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We got Frankie over a long weekend in May 2019, when she was a little razor-mouthed cream puff. It’s hard to say what her actual birthday is, so April Fool’s Day has always seemed as good a day as any to celebrate ☺️

The years since we met Frank have felt like a whirlwind at times, and I find some memories are already starting to fade 😢 So I thought I’d jot down a few things about our beloved monster as she turns four(ish).

Old Faves

Smuggling — Try as I might to break into this tradition, “couch smugs” remain an exclusive ladies-only affair at our house. Still, it’s just so dang sweet to watch Frankie climb into Emily’s lap, head dive into her, and then pass out like a baby 🥰

TV remains an old standby. Not people TV, though, which she completely ignores until someone has the audacity to ring a doorbell. Rather, Frankie loves Frankie TV, the picture window that looks onto our street where she waits to yell at anyone who has the audacity to walk by.

Keep-away — Frankie is terrible at playing traditional fetch, but she loooves being in the middle of a game of keep-away. In the summer it’s chaotic, no-rules backyard soccer, and in the winter it’s a mad-dash pool ball chompdown challenge (see below)

Eatertainment — Frankie has always been a free-feeder, mostly because she is utterly and completely bored by food in her dog bowl. Put it in a weird container, though, like an old OJ jug with a bunch of other noise-making junk inside, and she will happily pounce and smack and drag it around the room until every last kibble has popped out. But tomorrow’s container better be completely different and exciting! Or she’ll just roll her eyes and wait for something better.

People — When it comes to other dogs, Frankie is more of a people person. With a few exceptions, she turns into a real shy-guy any time another dog shows up. (As a fellow shy-guy, I can very much relate ☺️) But if a person makes an appearance, she gets so happy she’s almost crying and runs around looking for something to bite on and scream into.

New Faves

Indoor pool time — Like a lot of places summers in Denver are hot hot hot, and the kiddie pool we picked up at the hardware store was a hit with Frankie and her neighborhood pal Fergus. It seemed like a shame to put it away in the fall, though, so this year we hauled it into the basement and filled it with balls. This is the best thing we’ve ever done for this bozo, I think. (She might love chomping the balls and feeing the rush of air and victory when we play keep-away even more than splashing around in them, which is annoyingly hilarious)

Mail — There’s a sentimental tchotchke on a low shelf near our dining table, and Frankie boops it with her snoot every single time we sit down to eat. It kind of looks like a mailbox, so we thought it might be fun if one time there was a treat waiting as a little surprise delivery. We were right, it was super cute! But the joke’s on us, because now Frankie checks the mail a hundred times a day. April Fools! 🤪

Nicknames

We rarely call her Frankie unless she's in trouble. Instead, these are the names she's most likely to hear right now:

• Frank
• Frankenstein
• Franklinda
• Keeks
• Kiki
• Kiki Rodriguez (idk)
• Mama
• Mama pijama
• Sister squirrel
• Stinker Bell

Happy birthday, Frank! We love ya!