My toddler says "No!" to me!

So lately my little one has been picking up on that brutal word "NO!" Every time he says it the hair stands up on the back of my neck. This kid is active, smart and persistent. He is constantly getting up on the dining room chairs, into the stereo/dvd player and grabbing any electronic (remote, phone or plug-in) and of course what do I say... "Pauly, NO!" Where do you think he gets it lady? I take him away from the situation and he is right back in it 2 seconds later! Very busy little guy! Then again I'm back with, "I just told you NO-Pauly!". I"m sure he heard is at least 100 times a day from me. How can I expect him not to say it if I can't stop saying it.

So, I've been really trying to think about what I'm saying and try and be positive when I say it... For example if he is getting into something he shouldn't then I try and remember to say... "Let's play over here with these books." - or in some way leave out words like don't, no, not and so on. I think it is a good thing that he understands yes and no just for basic communicating skills and the realization of his separate little being but, I appreciate better manners other than just "NO!" all the time which is where it seems like we're headed soon. I know that he likes that he can actually say the word correctly for one thing - just like when he says "mama or dada" and for sure he likes the sense of power and making a decision for himself.

So instead I'm trying to teach Pauly to say "No, thank you" when he finds it necessary to disagree or decline. We'll keep working on this and I'm sure there will always be something we are working on until the day he is ready to go off to college. Hopefully he turns out right! ;0)