When we think of old photographs, often we expect them to be cold, stiff, and unsmiling (why didn’t people smile? A topic for another day, I suppose) – but these 15 pictures buck the stereotype.

They’re guaranteed to warm your heart, or (if you’re 9 months pregnant like me) maybe even bring a tear to your eye.

Peruse. Enjoy.

#15. You gotta help out your best friend.

#14. My grandpa was a farmer and he did NOT have a heart for cats. But this guy did!

#13. Um, where is this zoo and how can I take a walk with penguins?!

#12. Sometimes your best friend just needs the whole bed.

#11. This little girl knows how to rock it without a single inhibition.

#10. An Austrian boy who just received new shoes during WWII.

#9. This Victorian couple who just can’t with the serious portrait faces.

#8. Ducklings being used to cheer up a patient in a children’s ward.

#7. A little girl and her toad at a pet show in Venice, CA (1936).

#6. Pretending to talk on the telephone in Japan, 1958.

#5. This little girl playing a song for her dog.

#4. A soldier feeding a tiny, orphaned kitten.

#3. A little boy hears sound for the first time. (THAT FACE).

#2. This is my favorite thing ever: the graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband in Holland, 1888.

#1. About 10 seconds before this grandpa makes his grandson’s whole life.