The Parrillo Family

If you've been to our house, or for that matter Ellie's Grammy and Grandad's house in Naperville, you'll notice immediately that - when it comes to toys - there's a distinct horse-influence.  Up until last week, there was only one person to blame:  Grammy! She's been incredibly generous and has begun to introduce the wonders of horses to her granddaughter since the day she was born.   We're very lucky to have horse toys, horse clothes, horse stickers, and more.    I love that Eloise will grow up (hopefully) to adore horses and that (hopefully, too!), she'll have something to bond with her Grammy over as she matures. (As a side note....Dianne isn't the only one trying to sway opinion of Eloise and kids in the family.  Turns out...it is pretty common!  I do much the same with my nephews and Google/Android stuff so they don't become Apple/iPhone fanboys!  At Christmas, I doled out Google shirts and mugs and show off the latest gadgets to get them to...

What a difference a year makes.   Just one year ago in January of 2011, we were documenting the amazing feat that was little baby Eloise taking her first steps .  She was so uncertain of her footwork and wobbled back and forth.  You can tell by the sound in Nat's voice (and the look) on my face that we were filled with pride. The saying goes "They sure do grow up fast".  And, if this post is does anything, it cements that notion as fact.  365 days after Eloise took her firs step, we ushered her out the door to take in her first day of "school".  Yup.  School. We enrolled her in a 2-day-a-week Montessori program for 2 and 3 year olds in our town. As we prepared for the first day, Eloise swelled with pride on our front porch (see the photos below) as she set off on this new adventure.  She was so excited to go.  Nat was excited to see her go, grow, learn.  And for herself to get a MUCH-EARNED 2 hour break.  But me?  I couldn...

Have we told you all how much Eloise loves hotdogs?  She wakes up most morning to catch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse where they sing the 'hotdog' dance.  We had hotdogs at her 2nd birthday party and now I think Costco might rank up there with Home Depot in Eloise's mind when it comes to shopping destinations. Why?  Because they have delicious HUGE hotdogs.  Ellie scarfed down the entire thing yesterday and loved it.  We'll tell Nat that it was "organic, right? (If you are reading this in your email and you can't see the photo slideshow below, click here to see the photos.)