The Parrillo Family

Over the past six-plus years, we've posted numerous times about our family taking part in elections and going to the polling place as a family each chance we get.   Here's the latest one of those posts from this past fall's general election showing Nat and the kids voting and all of us staying up late to tally the (unfortunate) totals .  We've been engaging the kids at each turn in voting since they were very small.   Here's a bunch of the voting posts going all the way back to when Eloise was just a little thing that we carried into the voting booth ! So, it was a natural extension of that engagement in the process for Nat to work with the girls around the Women's March that she and her mother and sister planned to participate in down in the Loop in Chicago.   I'm sure Natalie can provide much more color, but the pictures tell the story.  After talking to our girls about the process  (see the 'what does the President do?' brochure on the ta...

Eloise is in 1st grade at St. Mary of Gostyn in Downers Grove and has been doing really well.  One of the subjects that she continues to seem to enjoy (and does great at!) is art.  We've covered some of her art here on the family blog before.  There's a drawing of a bird and even some photos of when her art was displayed in a gallery in public !   But, now she's an award-winning artist!  That's right, Eloise won a bookmark-making contest (well...she won her grade-level) and the entire announcement was made (as a surprise to Eloise!) during an all-school Mass.  Nat was there to capture the moment.  That photo at the top of this post is all of the winners.   Here's how they describe the contest at SMG: Each year, St. Mary of Gostyn’s Reverence for Life Committee partners with Students for Life to sponsor a bookmark contest for students in preschool through eighth grade that celebrates the sanctity and respect of li...

This drawing above of a Robin was done by Eloise the artist in her weekly art class.  This isn't the first time we've covered Ellie and the arts. Here's a post where she showed off her painting that was hung in a gallery locally in Elmhurst last year. And here's a post showing one of her school art projects where she created what she'd look like as a 100 year old . Both of the girls really love creating and coloring with crayons and markers and do it often at our house.  I'm so happy that Ellie enjoys art and is keeping at it, through her own art class.  I know we'll want to look back on the hobbies and things she enjoys as she gets older and they evolve.  Let's put 'art' down in the 'loves' column at age 6.5.

Eloise recently worked on a little art project at school that was a self portrait of herself at 100 years old.  Check out what she wrote that she'll have to do when she's 100.  I think she's been hanging around with Papa and hearing all about his medications!?!   "When I am 100 years old, I will have to get so much pils."  is what she wrote.   Hilarious.

Eloise has been taking art classes for almost a year and now her first piece is on display at a gallery at a local coffee shop in Elmhurst.  She was so proud to show it off! She's come a long way from her first days as an artist.   Here's a post from two years ago where Ellie showed off her art .  And here's a painting from back in 2011 when she was just getting started.

Eloise can't get enough of markers, crayons, pens and pencils.  As long as we're talking about coloring princesses, she's all over it.

Today marked the first day of art class for our little Eloise.  Nat took her there without much expectations.  The class is aimed at toddlers and is starting as the weather turns colder.  It is a perfect excuse to get out of the house on Wednesdays.   But...when they arrived home after the class, we had a *very* proud Eloise showing me what she created:  a "sand" tree that used glue - spread by Eloise herself - to hold down the sand. Color me impressed with my daughter! Who knows?  Maybe she'll take to art like she's taken to gymnastics and we'll end up with a Picasso or Rembrandt! Although Daddy would prefer a Computer Scientist?!?!