Dario

Isabelle has an imaginary friend. Her name is Dario. It all started a week or so ago... she likes to play pretend on her play phones, she walks around pretending to talk to various people as she shops with her shopping cart or pushes a baby in a stroller and a little over a week ago she started saying "I need to call Dario" I said OK, I didn't know who she was talking about. Well the name stuck. She came to me and told me, "Dario is at work." So I asked her who Dario was and she said "My friend" I asked her is Dario a girl or a boy and she quickly replied "A girl and she is pink" Sometimes she tells me Dario has a hard time listening or that Dario needs a timeout.... It totally cracks me up. Every once in a while I will ask her who Dario is and she always says "My Friend" There isn't anyone we know with the name Dario.

Last night after we put Isabelle to bed, Freddie and I could hear her on the monitor for nearly and hour and a half talking and telling Dario this or that. This morning I told her that I wanted to meet Dario and she said "Oh she is taking a nap" I thought that was funny, but there have been times she lets me talk to Dario on the phone.

What a big imagination for such a little girl!

This could be a little too much information...

We are potty training... It has been something we have been encouraging for a while. Last week we started really getting her focused on potty training. Watching Elmo's Potty Time over and over again, talking about using the potty and rewarding her with stickers, treats and getting to wear a Pull Up with Cinderella on them if she doesn't pee in her diaper and uses the potty. She loves the treats, but really loves wearing the Cinderella underwear...that's what she calls them.

We have had some good days and some days were she doesn't even try at all. But today she told me each and every time she needed to go and we are so proud of her for trying. I bought her real underwear with Cinderella on them and she doesn't get them until she is much closer to being potty trained but she asks to see them everyday. Also since we are going to Disneyland in March, I keep telling her that if she can use the potty everyday like a big girl she will get to go meet Cinderella at Cinderella's House (That's what she calls Disneyland when we talk about it.) Lot of incentives! I am glad to have Cinderella as a bargaining chip with her.

Long Overdue....

My friend Amy (a fellow photographer) came and took some pictures of me and Isabelle for some practice...I realized that there weren't many pictures of me and Isabelle together recently since I seam to be the one always taking them. I'm not complaining, I love my hobby so I prefer to be taking the pictures. She took these before I cut off my hair, in case anyone is confused. I have been meaning to post these for a while and I felt like I had posted a ton recently so here they are!

Isabelle's photography....

Last night I went through Isabelle's camera and uploaded the recent pictures... I haven't done it since Christmas. Here are a few pictures she has taken recently. Enjoy!


I sent her on her first photo assignment and asked her to take pictures of all the rooms in the house and she did. Here is her room and our room.

Here she took some pictures of Grandma and Gramps.... I think she was trying her hand at the rule of thirds....

A picture of Daddy...she is real good at filling the frame....but sometimes she only focuses on the smile....
A self portrait....

This was funny, she recently got a new veggie tale movie as a gift and she of course loves it! She took nearly 50 pictures while watching this movie....too cute!

The latest....

The last two weeks have been a bit crazy with a few ups and downs. But overall things are going well in the Gallardo household...


In the beginning of December we discovered we were pregnant with our second child, we were very excited! Not long after, I started having complications with the pregnancy and had to have lots of tests done. We thought I miscarried, then when they confirmed that I hadn't miscarried they couldn't find the baby through ultrasound. After a few weeks of waiting we went back and they found a baby but the baby was measuring to small for how far along I was. A week later we went back and the baby had doubled in size! What a miracle! The doctor seams to think that our baby will be fine, although it is still measuring a little small. She thinks it will catch up sometime during the pregnancy. She has a theory as to why our baby was so small but that is another blog, it is a long story but makes perfect sense. We are prayerful that God is watching over our little baby! I am 11 weeks this week and we are due mid August.

We didn't say much to Isabelle, because we didn't think she would understand not being able to see the actual baby and we didn't know what to say when we were going through the low times last month. She was VERY sweet and asked me all the time how I was, she could tell that something was wrong. Many times she brought me her favorite dolls or toys to snuggle up with and many times she would just put her head on my shoulder and pat me. She is such a sweet girl and I am so thankful for her! This week when we knew that things were looking more clear that things were going to be OK with this pregnancy, We asked Isabelle if she wanted a baby brother or sister and she said "YES! I want a pink one!" Every time we ask her, the answer is the same. She adores babies and is going to make a great big sister!

In other news, Freddie has started a new diet in hopes of lowering his blood pressure and he is doing great and feeling even better, we are so proud of him for taking care of his health!

Isabelle is just as cute as ever...saying the cutest things and keeping us on our toes and we love it! Here are some pictures from the last two weeks.

Isabelle and her buddy Lexi

I know, I know....

I've been getting a bit of nagging cause I haven't updated in 2 weeks. Things have been busy around here and I will post later this weekend, I promise!

I hope that everyone is doing well!

When It Rains...It Pours!

The last couple of days have been exciting at the Gallardo Household...Starting Thursday night a huge storm came into Sacramento. With High winds keeping me up all night. The following morning, the storm came at full force, with winds gusts up to 70MPH. Knocking over 1/2 of our backyard fence on all three sides. We also have a leaky window that we thought we fixed last summer and ANTS!!! I hate ants! It is nice and calm at the moment but the next storm is about to roll in after lunch. Good times! It has been a little overwhelming, but we would take having to fix the entire fence, then having to deal with a tree through our house, which is the case for several families in our area.

Here is a picture I took yesterday of one side of the fence...since then the remainder of the fence has fallen both in front of the camera and behind where I was standing to take this picture.

On a much lighter note... Isabelle is doing great! She is facinated with all the excitement and loves ants! I took some pictures of her this week and thought I would share them with you! I hope that you all stay safe and dry!

More Christmas Fun and New Years....

We drove up to Reno to spend a few days with my Family to celebrate Christmas. We made it over the mountain just in time to miss a big storm....

The first day we were there my Grandma and Gramps came to have a special after Christmas, Christmas dinner. My Mom made a yummy ham dinner and Isabelle, Freddie and I got to open Christmas gifts from Grandma and Gramps. That was fun! Isabelle was so excited! The very first thing she opened was a shopping cart, it is her size but looks like the real thing. She wasn't interested in much else for a while. She LOVES her shopping cart!

The next morning we woke up to snow. The yard was beautifully covered in a fresh blanket of snow! It melted away by lunch time which made it all the more fun! That morning we woke up to more presents from Nana and Pops. Isabelle was beside herself...she certainly is a blessed little girl. Nana and Pops had lots of goodies for her but she kept wanting to see what was under the blanket... It was a pony with a pink blanket. Isabelle has been telling Pops many times over the last several months, that she wanted a pink pony. He remembered! Between her tricycle, shopping cart and pony she is one happy girl!

Isabelle and Nana enjoyed baking cookies together, something My mom has been looking forward to ever since Isabelle was a baby. My mom makes some of the best cookies ever!

We spent another day there with more special time with Grandma and Gramps and then Freddie and I left for 2 nights to celebrate New Years in Tahoe! We had a wonderful time playing in the snow and enjoying time with friends! The weather was perfect!

Isabelle enjoyed ringing in the New Year with Nana, Pops Grandma and Gramps, she had a special hat, and noise maker and a special glass just for her with apple juice. They even took her to build a bear earlier in the day for the first time, she made a pink bear she calls Cinderella, of course.

When we went to pick Isabelle up she was happy to see us, (So were Nana and Pops, they had a blast but were exhausted) as soon as we got in the car she wanted to go back with Nana and Pops. Needless to say she had a great time!

We hope that you all had a wonderful and safe New Year's!


Happy Birthday to Grandpa G, his Birthday is on New Year's Day, we hope that you had a great Birthday!



Christmas with Grandma and Gramps....





Christmas with Nana and Pops...



Making cookies....


Issy's pony...


Ringing in the New Year....