MY NAME IS HAPPY

That is my new name and I love it. It is not often after living with a name for 70 years that you take kindly to someone wanting to steam roll over your name to rechristen you. When someone suddenly changes your name to something of "their choosing" implies that your name is not good enough and that they have a better one. That can be a tad insulting. That is unless the person is 28 months old and precious.


My niece Keri made a DVD for me of the many videos she had taken of her two children, Kaleigh and Courtney Rose whom you met here. The DVD was hours long and I watched it ignoring the need for a bathroom break. I was glued to the screen. However, I do not know yet how to select a clip from such a large DVD and post it. Will work on that. Thus you are spared the actual home movies but not the description.

Now my sister and my niece have sent me hundreds of pictures over the years but still shots do not tell the whole story. One dimensional, photos do not allow the personality to come through. I am very sad that I haven't been to Florida to see these babies and plan to change that very soon. The DVD was the very next best thing. I do have the best niece in the world to take the time and effort to put all this together for me. She really made my day, week, year.

During one segment, Keri is asking Kaleigh to say "Hi to Aunt Patti." Kaleigh looks right into the camera and says, " Hi Happy" which is her version of Patti. Everyone jumped on it and it is now my name. Gotta love it. I may have to change my blog name to Arkansas Happy. Nice ring to it.

Kaleigh is a marvelous big sister to the new baby Courtney Rose that you all met earlier. She is so gentle and loving to her baby sister.





Still my favorite picture of the two.


Right now Courtney Rose doesn't get much video space as her talents so far are eating, sleeping, burping, messing up a diaper and crying. Hang in there Courtney Rose, as soon as your head quits needing support, you too will make the movies.

Kaleigh is very smart as well as adorable. One of her favorite things besides watching football is reading. She is shown in the video studiously staring at her book as she sits in her tiny chair. Not like most kids her age who tear pages out just to hear the ripping sound, she carefully turns the pages slowly, studying each one. She informed her Mom that she can't do what her mother wanted right then with a "No,I'm reading." She is a born reader. Another one for our side.

As for football, she prefers it to cartoons. Pretty sure her Grandpa Tom, whom she adores, had a lot to do with that. She all ready knows and mimics the officials signals for "off sides", "first down" and "face mask." She loves her Dolphins and instantly spots their gear when shopping. Really have to admire her choice of men in tight pants. I'm a huge Dolphin fan also---- football RULES.

The other night when I was thanking Keri for the DVD, she put Kaleigh on the phone. Now as most of you know, a phone conversation with a 2 year old can be strenuous at best. However, she started on a monologue that I could not understand but resembled an animated reciting of the Begats from the Bible.



Word after word tumbled freely from her, the meanings known only to her. I was choking with suppressed laughter and I could hear Mom and Grandma in the background doing the same. The quite long recitation eventually ended with a "Bye Happy." The tears of laughter just became tears. Aww.

So I guess Happy it is. When I think that her version of my name could just as easily have been Crappy, Sappy, Yappy or Flappy, I am thrilled. Thanks Keri so much for putting together the videos into a DVD for me. You're the best and thanks Kaleigh for my new name. I love you.