"I love you"

Ethan's pretty affectionate. We are literally bombarded with affection at any time of the day. And he very freely tells us he loves us. But especially when we are "parting". It's become a mantra, so to speak. Here's the scripted (well, it's scripted in Ethan's head, anyway) dialogue that Ethan follows every time Colin or I leave him.
Ethan: Bye!
Colin or Krista: Bye!
Ethan: See you later, Alligator!
C or K: In a while Crocodile!
Ethan: I love you!
C or K: I love you, too!

And that's that. Now, the funniest thing is that he has this little conversation now with anyone or anything, for that matter. If he has the conversation with the house, or Daddy's school, or the bus, etc, etc, he will just "do" the other part, in a different voice. Is he our kid or what?! But he does it with people, too. Yesterday at the park, he happened to play with two little boys at separate times and both of them and their parents got this routine, but the "I love you" really throws people off when they don't know you. So, he'd say it, and there would be this weird silence, or giggling on the part of the 5 year old he said it to. But I think people are quite taken with him, once they get over the initial stunned feeling.

My dear sweet son, it makes me just want to burst when you share your joy and love with others, and feel free enough to say it. I love how uninhibited you are. I hope your heart is always that big for the world around you.