The Parrillo Family

One recent weekend, Nat was out of town.  That meant that a special "Daddy Sunday Funday" as the kids called it was in order. We were busy and did things that I knew the kids would love and that Nat probably wouldn't love to do as they're mostly obnoxious.  Yeah..obnoxious.  But that's what happens when Dad is alone for a weekend, right? Alright, without further delay, here's how we spent a recent Sunday: Started the day at Chuck-e-Cheeses where we played tons of games.  And watched a show.  No food, though.  The kids loved collecting the tickets.  (But I was disappointed with the prizes!) After that, we went to the All Aboard Diner where they deliver our cheeseburgers by model train.   The kids loved it.  The Beef was in his element! Then we had to work off the calories, so off we went to SkyZone to jump on the trampolines for an hour.  Look at how high Eloise was getting! Frankie had to be hauled out...

I might be the luckiest guy in the world!  Why?   Because 2016 is the year that I get to go to TWO, yep...two Daddy Daughter dances. Because of some scheduling quirks, the girls' schools moved their Daddy Daughter dance up to the fall.   Here's the post from earlier this Spring when we got all doll'd up and went to the rodeo-themed dance at Immanuel Lutheran School here in Elmhurst . For history's sake, here's some photos of the very first one of these that we went to back in 2013 .  Then, it was just Ellie and me.   And here's the Dance from 2014 . This year, we followed the same blueprint.  I bought both girls some special wrist corsages, we went out to a special dinner at Francesca's in Elmhurst, made a stop in the photo booth (see pic below), at a bunch of snacks and danced our hearts out all together out on the gym floor. I know that the girls really love these nights, but I know I love and cherish them even more.  I'm so lucky that I g...

Father's Day 2013 was filled with a lot of time with the people who matter most in our lives.  That means I get to feel special all day long as Nat and the girls spend all day with me and we were able to go visit the 'other' Dads in our lives. We woke up early and Ellie surprised me with a special project.  She has selected a dozen or so of her toys that she thought I'd like/mattered to me and with Momma's help, she froze them in a block of ice in layers.  Right after we woke up, we went out to sit at the picnic table in our backyard and worked as a team to break it apart.  SD and Ellie had their own tools! After we cleaned ourselves up, we got in the car to head down to Frankfort to visit my Dad.  We were able to have lunch with my folks and also my sister and two kids.  Look for the photos of that visit in the slideshow below. From there, we went over to Naperville to visit with Nat's Dad - or as Ellie calls him - Grandad.  (or...more lik...

Guess who loves pizza as much as her Daddy?   

Birthday's - for both Nat and I - are waaaay better now that Eloise is here to share them with us.  Back in April (I know...that's almost 2 months ago...) I turned 33 and Nat really went out of her way to make me feel special.  From my hand-colored Birthday Banner courtesy of Eloise to my very favorite combination dessert (Carrot Cake Cheesecake), I had such a great day!  Eloise even invited her cousins over to help me blow out the candles. (If you are reading this in your email and can't see the slideshow below, you need to click on the headline link in this email and you'll be able to see the photos.)

I had to spend some time doing work in Michigan, so all four of us (including Maisy!) snuck up to Coloma for a few days last week.  Because it is before Memorial Day, it was still quiet up there and we were able to enjoy a quiet morning on the lake.  Just Daddy and Daughter.  In our pajamas. It was one of the best mornings.  Ever.

It was only 10 days ago that we shared with you a photo of Eloise with her first ever lollipop - which (a little embarrassingly) was given to her in Church.  As you'd imagine, she loved it and we were only too happy to try to give her another one.  On one of our trips to Menards for landscaping supplies, Nat noticed a package of Saf-t-Pops .  You know the kind: they have the loop of rope instead of a stick.  We all likely got them after getting shots at the doctor's office when we were young. Although Daddy couldn't be happier in Menards, Eloise on the other hand wasn't thrilled with our shopping trip.  So, the lollipop purchase was both strategic (making her happy on the drive home) and long-term (a whole bag means that there are plenty of opportunities to make Eloise happy over the coming months.) But...did she like them?  Well, I think the photos tell the story here:  she LOVED them.  The only downside?  They create A LOT of stickyness....

Posted on Jake's Blog here first. Coming home from class two nights a week, I get to barely see the babe before she's off to **bed** for the night.  (I'm using 'bed' loosely.  It really is a bassinet at the side of our bed and she's in and out of it throughout the night for feedings and changings and what-not.) It is a wonderful feeling to come home to a family and one that makes me race home safely each night.  When I do get to spend some time trying to get her to sleep we share a little song together.  One that was pointed out to me by my good friend Neil as a good lullaby.  He was right.  It's a good daddy/daughter number.  For all those dads out there, hopefully you can share this with your babe's too!