The Parrillo Family

Having a birthday that takes place close to Halloween and having the name "Frank" seem to indicate that A LOT of your childhood birthdays are going to be centered around the holiday and various monsters.  So, it should come as no surprise that just like last year , Frankie had a 'monster' birthday.   On his actual birthday, Frankie got a little bit of help from his sisters to blow out the candle on his monster ice cream cake. Here's the photos from his 2nd birthday party .  And here's the photos from his 1st birthday party .   Then a few days later, we had a party where the whole family came over to celebrate Frank.  Here's Great Grampy Ray and Great Uncle Frank settled in on the couch watching Frankie's bestie cousin play with some toys in our family room. Nat made a monster cake.  It was awesome! And while there were LOTS of awesome presents that Frankie was so happy to receive, one of them got a littl...

Back in February, we shared how Sadie was just getting started with her training wheels .  But, because of a sweet deal that we came across, she's been upgraded to her very own "Big Girl Bike" that you can see her posing with above.  Recently, we've been walking down to the school at the end of our block and having her give pedaling without training wheels a try.  So far, she's still working on her balance and steering, but there are moments (brief ones!) that I let go and let her pedal a bit on her own.  She immediately starts to lean one way and I end up grabbing the handle bars and seat to course correct her and keep her from tumbling over. Hoping that before she goes back to school, she'll get going on this bike.  The scooter is tough competition - she seems drawn to it more than the bike, but I think with a little bit of success, she'll work on the bike riding and take to it like her big sister did at this age.

It was last May that we posted a photo of Sadie on her new 'big girl bike' that she had inherited from Eloise .  She had moved up from the balance bike to this one with training wheels.  While she *tried* as hard as she could last summer, she just wasn't getting this whole bike with training wheels thing.  Between her legs not being long enough and strong enough and the bike weighing too much, she was mostly stuck in neutral. But with this weekend's beautiful February weather, we hauled the bike out and gave it another shot.  And guess what?  She figured it out!  And rode it all by herself.  Sure, she fell a few times, but she got right back on.   You can see this same moment for Eloise - on this same bike - back in 2013 when she figured out how to ride it, too ! Here's the video to prove it!  (if you're reading this in your email and don't see the video below, click here !)

It was almost three years ago exactly that I posted the first photos of Eloise on her - at that time - brand new "Big Girl Bike" .  In the years since, Eloise learned to ride , we took her training wheels off and she graduated to a bigger bike that she received on her 6th birthday in December. And with that new bike, that means Sadie gets to move up to the "Big Girl Bike".  And move up, she has!  After putting the training wheels back on, she's totally claimed this Cinderella bike as her own and always asks to get put on the bike and for assistance in getting her going.  She can't quite pedal on her own yet, but once you get her going she can crank the pedals.  Steering?  That part, she's still working on it.  But, she's having a lot of fun. With summer here, and a really great driveway at the Marinis' house, I'm certain she'll keep progressing and will be powering her own way forward come September.

Guess who attended his first Indiana Street Block Party in Elmhurst over the weekend? *This guy* Frank the Tank was a hit as part of the bicycle parade (where Ellie pushed him around in his cool blue car and Sadie went crazy with her balance bike!) and was all smiles as he watched the bigger kids run around and go all crazy at the party. He's growing up so fast and getting even bigger.  And it is no surprise as he is eating lots of solid foods.  No purees for this beefcake.  He ate a ton of mac and cheese, pulled pork and even a few pieces of pizza at the party! He isn't quite walking, but he *is* standing up and holding on to things.  It won't be long until he's upwardly mobile.

Look who has lost her training wheels?!?  Our little Eloise is now riding back-and-forth in our alley and asks all the time: "Can we go out and ride my bike?" ( If you are reading this in your email and can't see the video below, click here to watch it on the site. ) Looking back, it was in April of 2013 when Eloise got on this bike for the first time.    And it didn't take long for her to get the hang of her training wheels.  

It was just earlier this month that we documented Ellie getting on her "big girl" bike for the first time .  She couldn't generate much - if any - power herself and required our hand to guide her both forward and to keep her straight. Fast forward just 4 weeks and look at this big girl!  She's pedaling on her own and generating her own power.  She falls a lot.  And has learned a "good way" to fall when one of her wheels goes off the sidewalk, but she certainly doesn't want Nat or me to help guide/steer her.  She's "doing it herself". Slow down, kid.  At least for your dad's sake!

With the warm weather the past few days, Ellie had the chance to try out her new big girl bike.  She got the hang of it pretty quick and only had few spills.  She needs a little bit of a push to get her momentum going forward, but after that, she can peddle the bike herself.  Steering is a bit harder, but she mostly kept it on the sidewalk.  Each morning since we went for a ride, she wakes up and asks me if we can ride her bike down to "AnaKiki's" (my sister's house).  Looks like we might be riding our bikes together to the pool this summer. Here's what Eloise looked like on 'the bike' two years ago .

With the warm weather that descended on the Chicago-area earlier this week, we found time to pump up all of our bike tires as well as Eloise's bike trailer tires and get out on the road.  Instead of hopping in the car, we ran our errands via bike.  The Wheezer LOOOVED the trailer (she was in it last year, but in her carseat facing backwards), but didn't love the helmet so much.  Special thanks to my sister Vic for letting us borrow the helmet.  Once she saw that Daddy was "wearing a helmet too", she stopped fiddling as much with it.  The trailer - which we pull behind our bikes - should provide a lot of fun experiences this summer.  After all, what's not to like about being pulled around behind a bike with a snack cup full of Cheerios while you lounge in a Lazy-Boy like chair?  Nothing.