Garage Fridges, Grandma Dresses, and Dandelion Puffs

After being away from my kids all day on Friday, I didn't really want to leave them to go to the Relief Society "Super Saturday" but I went anyway (mostly because Miriam and Rachel wanted to go, but also because I could get rid of that tied fleece blanket you see in the corner behind Alexander and Phoebe, which I meant to donate in, like, November). 

When I left, Alexander was busy reading Fancy Nancy with Phoebe:

We didn't stay at the activity very long...for a number of reasons...homework being one of them. When we came back, Phoebe was outside with fistfuls of strawberries. Interesting. 

"What do you have there?" I asked.

"Strawberries!" She held up her spoils for me to see more clearly. 

"And where did you find those?" I asked.

"From the strawberry place."

The. Fridge.

Phoebe can open the fridge in the garage and this is a skill she finds...most liberating. Not only can she open the fridge in the garage. She can also open the door leading to the garage (the one door leading to the outside world that she can manage on her own) and if she pushes her stroller over to the wall she can also open the actual garage door itself. 

Like I said: liberating.

Fortunately, our phones get notifications any time the garage door opens or closes, otherwise I wouldn't have known that she had decided to let herself out of the house last week so she could go wave at the garbage truck. 

"Bye!" she said, waving enthusiastically. "Bye!"

Then she turned to me and explained, "I like to say bye to trucks instead of hi because they're always going somewhere."

*****

This evening the younger four kids were all playing outside with a bunch of other neighbour kids when the doorbell rang. I figured it was going to be Phoebe because when I looked at the door...I couldn't see anyone out the window. I wasn't sure why she wouldn't simply come through the garage (again—she can open that door by herself), but I figured it out when I opened the door and she stood there grinning from ear to ear, shaking a couple cartons of her favourite yogurt drink.

"Can you please open deeze?"

"Tell me you at least closed the fridge," I sighed.

"I at least closed the fridge."

"Fine." I resolved to check the fridge in the next couple of minutes. "You can choose one of these yogurts. But not both!"

"Hmmmm...hmmmm..." She studied the labels. "This one is yummy strawberry. But this one is puppy mixed berry. Hmmmm..."

In the end she chose "yummy strawberry" and saved "puppy mixed berry" for another day.

Also, just for kicks—here's a picture of Rachel wearing this dress back in 2011:

Grandma even curled Rachel's hair!

I pulled it out of a box this morning for Phoebe to wear while I was looking for an old suit of Benjamin's for Alexander to wear. I'd forgotten that I'd confiscated most of Alexander's Sunday pants the last time I did his laundry. He's grown far too tall to wear any of them decently. But I knew we had a cute little suit in the basement that Benjamin wore to Rosie's wedding (and beyond). 

It fit Alexander quite nicely. 

And then I saw this dress and pulled it out for Phoebe to wear and she was thrilled because it was such a "boo-tiful" dress. 

I don't usually get too sad about Grandma these days. I think I'll miss her always, but...we find ways to move on, don't we? We're able to cope better every day until suddenly we're not just...coping...anymore. We're actually living again. We've been actually living again for quite a while now, thank goodness.

But pulling this dress over Phoebe's head made me all kinds of sad and happy. This dress was a surprise from Grandma on a little trip we took to Arizona when the girls were just little. All of the girls have worn it in turn, but I don't really recall a special event when Miriam or Zoë would have worn it...so I don't know if I have pictures of them in it or where they would be if they exist. 

Here's Miriam with Grandma looking at a tortoise (we were visiting Grandma's brother...who has a pet tortoise):

Here's Rachel so bravely touching that tortoise:

Ironically, Rachel got brave and touched a bearded dragon for the first time today! (Benjamin's bearded dragon). So apparently this dress brings out, like, reptilian bravery in this girl!

Anyway, I was...happy for the memories...but a little bit sad today that Phoebe could wear this gift from a Grandma she'll never meet (on this side of the veil). And that was a bit heavy and sad. But it's also alright, you know?

*****

Here's Phoebe having flung the door wide open to welcome me home from choir practice this afternoon. This is the door she can open; she decorated it for me.

And here are a few pictures of Phoebe finding fluffy dandelions on our walk this afternoon. There is nothing sweeter than a toddler trying to blow on a dandelion puff.

We'll imagine, for today, that she's blowing kisses to heaven.

And here's a picture from Saturday that I liked (we are constantly stopping to investigate something—this world is for exploring):