So Happy

A new phrase has entered our family lingo, courtesy of my two-year-old daughter Corrie.  When faced with a moment of extreme joy (such as an unexpected cookie or--I'm not kidding--a stroll through the Target shoe section), she'll look up at me and sigh, "So happy, Momma."

And my heart melts into the gooiest of puddles.

Her ability to find the happiness in the simplest of things convicts me to my core.  The frantic pace of daily life keeps my eyes focused on the Next Thing I Have To Do.  The patches of clover in my front yard remind me it's time to put down weed killer.  But they make my daughter giggle with joy, "Ooooo...fwowers!"

She's teaching me things, that girl of mine.  This morning she climbed onto the couch for her daily dose of Dora.  I turned on her show and started to leave the room to tackle the kitchen.  But she looked at me and patted the seat next to her.  "Sit," she commanded gently.  I looked at that little face, still puffy from sleep, and my to-do list suddenly seemed very trivial.  I crawled onto the couch with her and covered us with a soft fleece blanket.  She climbed into my lap and, with complete abandon, threw her chubby arms around my neck.  As I kissed her hair, (it smelled of sweet apple shampoo), I heard her sigh contentedly. 

I knew what she was about to say.  But this time I beat her to the punch.

"So happy, Corrie," I sighed.

So happy.

Comments

[owlhaven]

I'll never forget when my 4 year old was 2 and had been home from Ethiopia only 6 months, she looked at me and said, "Thank you Mommy. Thank you, happy me."

It was amazing...

Mary

[Jennifer]

This is a great reminder for me...my three year old son has been very "challenging" lately, and if I don't stop to enjoy the "I love you, Mama"s I won't make it through the day. Thanks for a beautiful story.
(PS - I put you on my blogroll!)

[dani (pyglet)]

they are the BEST moments!

[Cousin DV]

Great story. What a good mamma and writer!

[Morgan]

Thank you for this post! It brought tears to my eyes.

[Becky]

Oh, that just makes my heart swell! It is so easy to get caught up in all the "to-do's" of the everyday. Isn't it nice to just be able to soak up a little bit of their wonderment? This post makes me "SO happy" Shannon!!!

[peach]

Now, that's worth it all. Cuddle up while you can. All that other "stuff" will still be waiting when you're done. Yet, your memories with Corrie at this time of her life can never be taken away from you. Such a sweet post.

[mom2fur]

Oh, my gosh, I can just hear that little voice! And aren't kids wise? Dishes can wait...two years old vanishes far too quickly.

[Jane]

Lump. http://www.blurb.com/

Have you seen Blurb? They will publish your blog into a hard covered book. You can edit the content so only the posts you want are included. I think it makes a great family "yearbook." You write so often of a moment in time. Here is another mom who used Blurb.
http://soulemama.typepad.com/soulemama/2007/03/documenting.html

[Tammy]

What a beautiful post. You made me cry. My little girl is 12 now. I sure miss those moments!!! Cherish them!!!

[GiBee]

Oh ... SO sweet. I love moments like that, and since Hunter is not a cuddle bug (more like: find the bugs and squash them), they don't come often!!!

A moment to remember when she's walking down the aisle.

[Liz]

That is sweet.

[Sarah]

Oh my goodness, that's so sweet, it makes MY heart melt just hearing about it!

[Marian]

I think your 2 year old and mine would get along very well =). She is often "so happy" and the biggest Dora fan ever. I had a similarly heart-melting moment like Mary mentioned above when this little one from Ethiopia looked at me and said,out of the blue, "I so happy!"

[Jennifer]

That truly is the good stuff, isn't it?

[Randi]

I love this post! Very sweet!

[Diane]

There's nothing quite so contagious as the joy of children!

Diane

[Susanne]

Aww, my heart is a big gooey puddle now too!

[Cheri]

Those moments, are what make all the tantrums over putting juice in the wrong sippy cup, so worth it.

What a precious memory.

LOL on the shoes at Target. AE is the same...shews...shews...prebee (shoes shoes pretty) She was in the clothing section yesterday at Target literally spinning in circles saying ''prebee'' ''prebee'' hee

[Jennifer]

Talk about warm fuzzies! I think your dd and mine must be kindred spirits. (She's 2 also) She LOVES Dora, and too gets excited in the shoe dept - sticking her feet out to try some on! She like to say "so happy". It's amazing how these little people can turn us into big gooey puddles! I'm so glad I'm learing to stop what I'm doing and take the time to cherish these moments that will be gone all too soon. Thanks for sharing!

[singinole]

that is so sweet! it's amazing what God teaches us through children, isn't it?

[T with Honey]

When in the right mood a two year old can cheer up any grumpy adult! And I love the apple smell they have in kids hair products. I can see it now, many years from now we will get a whiff of an apple jolly rancher and suddenly be sent back in time... a toddler snuggling in your lap as you gently kiss their hair. What a wonderful memory that will be!!

[Hilary]

We should all curl up and watch Dora for an hour or so...
{swiper NO swiping}

[Heather]

Oh you make miss my little ones... :) Although 10 and 7, we just curled up in my bed last weekend... all of us and the dog and I remember looking at all of us piled in thinking... it's not going to be like this forever...

[Pastormac's Ann]

So very very sweet.

Kids are an amazing wonderful incredible inexplicable gift from our Heavenly Father.

[Mrs. Pear]

Oh! Children are so sweet!

By the way, has Corrie been watching Roman Holiday lately? For a time that is Audrey Hepburn's character's favorite line "sooo happy."

And it makes me giggle in the movie too.

Mrs. Pear

[Emily]

Oh, that is SO sweet. Your little girls sounds like such a joy!

[Les~]

Awwwww....made me tear up! I miss my grandson more now too!

[Trista]

Beautiful!!! I love those moments!!!!

[Stephanie]

That is such a beautiful story. I have a 2 year old daughter also and she says the very same thing. This morning for example, there was a letter 'K' on the window at her daycare. I told her they put that up there for her (a little stretch) and her eyes got big and she looked at me and said "They did?!, Oh that makes me so beary happy!"

[Deena]

So precious...savor those moments...and remind her of them when she has little ones of her own one day...

[Thea]

That's a great post. Thank you for sharing!!

[mcewen]

Tiny and Huge - would that we all have such a precious barometer.
Cheers

[Kara]

That's so sweet!

[williamsmommy]

My son loves Dora---
He is a cuddle bug and I treasure our mornings as he sits and we read and watch the weather--I have heard little boys don;t like to cuddle but this one is the best at it!!! I treasure evry morning that passes

[Girl Gone Wild]

...can't swallow from the lump in my throat...thanks for sharing your joy.

[jlybn123]

Okay, you don't know me, but I just found your site through the most popular blog site and thought I'd take a gander.

You took me back to the day when mine were very little and things like that happened all the time...they are kind of rare now...2 boys, 11 and 9. ('Nuff said).

But just wanted to let you know...the sweetness seriously brought tears to my eyes!

[kelli]

sniffle.

[Karin]

Thanks for reminding me to savour the moments. They grow up so fast, don't they? You have a gift for words. I enjoy reading your blog.

[laughing mommy]

Wow! That is so sweet. Don't you love those cuddly moments?

[Lei]

Sweet. I love their chubby faces in the morning. Irresistable!!!

[Karly]

That was the sweetest thing I've read in a long time.

[Lily]

Ahhh, I love those moments. This is what being a Mom is all about. Truly.

[jessica]

What a sweet post! I just wanted to give you a heads up that you will be receiving an email from billyshelton@Hotmail.com. I wanted to run something by you but didn't want to leave it in the comments b/c it would take up too much room. Thanks!

[Jessie]

Love your blog. Very sweet post. Little girls are so fun!

[daring young mom]

SO happy and SO sweet. My kids constantly remind me of the joy and wonder in this world and how much dirt it contains.

[Nic]

SO inspiring, Shannon!

[J.Fergie]

Ok, TISSUE please!!