nem-en-nems (M&Ms), and his sweet lyrically incorrect renditions of various lullabies and nursery rhymes. Most recently, I was sure to write down his comment about his grandma’s “big booty patootie.”

That’s just my first grandson, who’s still a wee youngster. There will be more to come from him, and from his younger brother, plus all the future grandchildren with whom I’ll surely be blessed.

It’s not just my loved ones who say such things. Funny phrases and more tumble from the mouths of all kids, all ages and stages from toddlers to teens. They provide not only chuckles and warm hearts but insight into the minds of the little ones we love. In addition, recalling those heartwarming comments from the toddler years make the sting of snarky statements from the teen years (mark my words, they will undoubtedly come) hurt a bit less when put into perspective—if only we could remember such toddler truisms once that three-year-old turns 13. Or 16. Or 26.

With my grandchildren, I will remember. I look forward not only to perusing the pixels and pages of the collection on my own, but sharing their words with the ones who spoke them when they’re older. And, of course, I’ll have pen in paper in hand when I do so to note their surely silly comments to come upon hearing their diatribes and ditties of days gone by.

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