The Allred's Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas! This was the first Christmas Clint and I have spent in Ohio, and my first Christmas away from my family in Utah. Although we greatly missed being with our lovely families, we had a very nice relaxing time and enjoyed the last chance for a quiet Christmas just the two of us. Of course this just made us more excited about thinking what NEXT Christmas will be like!

The month of December was a particularly busy month for Clint's work schedule, but we did a good job of fitting in festivities and traditions that we have already established. One of our favorite traditions is that we read A Christmas Carol together. So after Thanksgiving we went and bought a nice copy that we will read for years to come. It is so nice to cuddle up together on the couch with a nice warm blanket and just read for a few minutes throughout the week.

We also carried on our tradition that we started last year and baked gingerbread houses. It makes the entire house smell like Christmas! Its a lot more work then buying a kit, but its part of the fun! Its also a good excuse for us to invite some of our good friends over and host a mini Christmas party.

Here is Clint hard at work. This year, being 7 months pregnant, by the time I had baked the gingerbread and made dinner for our friends I was pretty much pooped. So I really didn't contribute much to the decorating of the house. I think I mostly just sat there with a glazed look on my face. Ha ha! Clint said something to the effect of, "Our house turned out better last year because you let me do more to it this year." I wouldn't say that! But even though I was pooped I still had a fun time.

Another tradition we have is to go to the German bakery and pick up Lebkuchen, Clint's favorite Christmas cookie from his mission in Germany. I think this might be one of my favorite traditions, its so fun to go to German Village and Clint gets so excited to speak in German to the store owner. We have decided wherever we move, we will find a place that sells Lebkuchen so we can keep the tradition alive. Of course, we come home and eat it with a cup of cocoa and read some of our book. We also went to see the lights at the Zoo this year. It was really crowded, but we had a good time. Again, pregnant Laurie got worn out so we didn't stay as long as we probably otherwise would have, but the lights were fun. We both agreed they are not quite as majestic as the lights on temple square, but there are tons of them and they are synchronized to music, so its pretty cool.


These lights reminded us of our little family!!!
Christmas Eve was very relaxing, we had some yummy appetizers from old family recipes, Grandma's Crab Dip and Parmesean Cheese Puffs. And then we played games, read our story and had some dinner. We probably had a nap or two in there too. Since we weren't going to be with family this year, I wanted to really try to make our Christmas feel like home, and it did! The food was just like Moms. :)

Here I am enjoying a nice cup of spiced cider (Clint's one request) and some appetizers.


We decided this year to go to Midnight Mass. We figured since neither of us had ever been and we probably won't get the chance to go again for a long time why not? Staying up til midnight for me and Clint is pretty much impossible. So we went to bed at our normal time ( 9:30-10:00 ha ha! I know we are like senior citizens in so many ways) And set our alarm so we could make it. It was pretty cool to see and we both stayed awake the whole time! Hooray! But man, I think we both felt a little sleep deprived the next day...Better get used to that, right???

Above is our Christmas fire. Clint put it on his lap top while we had stuffed french toast and eggs for breakfast. He is a silly guy. From time to time he would get up to "throw a log on the fire" I love that boy.
Here is a family picture of the three of us and our tree! We are so thankful for this time of year. Even though it gets really busy, its so nice to take time and do things together, and of course to reflect upon the birth of the Savior. While we were listening to the 1st presidency Christmas devotional, drinking cocoa, snuggled up on the couch with our tree all lit up I just had one of those moments were you realize, this is as good as it gets. I am lucky to have such a good husband who sacrifices to spend time with me. And we are thankful for the knowledge that we have about that Savior, that really is what makes this time of year so wonderful. Hope you all had a great Christmas too!

Let the countdown begin! 30 weeks down, ten to go

So it seems this blog has turned into my pregnancy memoirs, but sorry that is just how it is. :) I will post some non pregnancy topics later. As for now, I have a mother who has demanded updated belly pictures. And being the ever obedient daughter I am, I am going to oblige her. And sorry I couldn't get a good one where my hair wasn't covering my face, but I'm not documenting the changes in my face, so I figured it didn't really matter. Now that I am in the third trimester, I am singing a different tune about pregnancy. Before I thought, this isn't sooo bad....well now I am retracting that statement. ha ha! It seems overnight my body has entered a new phase, full of aches, pains, fatigue and of course the lovely leg cramps. Yikes. But its still fun to feel our little guy squirm around. I am starting to get a little nervous about the reality of his upcoming arrival, but also very excited! Whenever I see a tiny baby I get excited, and I am reminded oh yeah! that is why I am doing this! We have also been getting things ready for our sons arrival. He now has nicer furniture, and probably nicer things in general, then me and Clint :) So now its just down to about 2 1/2 months until we get to meet this much anticipated member of the family. We have a few names narrowed down, but still nothing decided for sure. The important thing is that I have stopped having dreams that I was going to give birth to a kitten. (although I wouldn't be 100 percent disappointed about that! ha ha!) Thanks to all you dear friends and family who have shown us so much love and support. We have been blessed with the greatest support system! Anyway...I'll keep you all updated in the next two weeks leading up to his arrival!

24 Weeks!

Our baby boy is growing! And so is my tummy. Mom, this post is for you! 16 weeks to go! Time is going pretty fast. Our little guy likes to kick and wiggle and is very active. He also seems to have a pretty regular schedule. He wakes up around 6, goes back to sleep and then comes back with a ton of energy around 10 am. He is also really wiggly at night. He gets really excited when he listens to folk music like John Denver, Cat Stevens and Sufjan Stevens. Either that or he really hates it! Silly little guy. No name for baby, and we probably won't have one til he comes, but we are open to suggestions. Our favorite suggestion so far, our friend's 4 year old boy suggested we name him Cereal Gun. So far that is winning. ha ha!

West Virginia...Mountain Mama

Clint and I decided to enjoy the fantastic weather, and our last baby free fall and we went on a little day trip to West Virginia. The photo's don't do it justice. It was really quite breath taking. I love the fall! Crisp air, vibrant colors, a warm bowl of soup, the holidays around the corner...I love everything about the fall. Well except that it means winter is approaching! Ick! But I love taking road trips with my husband. We have had many little adventures the past 3 years... It seems our road trips always bring about reminiscing about past trips and anticipation of places we will see together in the future. The next trip we take we will have a baby boy joining in on the fun. :)

Its a Boy!

We are very excited that we will be having a little bouncing baby boy join our family in a few months. It was a lot of fun to get to see him in the ultra sound and to see how much he has grown since his first debut. I always suspected it was a boy! I wasn't surprised at all :) But we are very happy that we will have a son. I'm starting to realize now that I don't know much about boy things. Just last week I got chastised for calling a touch down a home run. So it will be an adventure! I think being the sunbeam teacher this last year to 6 little boys has helped prepare me for how adorable and rascally boys can be. I'm just glad I'm not having six little boys at once :)

Baby Bump

My first official documentation of my ever expanding waistline. Here I am at 17 weeks pregnant. I look like I just came out of the Chuch-A-Rama. Ha ha. My mother has been asking me for a picture of my belly so this one is for her! Too bad this isn't the end! Wouldn't that be nice if we only had to gain 5 pounds and give birth to a babies the size of avocados? Oh well I am happy to let my belly get bigger for Baby A. One of the funniest moments of my pregnancy was the first time I noticed I was showing. Its weird, because it was just like one day my belly poked out. I was asleep and very groggy on the couch, and pretty much out of it. Clint woke me up so I could go sleep in the bed. ( For those of you who know me, you know I can say and do very strange and often times violent things when I am woken from a slumber) Anyway, in a state of delirium, I said, "My baby HATES me!" Clint said, "What is the matter? Are you feeling nauseous? " To which I replied, "No! the baby is making me fat!" Clint, in his best attempt to reason with me, said in a very serious voice, " Honey! Listen to me! You are not getting fat. Your uterus is a muscle and it is expanding...." I think he may have continued talking scientific facts about the uterus.... Anyway I think I just looked at him like, "What in the world are you talking about?!" Clint doesn't understand that you can't reason with a woman with an expanding waistline. :)


So far the pregnancy is going ok.... except for the fact that I have pneumonia and have been sick for nearly three weeks now. Being pregnant + pneumonia is not a winning combination. But baby is growing right on schedule. Only a few more weeks and we will know if its a boy or a girl....stay tuned!

Our Exciting News

You guessed it! Clint and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting our first child this February 17th! We couldn't be more thrilled about it. We feel so blessed and lucky to be able to have the opportunity to be parents. I am about 14 weeks now, and Baby Allred is about the size of a shrimp, but we already love the little squirt. The first trimester was a bit of an adventure, we are glad to be done with that phase. And to make this event even more exciting....My older sister, Sarah, is also pregnant with her 2nd baby and due just 5 days after me. I have always wanted to have kids around the same age, and I am so excited to be having cousins so close together! We told my family together while I was in town for my brothers wedding. I think everyone was pretty shocked. Here's how it went down: Sarah made an announcement by holding up a onsie with the #4 (for the 4th grandchild) and then said, "Oh wait, I have the wrong one! This one is for Laurie!" And then I gave her onsie #5.
I am already getting excited about making fun and cute things for my baby. Here is my first completed project! I can't wait to find out what we are having so I can start making more fun things for baby. I have a feeling its going to be a boy, but only time will tell! Any predictions?

Congratulations Clayton & Kimmy!!!

This Saturday my wonderful older brother, Clayton married the beautiful Kimberly. It was quite a happy and joyful celebration for all! I am so happy I was able to come to town to share in this special event. I know my brother will be a great husband, and I already love Kim after just meeting her this week. I really believe that marriage is the greatest blessing, and I am happy that Clayton and Kim will have this blessing for all of eternity. Hooray Clayton & Kim!!!

Of course, the day was made even better because I got to see some of the people I love most in the world. Here are a few of those people:

The best thing I ever did!

Happy Anniversary to my fabulous husband! I can't believe its already been a year. Time really has flown right past us. I can honestly report, I have had the best year of my life and that I love my dear husband even more then the day I married him. He is always very kind, loving and patient with me. I could never have imagined married life to be so wonderful, but it has brought me so much joy and been such a great blessing in my life. I am excited to spend the rest of my life with this handsome boy! Here is to another year as great as this one!

He did it! He's a Doctor!

Hooray for my husband! He graduated this week from medical school and I couldn't be prouder. He has worked so hard and put so much time, energy and effort into achieving this goal. I don't know how he does it sometimes. That is one of the things I love most about Clint, he is a very dedicated and hard working person and is continually trying to progress in life. He is also very humble and quite modest, so I know he will be a bit embarrassed about me spotlighting him, but he deserves it. I don't know anyone who works as hard as he does. He has even been dubbed "The Worlds Most Efficient Man" by some of his buddies, because he never stops working. While I sat there at his graduation, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude that I was able to be part of this event in his life. I hope that in a small way I have helped him along the path of this accomplishment. Anyway! Congrats Clint! You will make a fantastic Doctor!

Costa Rica!

Clint & I had decided long ago to go on a big trip to celebrate both of our graduations, our almost one year anniversary, and to just get a chance to go somewhere big before he started residency. So we decided upon Costa Rica! And just look at that picture, can you blame us? We had a fabulous time from start to finish, and although we got a little soggy from a few rain storms, we still had a ball.
We explored Arenal Volcano, saw our first group of monkeys out in the wild, and were in awe of the beautiful variety of plants and animal life.
While exploring the jungle we happened to get absolutely drenched by a sudden rainstorm, but we still had fun. Next we took an insanely crazy, white knuckle bus ride to Monteverde, the Rainforest high up in the clouds. It was all worth it when you take a look at this:
The Rainforest was absolutely exquisite. It was probably our very favorite part of the entire trip. It was just such a unique place with plants and animals you never knew existed. It was quite a rush to see the animals in their natural habitat. Take a look at some of the beautiful plants we saw:
Not to mention these very nice birds we made friends with
While in Monteverde, we also became little explorers and went on a hike with a guide at night, with our flashlights, in the pouring rain to try and spot more wildlife. We spotted some frogs, tarantulas and a nice sloth, whose name was Dagoberto. The next day I conquered my fears and went on the zipline through the rainforest. While I was terrified the entire time, and shaking like a leaf, it was still a thrilling experience and I am glad I got up the guts to do it. Here we are, two little adventurers!
Our last stop on our trip was the beautiful Manuel Antonio.
It had been several years since I had seen the ocean. And what a site it is. The sounds, the smell, the feeling of the sand on your feet. I love the ocean! We stayed on a hotel right on the beach, so we got up at 5:30 everyday to go walk around while everyone else was sleeping. It was beautiful. We also spent a few days in the park looking for more critters.
We found some fury friends, and some not so fury friends

We loved our trip and we are so glad we were able to go. It was a real SPLASH!
I think this is my favorite picture from the entire trip. Clint was hiking off a bit to have me get a cool picture of him near the rock on the beach, when a huge wave hit him. Look at his face! Priceless! He sure is cute.


Our Tropical Bird Atlas

Above: Clint's good friend Cody met up with us

 Above: Action shot of Clint!

Below: Beautiful Scenery

 And more fun times and pictures. We had a blast!