The Parrillo Family

Eloise and her cousin Juliana have been taking ballet together over the past few months. On their last day of class, they put on a little performance for us to show off the skills they had learned.  (If you are reading this in your email and can't see the video player below, click here to watch the video. ) That's Eloise in the backrow second from the right.  Ana is right in front of her. I've been watching E in class. When there wasn't a room full of excited parents watching, she was much more carefree and happy. She would throw in an extra spin or dip. I don't think she enjoyed the attention very much! She did love ballet however, so I hope she gives it another go in the fall.

While in the car this weekend, during a long day of driving around, I heard Sadie giggling to herself in the back seat. I craned my neck to see her doing this: She kept on for a few minutes- putting the bracelet on her head, looking at her sister for smiles, yanking the bracelet off and giggling. It was so neat to see her doing something just to make her sister happy. I apologize for my squealing! I wish I knew how to edit out my voice but not hers.

With SD taking in lots of 'real' food these days, she's spending some time in her high chair.  It is amazing to watch her grow up in front of our eyes.   Here's a photo of her in a high chair back at Thanksgiving .  She's really grown in just six months.

On a visit to see Noonie and Papa, we made a stop at the Creamery in Frankfort.  That's the ice cream place that I grew up visiting - mostly after baseball games where I usually had a 'Monster Slush' which was a combination of all of their flavors.  Sounds pretty gross today, but I loved them when I was younger and looked forward to it after every game. The Creamery brought in the Original Rainbow Cone a few years back ( Details here on their site ) and as soon as Ellie saw a photo of it on the menuboard, there were no other options. She loved it and we've talked about going out for ice cream since this trip and everytime we do, she says that she wants a "rainbow ice cream cone"!  Guess it worked. Our baby Ellie has grown up so much.   Here's a post from almost two years ago where she was getting gelato in LaGrange and the differences are striking.

Sadie is eleven months! She is becoming very entertaining. When Jake walks into the room, she chants "da da da da". Ba ba is her pacifier (something Eloise made up when she was Sadie's age and has taught her baby sister). She makes these sweet little "tickey tickey" sounds when she is tickling someone or something. She was tickling my laptop recently. She says ma ma, but only when she really wants me. Mo mo means she wants to eat whatever you are eating. She also says "hi!" when I walk into her room after a nap. That kills me! She signs a bit, although I haven't been as good of a teacher as I was with Eloise. Its just a few helpful things- milk, all done and more. She seems to want to skip the signs and go right to talking. She has no interest in walking. If you try to do that thing where she holds your fingers and takes a few steps, she drops. She wants to be free! She is a pretty fast crawler and loves to climb, so perhaps she'll be ...

Easter this year was a full-family affair.  From waking up and 'finding' Easter baskets with the girls to walking down the block to my sister's place for brunch with the Parrillos to an afternoon and dinner with Morans in Naperville, we were able to do it all and see everyone. The morning started with Easter baskets at our house. After that, we went down to play with Ellie and Sadie's cousins at "Kiki's" house where they had a very challenging Egg Hunt - and one of my personal favorites - Monkey Bread.   Last year, we went to the Elmhurst Easter Egg Hunt and you can see how much Ellie has grown . Easter 2013 ended in Naperville with a visit to Grammie and Granddad's place where the girls were able to spend time with their Uncles and Great Grampy! If you are reading this in your email and can not see the slideshow below, click here to see the photos back on the site.  

Over the weekend, Nat, the girls, and their horse-loving cousin went to a horse show with Grammie out in Oswego.  This wasn't a 'stand-on-the-sidelines-and-watch-horses-type-of-show", rather it was hands-on, or rather sit-on. Ellie got up on this white horse and by all accounts, did a great job holding on.  This wasn't her first time with horses.  She was out at the barn with Grammie last September  and was up on a horse in Sea Island last August . Might horses rise up Ellie's in-brain hierarchy to rival princesses and the color pink?  It seems to be on it's way up! Nat also was able to bring along Ellie and Sadie's horse-loving cousin.  She got on the horse, too!  But...she's been in classes and camps and on horses before, so she knew her way around!  Sounds like it was a really fun afternoon inside the barn. A trip to the barn wouldn't be complete without a post-ride meal.  Here Ellie and her cousin chat each other ...