Shop
 Explore 

10 things that made us smile this week

We've got some adorable kids and inspiring grown-ups, some delightful dancing and sassy public servants, and even a cute quokka thrown in for funsies.

Dad holding preemie in NICU, smiling baby taking first steps

@fritojohnson89/TikTok, @alissa_and_b/TikTok

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy.

Life is full of precious and magical moments, from watching a baby take its first steps, to saying "I do," to witnessing an artist transcend in a way we've never experienced. These moments touch something deep inside us and etch themselves in our memories, enabling us to draw on their joy for years to come.

That's one of the coolest things about joy. Some might think of it as a fleeting feeling, but it's always there within us, ready to rise to the surface when it gets tickled.

Bringing out people's joy is one of the things we love doing at Upworthy, which is why we curate these collections of smile-worthy finds each week.

In this week's roundup, we've got some adorable kids and inspiring grown-ups, some delightful dancers and sassy public servants, and even a cute quokka thrown in for funsies. Enjoy!

1. Wee one discovers his ability to walk and his reaction is priceless.

@alissa_and_b
It’s the #pterodactyl noises for me! 😍😍😍 #babytok #babysfirststeps #lgbtqfam

His little roar, followed by that precious smile? It doesn't get any cuter.

2. Iraqi-Irish wedding musical mashup has everyone dancing with joy.

See on Instagram

Cultures coming together, especially in the context of love and family, is such a beautiful thing. Read the full story here.

3. Oliver James has taught himself to read in his 30s with the help of BookTok and he's an inspiration.

@oliverspeaks1
Learning and reading books has literally saved my life. How do you feel about books what has reading done for you.? #books #bookshelf #readingbooks📚 #booktok

In this video, James explains how much anxiety it used to give him to go shopping, not being able to read. Now he has a goal to read 100 books this year, and book lovers on TikTok are helping him out. Read more about James' journey to literacy here.

4. A couple asked their grandmothers to be flower girls at their wedding and look how gorgeous they were.

What a wonderful idea. Let's make this a thing.

5. 13-year-old ventriloquist wows with her impressive and hilarious rendition of 'You Don't Own Me."

Ana-Maria Mărgean was the winner of "Romania's Got Talent" and is now competing in "America's Got Talent: All-Stars." What's amazing is that she just started learning ventriloquism during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Read the full story here.

6. Whoever runs the National Park Service Twitter account deserves a raise.

See on Instagram

Swipe through to see the follow-up tweets. The whole account is full of delightful silliness, and we are here for it.

7. Dad gets emotional while singing to his NICU baby who raises his tiny little hand.

@fritojohnson89
Remington Hayze Johnson. Proof that God is faithful. Born 4 months early and given a 21% chance of survival. Today we are 2 1/2 months old giving God all the praise He deserves. #worship #nicu #nicubaby #dadsinging #elevationworship

Having a baby in the NICU can be exhausting and worrisome. What a special moment for this family. Read the full story here.

8. Little girl hears a sax in the subway and feels the music in her soul.

See on Instagram

Children are so pure and the way they react to music is always fun to see. What a wonderful exchange and testament to the power of live musicians.

9. She brushed her bald dad's 'hair' and her cackle is too adorable.

See on Instagram

Gotta love it when a kid goes all in on their own joke. She's just cracking herself up.

10. May we all be as happy and content as this quokka enjoying a beet.

\u201cQuokka eating beetroot.. \ud83d\ude0a\u201d
— Buitengebieden (@Buitengebieden) 1675022909

Quokkas always look like they're smiling anyway, but there's no mistaking the joy in this one's snack time. (Also, I want a quokka. Does anyone know where I can get a quokka?)

Hope that gave you a little serotonin boost! Come back next week for another collection of delights. (And if you'd like to have posts like these delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our free newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.)

From Your Site Articles

Couple says living on a floating cabin saves a ton of money and is great for their mental health

They saved $27,500 a year overall.

@keepingalfoatwiththejoneses/Instagram

Inexpensive and tranquil…what's not to like?

Saving money and living comfortably don’t always go hand in hand, but people do find ways to accomplish it. Sometimes all it takes is thinking a little outside the box—getting a job that allows you to travel the world or swapping out a traditional mortgage for more creative, less costly home ideas.

Take this couple in North Carolina, for example, who gave up living on land to move into a floating cabin and apparently saved $27,500 annually by doing so.

According to Good News Network, Sarah Spiro, 27, and her boyfriend, Brandon Jones, 40, break down the math: Their one-bedroom floating home, which they bought in March 2021, originally cost less than $30,000. The pair then spent two months and $23,000 renovating, for a total initial investment of less than $50,000. And now, they pay $2,500 a year to live on the lake. Yes, you read that right. $2,500 a year. They used to pay that much per month on their combined individual rents.

Obviously, it was a “no brainer,” said Spiro.

Keep ReadingShow less

11-year-old is the world's youngest opera singer and can sing in eight different languages

She even sings in her sleep, according to her mom.

11-year-old girl is the youngest opera singer in the world.

The majority of 11-year-olds are perfectly content balancing the pre-teen life with Barbie dolls and tinted lipgloss. But one pre-teen is busy breaking records. Victory Brinker is an 11-year-old opera prodigy who was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's youngest opera singer in 2019 when she was almost 8 years old.

If you like opera—or even if you don't—hearing her vocal range of three octaves and voice control is impressive. When it comes to singing, control of your breath, pitch and tone can be difficult, especially when you're without years of classical training. Victory's skill is so impressive that when she appeared on America's Got Talent last year, she was given the "golden buzzer," which sends you straight to the finalist round in Hollywood.

Keep ReadingShow less

victory brinker

Wife cooks nachos for 'picky' husband who refused to eat her salmon. But she has a point.

Should she be cooking two meals?

via TheMamaBrianna/TikTok

Brianna Greenfield makes nachos for her husband.

A viral video showing a woman preparing nachos for her "picky" spouse after he refused to eat the salmon dinner she cooked has sparked a contentious debate on TikTok. The video was shared on April 26 by Brianna Greenfield (@themamabrianna on TikTok) and has since earned over 2.5 million views.

Brianna is a mother of two who lives in Iowa.

The video starts with Brianna grating a massive hunk of cheese with a caption that reads: “My husband didn’t eat the dinner that I made…So let’s make him some nachos.”

“If I don’t feed him, he literally won’t eat,” she wrote. “This used to irritate me. Now I just blame his mother for never making him try salmon,” Greenfield wrote. The video features Meghan Trainor’s single “Mother” playing in the background.

Keep ReadingShow less