Really.

The oldest is trying to charm me into taking him and his brother to a children's matinee on a rainy Saturday afternoon, when he knows full well that means the theater will be packed, loud, and stressful for me to navigate with two children who cannot carry their own drinks and popcorn very well through crowds.

So far he has, seemingly out of the blue, told me how pretty I look today, called me "really crazy smart", and hugged me "spontaneously" while reminding me he loves me roughly four thousand times.

butter up
idiom
Excessively praise or flatter someone, usually to gain a favor. This term transfers the oily, unctuous quality of butter to lavish praise. [c. 1700]
"butter up." The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Answers.com 12 Aug. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/butter-up