The Parrillo Family

This is what 6th grade, 4th grade and 1st grade looks like for Eloise, Sadie and Frankie.  Look at those BIG smiles.  This year, our kids are back in what I'm calling 'normal school'.  And we're so grateful for that.  We're grateful for being able to take the bus to/from school, staying a full, normal day, eating lunch with their friends and being kids.  Sure, they're wearing masks and staying safe, but it feels so nice to have some normalcy in these three lives.  We're also so happy that Nat is back at SMG working as a 2nd grade aide.   They've navigated this period of time incredibly well.  That's thanks to Nat.  But, these three kids are smarter, stronger and more resilient today than they were when COVID started.  Hard to believe all three kids are on the same schedule.  And that we have both a middle schooler (eek!) and a first grader (wow). Oh...and they're not the only ones smiling today.  So am I!  So happy fo...

2021 was supposed to be the first year of Nat looking after SMG's (where our kids go to school) annual fundraising event.  It traditionally takes the shape of a black-tie(ish) gala with dinner, dancing and a big live auction.  But...being the season we're in (Thanks, COVID), the school had to pivot.  And, Nat was in the captain's seat to help deliver a world-class outcome for our kids and their school.  She worked with her team to dream and execute a whole new "New Normal" fundraising event that not only raised a ton of money for the school, but also rallied the SMG community in a whole new way. Today is the final day of this new week that Nat created called We are ONE.  Here below is Nat and the kids all proudly wearing their We are ONE tshirts.  She couldn't plan the big, fancy event.  But, Natalie did was she does best:  stayed calm, worked together and made the world a little bit better today than it was yesterday.  I'm proud of her....

The tans tell the story of a great Summer, but all good things have to come to an end.  And today, that Summer has come to an end with the girls going off to St. Mary of Gostyn school for their first day. Eloise is in 4th grade. With Ms. Zinnie.   Sadie is in 2nd grade.  With Mrs. Nolan - who Eloise had. Here's photos from the same day last year.   What a change! Frankie's turn is coming up soon.  

My, how much she's grown.   That's her, on her very last day of 2nd grade.   Here, below, is her on her first day of 2nd grade last fall.  Remarkable the change, isn't it?  Same outfit, but tighter sweater and shorter skirt! Eloise has always been a good student.  But this year?  She really excelled.  Between a great place at SMG and a really great teacher, Eloise's growth over the school year has been remarkable.  I'm so excited to see her grow.  And I'm excited to see her spend some down time this Summer. Here she is, down by the curb, waiting for the bus on the final day:

Just a few days ago, Sadie went off to Kindergarten for the last time .  Today, she is a Kindergarten Graduate!  Here she is, in her gold gown, entering the Church at St. Mary's for the ceremony. Sadie is still her loving, caring, silly self.  But she's also now becoming a kid.  She loves her friends, her teachers and also nature and animals.  She cares about her siblings and always wants to make people happy.  This was her first year at SMG and she certainly made her mark.  And her brain?  It is growing leaps and bounds.  I already told you this month about all the reading she's doing. But she's also so creative.  I'm so proud to be her Dad and to see her conquer this milestone of Kindergarten Graduation. It was only two years ago that Eloise hit the same Kindergarten Graduation milestone.  She was, however, at Immanuel Lutheran in Elmhurst.  Here's the photos from that day in 2016 . Along with a few of her fellow cla...

Yep!  She's a first grader.  And, a St. Mary's of Gostyn Viking to boot.  There's just so much cuteness and special in this photo that I can't help but smile along with my big girl. Eloise is such a great kid and she is being so brave in taking on this new challenge of going to a brand new school (with uniforms!) in a brand new place (Downers Grove!) all on her own. Just like her Mama, she's carving a path in the wilderness that her siblings will draft behind.  And she's doing it all with a smile (and some tears!) and more courage than I could ever have. Ellie....we love you so much and are so excited to see you take on this new adventure at SMG!

In addition to the video I posted yesterday showing our baby(!!!) Eloise getting her Kindergarten diploma and graduating to become a first grader, we took a bunch of photos (as sentimental parents are wont to do!) Although she (technically) had a few more days of school, the folks at Immanuel Lutheran School in Elmhurst held the Kindergarten Graduation last week on Thursday.  It was a perfect night and the program couldn't have been better.  The kids sang, we laughed, and I might have shed a tear or two thinking about what our Eloise has become:  a big, confident, kind, curious young kid. And she has changed this year.  Grown up. A lot!   Just look at the photos on the blog here showing her first day of Kindergarten last fall .  She was so excited.  And I tell you what:  she's learned so much.  She's a reader!  A serious reader.  And Nat has a ton to do with that.  Nat is a reader and she's made sure to be dedicated to Ell...

As part of Ellie's Kindergarten graduation her entire class stood up one at a time (or two at a time) and recited a line about what they learned this year. Here's what the full sheet looked like with Eloise's line highlighted.  It reads:  "There are 5 oceans.  Pacific, Atlantic, Indiana, Arctic and Souther Ocean! And, guess what?  She nailed it!  The audio is real low, but if you turn your speakers up and listen real closely, you'll see Ellie pop up in the back row and belt out her line perfectly. If you are reading this in your email and can't see the video of Ellie saying her Oceans line above, click here to watch the video .

So...this happened last week.  We have a First grader!  More photos and details coming in a full post. If you are reading this in your email and don't see the video above of Eloise getting her Kindergarten diploma, you can click here to watch the video on the site .

Eloise has learned quite a bit during her year in full-day Kindergarten, but one of her little, secret talents that she's picked up is her ability to traverse the Monkey Bars!  SD isn't the only one who is brave in our family !  We went over to the playground at her school this weekend and she decided to show off: (If you are reading this in your email and you can't see the video below, click here to watch it.)

We took all three kids to the wonderful Easter Egg hunt at their school this weekend.  We've been to a few different Egg Hunts over the years.   Here's photos from 2011 when Eloise was not quite 2 years old.  It was out at Wilder Park in Elmhurst and it was total chaos.  Parents were literally 'boxing out' on other kids so their own kids could gobble up a bunch of eggs.  Other years, we've had an Egg Hunt at our house, like in 2012  and 2013 with the kid's cousins . Last year, Nat discovered that the girls' school was having their own Egg Hunt, so we went.   There are a few photos of Eloise and SD and their friends here on this post . This time, we decided to skip the 'town' version of the Egg Hunt and just focus on the one at school.  With Easter this year not really happening due to travel of cousins (or permanent living abroad!), this was going to be our one big Elmhurst hunt! We got there early and the girls scoped out a good spot t...

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'.