The Parrillo Family

We've posted here on the family blog about model trains before, but they are usually timed to around Christmastime when we break out our 'Christmas Train' .  This year, we set up a train at Papa's house because we didn't have the space to do it ourselves.   The kids had fun running it when we went over there and this was the first year Frankie really got into the whole thing. So, it was no surprise that he gravitated towards his own train when we set up a mini train line on the table this weekend.  He played with it for a while and kept saying "choo choo"... His cousin has a MASSIVE, awesome train table set up in his basement and we played with it a few times.  Ever since, he's been talking about trains.  Until we move to our new house, this little mini setup will have to do.  Once we're in, his train line can expand! Here's a video of Frankie and his train.  If you're reading this in your email and can't see the video below, clic...

It was in early January that I shared photos of the Big Beef getting his first haircut .  He handled it like a pro.  So, this second time, it was easy.  Here above are some photos of Frank settling into the barber chair and getting his hair trimmed up.  We were back last week at the local barber shop in Elmhurst for a Dad-and-Son outing.  I loved it!  I got my haircut, too! Same chair.  Same toys.  Same show on the tv.  And of course, same unlimited lollipops. He did great again!

Back before the holidays on December 20th, I took Frankie to get his FIRST EVER haircut.  And of course, he went with me to the barber shop. Here's a post of Eloise getting her first ever professional haircut at a salon . And here's a post of SD getting her hair cut for the first time ever at the Disney World Magic Kingdom barber shop . And you can see Frankie in this photo above remaining calm and cool.  The unlimited lolli's (as he calls lollipops), the basket of toys next to him, his favorite show of Paw Patrol being up on all the barber shop tv's and the fact that the sole woman barber in the shop was the one doing the cutting might have contributed to his 'chill' attitude. This was an important 'first' for him and for me!  I went to the same barber shop for most of my life - all the way until I moved away from Frankfort.  And it was an important place for me to go with my Dad and Mom (it was right next to the Laundrymat for a while).    Wh...

Over the weekend, we packed up the van and went with the kids cousins and Aunt Sharon, Aunt Linda and Uncle Shaun down to Champaign to take in the Fighting Illini football game against the Michigan State Spartans.   We've been down there for football before.   Here's a post from 2013 when we all went down to enjoy the game .   Here's the time in 2012 when we drove down for the Spring game .  And even took Eloise to Homecoming back in 2010 before she turned one. But, this was the first time for Frankie.  And that made this trip special and a lot of fun.   Above at the top, you'll see Frank dressed in his best orange and blue jumper meeting Red Grange.  The University has a student dressed up in an old-timey football outfit standing in the "Grange Grove" to pose for photos.   Kinda neat!  Frankie liked him, but was shy.  After getting into the stadium, we went to a little pre-game party in what they call the "Legacy Loung...

This weekend, we brought most of the family together at our temporary* house (Thanks, Marini's for the house!  We missed them, though!) to celebrate Frankie's second birthday.  The Beef, as I call him, turned two.  And since he's born so close to Halloween, Nat threw a "Monster Mash".  Complete with a huge inflatable Frankenstein out front. Decked out in their Halloween costumes, Frankie was Marshall From Paw Patrol, his sister SD was Ariel from the Little Mermaid and their cousin won the costume contest with the incredibly detailed and imaginative bespoke Dump Truck outfit that Uncle Bill created in his workshop. Everybody liked posing in front of "Frank" with Frank. What a happy boy on the day of his birthday party! The Monster theme extended to the birthday cake.  And some incredible Frankenstein cookies made by Grammy. And we all gathered around and sang the Happy Birthday song to the big guy.  He was so happy with all of hi...

Our boy is growing up.  And fast!  He's learning so much and is smart and mostly kind.  He's the most loving and caring of any of our kids (and they're all lovies!).  Every night, he refuses to go to bed without going around and giving everybody a hug and kiss.   "Sadie hug." "Ellie hug." "Daddy hug."  "Momma hug."   And as part of his hitting the big t-w-o, the place where he's sleeping has changed, too!  He's graduated out of his crib and now is sleeping in his 'big boy bed' every night.   This photo above is taken on his birthday morning where he celebrated with his sisters and had a big scrambled egg breakfast.  Happy Birthday, Beef.  Can't believe you're two! For comparison's sake, here's a post on Eloise's 2nd birthday .  And here's the post when SD turned two .  

One of the annual traditions that Nat has been able to keep up is peach picking during our summer visits to Coloma.  On the trip that we all went on earlier this month -  that included that stop at Lake Michigan and the dunes that I posted here - Nat and her sister also took the kids peach picking.   I posted details and photos from our peach picking adventure last year here .  Pretty remarkable how much our three have grown in that one year.  Frankie was in a carrier!   And here's the post from peach picking in 2014 when Nat was pregnant with the Big Beef and SD was battling a bad case of HF&M.   In 2013, we had a very small Sadie and Eloise who was getting so big .   And here's a post from 2011 when it was just the three of us peach picking .  A few of these photos of Ellie really remind me of big Frank these days! I wasn't there this year, but the photos below tell the story.  The kids and their bestie c...

Earlier this month, Nat and Aunt Sisi took the kids (our three and Sisi's boy) to a visit to Lake Michigan in St. Joseph's Michigan as part of a trip to Coloma. We've been to Silver Beach a few times with the kids in downtown St. Joe's, but there's another place called Tiscornia Park that either my sister Vic or my Mom recommended and the kids loved it.  We don't get to the 'big lake' very often because we spend most of our time on Paw Paw Lake or in the pool. But, this year is special and Nat wanted to take the kids on new experiences. So, off they went.  In addition to getting in the lake, there are dunes! Sadie above is all ready to go.  She has her goggles, her life jacket and even "Mr. Ray" to float on. The Big Beef got in on the action, too. You can see him below.   He likes being in the water, but loves working in the sand.  And mostly destroying sand castles that his sisters make. Brave SD taking on the waves. Ellie...

Take a quick peek here to see a post from November of last year to see Frankie and his 'then' yogurt face. And now check out this photo below.  Same guy.  Same yogurt.  Just so much more grown up.  And A LOT more hair on his head! At this point, Frank is getting close to being two years old and he's learning so much and expanding his world every day.  There's new words, new experiences and new boundaries that he's continually testing.   But there isn't a better breakfast companion than this dude and his yogurt face.

Close to the end of July, the girls were able to spend a day with their cousin before she shipped back off to Switzerland for another year of school at the International School with her family.   In June, we took a family trip and were able to spend some time with our family in their house in Switzerland (which I haven't posted photos of quite yet), but following that trip, my Sister and her family came home to Elmhurst for almost a month this summer.  And they got to see all their friends and family.  Including us! The last day before they went back to Europe, the girls took their cousin on a little adventure where they showed her around a few places in Downers Grove including Everyday is a Sundae in the photo above.  Who doesn't like a good summer ice cream cone? And then they took her by our lot where we're building our house - that you can see the in the backyard below: These girls were so, so close when we all lived down the block and see...

We weren't in Coloma for the 4th of July for the first time in many years because we were in Europe with the Marini family and arrived back on the 3rd, so this year, as the holiday weekend wound down, we were able to join the Moran's and the girls' Uncle Bill, Aunt Sisi and Frank's bestie out at the Naperville Ribfest.   We've been to Ribfest in the past, but I don' think I've posted any photos here on the blog before.  The Ribfest is what you would expect:  bbq and carnival.  They also have music acts, but we didn't go for that.  We were there for the ribs and pork and to win a few carnival games for the girls.   That's Eloise up there posing so proud with her giant, stuffed Emoji that we won at a game.   And here she is taking in some soft serve with her Godmother Aunt Sisi: Frank the tank was there, too!  Here he is goofing around with Granddad.  The jetlag really hit SD hard and she fell asleep in Grammy's lap...