The Parrillo Family

Thomas Francis was awoken on his birthday morning by his parents and sisters who came in early in the morning and sang him 'Happy Birthday' while he was still in his crib.  His special day was started. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this, because that's not how his days normally start.  But...(we hope!)...he could tell that this was *his* special day! The morning started out right with a special breakfast made by Nat that Frankie loved.  Pancakes, eggs and sausages.   He wouldn't let go of his balloon that Ellie and Sadie picked out for him the night before! The happy boy wore his hat and got plenty of attention from his big sisters all morning before they went off to school. Nat made another special cake and we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Frankie again.  Sadie and Ellie were quick to help him blow out his candles.   Just like there were at his party over the weekend . Cake?!  Of course.  It's Frankie's 1st Bi...

On Sunday, we gathered our friends and family at our 'temporary patch' in Elmhurst to celebrate Frankie's first birthday party.  Nat did an amazing job pulling together a really great party.  The theme was "The Great Pumpkin" and we set up a little pumpkin patch and an outdoor movie theatre.   Hard to believe he's been here one whole year.   Here's his 'Hello World' post on the blog from last year when he arrived .  My...he has grown!   Frankie is playful, loving, sweet and one year old. Its been a wonderful year! On Sunday, we had great food, great friends, our family and a great time celebrating our little BIG guy.  He was so happy and was taking in all the attention he was getting.   Nat made a special little cake for him to dig in to and his sisters were right there to help him figure it out.  He ate the cake - like a boss.   A first birthday party in the Moran family isn't complete without some spectacul...

This is Eloise's school photo from Kindergarten that she just brought home.   You can see the photos of her as she went off to school that day here . What a smile!  Pretty amazing to see how much she's grown up lately. Here's a look at her school photos from a year ago when she was in Pre-K .

Eloise was soooo excited for Kindergarten school picture day!  She is growing up so fast and is such a joy to be around (most of the time!). On our way to school, she agreed to pose for some 'glamour shots'.  

Eleven months for our little Frankie has brought lots more standing and "ooh, is he going to take a step?".  He has five teeth (three on top, two on bottom) and lots of little bumps and bruises from his adventures. He has absolutely no interest in toys. He prefers stairs and bathroom cabinets. Frankie calls almost everyone DA! and we love his morning greetings. He loves nothing more than attention from his sisters. Here's a post showing Sadie at the same age . And here's a post showing Eloise at the same age .

Late last month, we packed the three kids up and took a quick trip down to Orlando for a visit to see The Mouse and check out the Halloween/Fall decorations and the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  Late last month, I posted the video of Eloise piloting the Jungle Cruise boat and that experience was part of this trip that is chronicled here on this post. We started our trip with an 'aloha welcome' at check-in at the Polynesian Village Resort. Ellie loves being at Disney almost as much as her Daddy does! There's no better family picture than a Disney World family picture.  Amirite?!? The girls got to 'meet' Duffy Bear before he stopped visiting with guests.  This was on his second to last day at Epcot before 'he catches a plane to Tokyo'! We spent some time meeting various Princesses including SD's favorite Ariel the Mermaid. Frankie couldn't be happier on the carousel. No visit is complete without a stop t...