The Parrillo Family

We posted a set of comparison photos between the two girls at five months.  There's a lot to notice between the two of them, but there's one thing that is certain:  Sadie is her own girl!  She's so different in many ways from her big sister. We couldn't have gotten luckier with her.  Sadie's temperament, her demeanor  and her massive open-mouthed smile are all gifts.  Love you SD! If you are reading this in your email and can't see the slideshow below, click here to view the photos on the web .

I just can't get over the difference in their hair. Eloise's flows in abundance now, but she was a little cue ball here! I can't wait to see what Sadie's little brunette curls become.  Eloise Sadie

Over the weekend, we headed out West to the Rocky Mountains to visit Ellie and Sadie's Aunt Sisi (Elise) and Unkie (Uncle) Bill in Denver, Colorado.  Along with Grammy, Granddad, and Uncle Peter, we took a flight out on Friday night and returned late Sunday. We packed in quite a bit in the short weekend and saw a lot of sights and ate at a few *interesting* places. First up was a trip up the mountains that included a stop in Georgetown Colorado (That's Nat and Eloise in Downtown Georgetown) and a ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad.  The GLRR is a narrow-gauge heritage line that runs between Georgetown and Silver Plume.  Wikipedia boasts that the Loop was one of Colorado's very first tourist attractions . After a quick stop in Idaho Springs (and a nap for Ellie and Sadie), we found ourselves at a restaurant that Bill and Peter picked out:  Casa Bonita.  Their restaurant recommendation was based completely on a South Park episode .    The fo...

As we've done in the past, Nat and I brought Ellie to the polls this morning to cast our votes.  For the first time, we brought her sister Sadie, too! I'll have you all know that I took both girls into the booth with me so I could show them the correct folks to vote for on the ballot!?!?!  If you look closely at the photo above, you'll see both girls are proudly displaying their "I Voted!" stickers. To see how much Ellie has grown in just two years, here she is at the mid-term elections in November of 2010 .

We were lucky enough to spread the Halloween spirit across multiple days.  Over the weekend, in addition to trick-or-treating in the Elmhurst City Center , we went to Noonie's (always spectacular!) Halloween party in Frankfort. Ellie and Sadie mixed it up with their cousins on a scavenger hunt and piñata swatting. Nat and Grammy put together Ellie's costume.  And...if I can say so, I think they did a pretty great job ! On Monday night, we carved pumpkins and ate the seeds.  Ellie went the traditional route, I attempted a pumpkin with brains, and Nat won the day with her Mickey the Mouse. Tuesday morning, Ellie bundled up and rode the train into the city with me to attend "Googleween" at the office where she ate tons of candy, played in the game room, jumped on the bean bag chairs, got a face-painting on her arm and even watch a little Cinderella at my desk. When the actual Halloween Day (as we call it) arrived, Ellie was ready to hit the streets for ...