The art of saying "no"

We are now on the move!  Dean's been walking for 1.5 months, confidently these past several weeks.  He no longer crawls much at all.  And he is FAST!  Warren is now following right along, walking further and faster than ever.  With all this mobility comes a word I am repeating more and more frequently: "no".  No, you can't play in the toilet.  No, you can't beat on the fireplace screen.  No, you can't pull out the wine bottles.  No, you can't eat the kitty food.  No, you can't drink the kitty water.  No, you can't pull out the kitty's tooth...oh wait, too late.  Oops...

Keeping track of where these boys are, these eager to explore boys, is such a blessed challenge.  I love that they are mobile, eager to explore, curious minded.  I hate the disciplining that comes with their new-found freedom.  I hate not knowing, especially with Warren's speech delays, what exactly they are understanding.  Do they think it's a new game we play?  And how can I say no with a serious face when Warren turns to look at me, smiles so big, and does a nice slow-motion clap??  (It's the cutest thing ever, by the way)

I'm trying to learn how to best express the dangers (choking, drowning, suffocation, burning, etc) that comes along with each "no."  But most of the time, I feel like a party pooper.  I know they aren't being defiant (most of the time) and that they really just want to see it, look at it, explore it (with their mouths!).  And, again, it's such a joy to watch them figure all this out.  But, at the end of the day, I feel as though a huge percent was spent trying to contain them, telling them no, waiting out the temper tantrum that follows, and then moving on to the next potentially dangerous activity.  Teaching your children no is such an art, one I have clearly not mastered yet.  The good news??  I am sure to get many more years of practice!