Little Fevers :(

Alexis has had a fever since Sunday night. She woke up at 1 in the morning crying and she was hot to the touch. Over the last couple of days I've been monitoring her temperature, giving her medicine, giving her warm baths, and making sure she is hydrated with lots of water and formula. I just found out today that she has another little tooth coming out next to her two bottom teeth, which seems to be the culprit of her fever. I am assuming it's the teething because it's happened before, but she also has been having a runny nose too.

Times like these I am so appreciative of certain products :)

Alexis is doing better. She has had a high temp of 102, which was the other day but it's been going down and coming back up periodically, nothing to be really alarmed about, yet. She has her 12 month Dr. Appt this Friday, so I will be checking with her Dr. to make sure I'm doing everything I should be about this fever, if it doesn't go away by then. I am really excited for her visit because I really want to know what her progress is with her weight and I have a ton of questions to ask about what her feeding should be like from here on out. I really want to know if I should continue with the formula or switch to whole cows milk as well as a ton of other stuff.

I know I need to post about her birthday. I promise that will come soon.

Moving At The End of The Month?

I figured I would blog about this now before the next week and a half is consumed with packing and spending time with my family.

Derek and I have moved a lot in the last 2 years. We moved from UT to Southern California for me to go to Law School, when that didn't work out we moved to Chico for a couple of months, then to Sacramento for 6 months and now I am in Southern California and we've been here for 4 months. This was supposed to be our last move. I'm from Southern California and this is where we wanted to settle and raise our family. Even though I do think it's crazy that we have moved around so much the last two years, I know that this move is going to be the best thing for us right now.

I have a great job. Alexis loves being around my family and they love being able to see her everyday. However, Derek has better job opportunities and growth in Utah at the moment and as a family we have to do what is right for us. Both Derek and I have to have good jobs, not just me. Even though I am heartbroken to leave California I do feel that this is the best thing for us right now. California's economy right now is really bad and if we could ride that out living in Utah for 5 years I know that we can come back and be in a better place later.

Derek has been working in Utah for the last month. I put in my two weeks notice at my job and my last day will be next Tuesday. I am so extremely sad to be leaving my job. Creative Solutions for Hope is such a great company to work for. I loved working as a behavioral therapist, especially for this company, my supervisor and the rest of the therapist on my teams are so great, and my kiddos are amazing. I loved being able to use my psychology degree and do a job that I really love. I've looked into being a behavioral therapist in Utah, but it would be a serious pay cut and it just wouldn't be worth it at this point. Also, as much as I love my job it does suck that I have to work weekends. Especially now that Alexis is one I want to have weekends as our time to go out and do things as a family, especially since she will probably start walking within the next couple of months.

I am especially sad to be leaving because Alexis spends so much time with my parents and my brothers. In Utah Derek and I don't have any family, so Alexis will not be near any family and that makes me sad. It especially makes me sad because I want her to continue to be super close to my family and it has been so nice to have my mom and dad to also speak Spanish to Alexis and not just me. However, I will definitely be coming down to visit at least once a month and will be sure to make plans for my family to come out and visit us. Especially with Alexis' cousin being due in July, I want them to be as close as possible :)

Derek came down this weekend for Alexis' birthday party(which I will blog about in a separate post). Derek took a ton of our stuff with him back to Utah yesterday. Alexis and I will be flying out of LAX next Wednesday. We are flying from LAX to Las Vegas and from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. I am so glad not to have to do the drive to Utah. Alexis was so perfect for her first flight I hope that for these next two she will be just as perfect :)

That is all for now. I will post about Alexis' 1st birthday in the next couple of days. I have my brothers high school graduation on Thursday and work the rest of the week, so hopefully I will post sooner than later.

Alexis is a Toddler!?!?

It feels weird to think of Alexis as a toddler. But that is what she is now, she is officially a year and a day old :)

Well even though yesterday was her birthday, we didn't have anything planned since we will be having her birthday party this Saturday. However, my dad called yesterday and wanted to have dinner. He decided to order some food to bring to the house and we all had dinner together and we watched the game. Alexis loved the food and had a great time spending her birthday with my parents and her uncles :)

My dad left and me, my mom, and my brother Alex went to Target and Party City to buy the plates, napkins, balloons, and candle for Alexis' birthday party. I can't even tell you how happy and excited I am about her birthday party.

Alexis' dress and her high chair banner came in the mail today!!! They are so unbelievably cute! I will also be picking up the shoes in Orange County on Wednesday. Here are some pictures of the wonderful packages I received today.

I think the headband is really cute but headbands don't really stay on her head because of all the hair she has, I swear headbands are for bald babies. It's a clip on a headband, so if I want I can just take the clip off and use it on it's own but I feel like it looks really big without the headband. We'll see what I end up deciding on that.

Also here is a picture of the invite! I blacked out my information and the address of the party for privacy reasons.

I'm beyond excited for Alexis' birthday and so happy that everything is coming together perfectly.

There are several traditions that I want to uphold and some that I (we) want to start with Alexis. My mom always on the morning of my birthday woke me up playing Las Mananitas, it is a song that people play for birthdays as well as other occasions, mostly birthdays though. I didn't really think much of it growing up, I enjoyed the song and know it by heart lol because I've heard it so much. Playing this for Alexis on the morning of her birthday is a tradition that I want to keep. I played it for her this morning, she woke up and went back to bed lol I think she liked it. I also want to start the tradition of writing her a letter on her birthday every year, maybe till she turns 18. I wrote her a letter and sealed it in an envelope for her to open when she turns 18, along with the other ones she'll have.

I went back and read through my belly book and my birth story :) I love having the belly book to look back on and for her to look at and read all of my feelings and what I was going through when I was pregnant and I also love the idea that she will be able to read her birth story someday.

I still can't believe she's one, but I'm excited to continue to watch her grow. She is so beautiful and smart :) I love my Alexis Claire "Bear" Hodges <3

Happy Mother's Day

I had to work today, had one session in Irvine. The session wasn't so bad and it was from 10:30 till 1:30 so I got home and spent time with Alexis and made some dinner with my mom and we all ate and are now just hanging out and watching tv :)

Derek is out of state so we aren't able to celebrate Mother's Day like we should, but I got a sweet message from him this morning :) and I can't wait to see him this Friday!

I've been a mom for almost a whole year, it'll be a year tomorrow actually, and I've loved every minute of it. I always knew that I would be a great mom. I've felt like a mom to my little brothers, especially baby, and I knew that it was going to make me an even better mom when I finally got to that point in my life, and that's exactly what happened :)

Alexis loves me and the look in her eyes when shes laying on me or when I just get home from work, tells me everything I need to know about what a great mom I am. I think it's funny that Alexis' birthday is the day after Mother's Day this year. I was born on Father's Day and was my dad's gift :) It would have been cute if she had been born on Mother's Day too, except not really because she should have been a June baby.

I had felt really stressed out for the last weeks about a ton of different things happening. One of them was planning Alexis' birthday, but now that that is all done It has helped calm my stress. I only need to worry about cake plates, napkins and balloons.

I spent yesterday morning booking flights. I booked a flight out of LA to Las Vegas and from Las Vegas to Salt Lake. I also booked a ticket for Holly from Reno to Salt Lake. I am so relieved to have them out of the way another stress lifted off my shoulders.

This week is going to be an exciting week. My dad wants to take all of us out to dinner tomorrow night, not sure why, maybe because it's Alexis' birthday tomorrow :) Then Saturday we have her birthday party! Derek will be coming in on Friday night and I'm so excited to see him! I don't have much planned for tomorrow, since the celebration for Alexis' birthday will be on Saturday. I'm thinking of taking her to the park if it's a nice day or maybe walk around the mall after or before dinner. She definitely won't be having cake tomorrow, we are saving that for Saturday.

Can you tell I'm excited for her birthday? lol.

Well I just wanted to share that. Enjoy!

Oh The Life of A Working Mother :)

I'm sure as most of you already figured out, today is Friday ;) I am so glad I have today and tomorrow off. I never have two days off in a row. Thanks to my Saturday session being cancelled, I get to have an actual weekend.

Yesterday was the longest day of my life it seems. I got up at 6:30 to feed Alexis and get ready for work. My mom had to work yesterday so she wasn't able to watch Alexis, so I asked my brother Manuel to watch her. So I got up early to feed her, to make things easier.

My first session started at 8 in Riverside so I had to leave around 7:30 and I had to stop and get gas. My first session was over at 10 and then I had a break until I had to be back with the same kiddo at 11:30 to 1:30. I came home on my break and ate something and hung out with Alexis, played with her, changed her, and fed her. My second session that was supposed to only go till 1:30 ended up going till 2:20, which is fine but my next session after that was at 3:30 in Rancho. My plan had been to go home and hang out with Alexis and just relax before my last session but that didn't really work out, there was traffic getting back home and I got home 20 minutes before I had to leave again. I had to do some other things too before I left for my last session. After hanging out at home for 20 minutes I head to my last session and I'm off at 6:30 and home by 7.

When I got home I fed Alexis, played with her, and hugged on her and just sat on the couch doing really nothing for an hour. I was starving and exhausted and didn't feel like taking the time to make food, so we went out to get food and bought it back home and ate. I watched The Office and Parks and Rec and then proceeded to go on a cleaning spree in the kitchen. I washed all of Alexis' bottles and things, washed the pans in the sink, got a disinfectant wipe and cleaned all over the sink, counter tops, stove, and even under and behind the microwave. I also got all the trash in the kitchen together and had that thrown away and put the recycling in the garage. I even did some laundry. My mom came by to pick up my brother, so I took a shower and came into my room and spent sometime bumping and listening to music. Alexis finally fell asleep and so did I.

Longest day ever right? Well the one bright side was that I got the proofs for Alexis' invitation(s) yesterday, right before I left to my last session. I thought I was going to like the B&W better because that's what her sample was and I liked the way it looked together, but I think it's because the colors she was wearing in the picture complimented the colors in the invite, so we are going with the color picture one. Either way I have both files for the B&W and color so I can print both of them for her future scrapbook, so she can see both of them.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, Mexican status, in Mexico and I believe maybe other Latin countries it is celebrated on the 10th. I planned on celebrating the 13th and not the 10th but I guess it's been decided for me that I would celebrate both lol. My dad called me in the morning and told me Feliz Dia De Las Madres and my older brother told me last night lol so I guess I'm celebrating both. My family can celebrate me on the 10th and Derek and Alexis can celebrate me on the 13th! Well my dad asked me what my work schedule was and I told him I was working all day so he said that we should find another day to go out and eat. So I called him last night and told him I wasn't working today and that him, me, and my mom (and of course Alexis') should go grab some lunch today :)

Today I will also be going and printing the invites out and getting them sent out. I'm not sending very many out we want to keep it small, Under 20. I'm inviting my parents and my little brothers, my dads girlfriend, my older brother and his girlfriend, my best friend Kathy, Magaly, Debbie, Amandalyn and her boyfriend, Rachel, and my IL's (who don't really seem interested in coming). I won't be sending out a lot of them because I live so close to certain people that I can just hand it to them. I do want to get those all out today though.

I'm excited because I'm been communicating back and forth with the people I ordered all the stuff from on Etsy and it looks like the high chair banner as well as the dress are shipping out today :))) I get to pick up the shoes in Orange County on Wednesday and now I just have to find a suitable candle :)

Well that is all for today :)

P.S. Alexis gives the most amazing hugs hands down, in the universe! She squeezed some tears out of my last night because even though she just started giving hugs, I am already sad for the day I won't be able to get these little cuddly baby hugs from her :(

Tomorrow Will Be 1 Week Till Lexi's Birthday!

Ah! I am sooo excited Alexis will be 1 next Monday!

I just finished ordering Alexis' birthday dress and shoes :))) Thanks to my Daddy Dearest who bought her her little birthday outfit as her birthday gift!

Here is the dress, that I have posted a million times.

I really really wanted these shoes.

They are so perfect but the turn around time was 2 weeks and I wouldn't get them on time :(

So I ended up going with these. They're cute, but I really loved the other ones better, oh well :)

I still have some more stuff to order tomorrow, like the birthday candle, banner for her high chair and the invitations. I can't believe I am sending out the invitations so late but it's not that big of a deal because I've already let everyone know the date and the invites are really just a formality and because they are so cute! Scrap-booking material :)

Also my daddy bought Alexis these cute little onesies, just Alexis' style :)They are 12 months so they won't fit her quite yet, she right now is in 6-9 months.

That is all I have for now :)

Miss Alexis

My little Alexis Claire Hodges/Lexi/Chica/Baby Girl lol will be 1 in 13 days! I seriously cannot believe it. She is going to be a toddler!!!

I said I needed to update about what she's been up to, so this is it.

What is she eating now?:
Well Alexis is eating her veggie and fruit solids and she is also having oatmeal and barley. She has been eating a lot more table food lately. She loves having beans, rice, and meat :) She's so Mexican lol She likes spaghetti and pasta soups. I've also given her pineapple,bananas and orange, not the purees but the actual fruit. She loves loves loves pineapple.

She is drinking water, we're not giving her juice or anything anytime soon.

Formula?
Well Alexis isn't really wanting to drink it. In the morning and at night she will drink 6oz no problem but through out the day she can barely have 4oz every couple of hours, she'll drink some of it but then just chew on the nipple and play with it. I feel like she's kind of over it. I know that it's normal to stop giving babies formula or breast milk when they turn 1 and switch over to whole cows milk, but I'm not sure if we should do that; I am waiting to speak with Alexis' doctor.

What new moves does she have?:
Well Alexis has been crawling for some time but she likes to crawl backwards lol and to the side a lot she only crawls forward a little bit. She can take some steps to the side and stand very well when she's holding on to something, like the couch. Alexis is definitely not walking yet, which is expected. It makes me a little sad only because I know most 1 years olds are either taking some steps and falling or actually full on walking. But at the same time it doesn't make me sad because the thought of her growing up does make me kind of sad and nostalgic, plus I know that because she was 3 weeks early and is super petite that she doesn't have that weight proportion to be there yet.

Alexis has become a crazy hugger, she holds super tight and lays her head on your shoulder and she is just so precious. She is also biting though, which hurts lol. She is so flexible too! (She gets that from me ;)) She'll bend forward and touch her toes and then stick her toes in her mouth lol and suck on them.

What is she babbling about?:
Alexis is "talking" a lot but not saying any specific words. Derek thinks that she is saying "daddy" but I'm pretty sure that's not true. Otherwise all those times she said "mama" would have been considered her first words. We'll see though, I think she is getting close to her real first word.

She is also drooling like crazy! She had her two bottom teeth and her two top teeth but a couple of weeks ago the two teeth on the side of her top teeth started coming in. It's really weird but when Alexis first started teething with the 2 pairs of teeth that first came in, she didn't cry very much but it seems like these teeth are hurting her even more, makes me sad. The baby Orajel has helped a little bit but I try not to use it unless she is really having a hard time.

How much is she growing?:
Alexis feels so much bigger now but I can't really give a good guess of what her weight is now. Last time at her 9 month appointment she was 14 pounds so I'd like to think she is at 18lbs but I think that is wishful thinking. I'm thinking more like 16lbs, which I hope is not the case.

Everyday Alexis looks more and more like me :) I love watching her grow and look older, she just has the cutest face. Also, I don't know if it's just me or what, but her eyelashes seem to be getting longer and longer. Also, Alexis has got to have like the most perfect tan I have ever seen lol, seriously!

I also love hearing from my mom that Alexis', aside from looking just like me, reminds her of me when I was a baby because of her little personality. She is just as sassy as I was.

What does she have coming up?:
Alexis' birthday is in 13 days! Her birthday falls on a Monday so we will be celebrating on Saturday the 19th. I will be getting the invitations this week and sending them out :) I have yet to get her ears pierced :( I'm super lagging it, I've been busy and have had other things to do so it's fallen by the wayside. Hopefully in May or June at the latest we will be getting her ears pierced :)))

Alexis has not gotten a haircut and I really don't want to cut her hair if I don't have to, so I don't think we'll be doing that anytime soon.

Alexis' 12 month doctor's appointment is next month, the week after her birthday. We were going to switch her doctor to one down here but decided against it. I really want to finish all her shots with Dr. Brown. So next month Alexis and I will be flying up to Sacramento for the day, really just a couple of hours. Her appointment is on a Friday, the day before my brother Alex has his high school graduation, and the day after her appointment I have a friend's baby shower and the day after that my brother's baby shower lol So much going on those 2 weeks in May! Derek won't be coming to the appointment with us because flights for him are super expensive, I have a credit for my flight so it won't be too expensive for me, so it will just be me and Alexis, I really wish he could be there though, he's never missed an appointment :(

What else is going on?:
Ever since Alexis was born I've had people up to now ask me if I want to have another baby and if I'm going to anytime soon? I remember the teacher in my old classroom in Sacramento asking me if I wanted more and if I wanted a boy next. Of course I [we] want more kids. I want 4, 2 boys and 2 girls lol, ideally.

I loved loved loved being pregnant and I miss it. It doesn't hurt that pregnancy was good to me :) except for the HELLP Syndrome part, hopefully that won't happen next time ;) However, even before we decided to get pregnant with Alexis we knew that we wanted to wait till Alexis was at least 2. I don't want 2 under 2. One under 2 and one over 2 is probably the perfect scenario.

Aside from the fact that our parenting plan has always been to wait for #2. I really want it to be just the 3 of us for a little bit. I want Alexis to have all our love and attention before be bring #2 into the mix. I want to do some traveling with my little girl and I would like for her to feel like she has gotten to be the only one for a little bit so that when I do get pregnant again she can appreciate the time we spent just the 3 of us and not feel jealous and be invested in her little sister or brother.

More importantly than all that I want us to be in a better financial situation as well as I need to lose some weight and get super fit. I know that with my first pregnancy I only gained 10 pounds, but I may not be able to get away with that next time. I've heard the second pregnancy you show quicker and that you usually gain more weight. It is hard to wait though when Derek tells me things like, "I'm excited to make another baby with you. I think we have the perfect family. Plus we make beautiful babies." lol I love that he is excited to add to our family once we are ready again :) Derek was amazing with me when I was pregnant; I felt loved, wanted, and safe. I feel sad for woman who don't feel supported while they're pregnant :(

I can't really think of anything else right now, but that's it for now. Enjoy!

Here is a picture of me and my girl :)