The Final Stretch

Here I am at 36 weeks pregnant. Now I'm a few days shy of 37 weeks, which means I am full term. Yahoo! I keep hoping maybe baby will decide to come a bit early, but Doc seems to think he'll come right about on time. Daddy Doc also would prefer this, as it would work best for us all, I'm just being a bit selfish in my hopes. Doc also estimates baby to be born at around 7 1/2 to 8 pounds, which I was also somewhat selfishly hoping our baby would be a tiny little thing that just came out all smiles and rainbows. Oh well! At least he isn't likely going to be a ten pounder, says Doc.

I wanted to record some moments of my pregnancy, before I forgot about them. First of all, I have to say, being pregnant has been an amazing and unique experience. I'm sure I've already said that before. And even though I really don't like being pregnant per say, I am very greatful that I have been able to have this experience. One of the most amazing things about being pregnant is how much it unites you with other women. You know, a good chunk of the world will have this experience at some point in their life, yet it is such a unique and intimate thing, and you almost feel like its never happened before, but its so common at the same time. Its amazing to have something in common with so many strangers, and I have noticed women are very eager and open to share their experiences with you. This can be good or bad. I have heard a lot of scary stories. Ha ha! But it is kind of bonding in a way too. Its also funny to me how all of the sudden all modesty and privacy about your body also goes out the window. Its like talking about cracked nipples and how far dilated your cervix is is like sharing recipes or recommending a new movie. But the most interesting thing about it to me, is that even though we all share in this common experience, no two people have the same story to tell.

Luckily, after hearing many horror stories, I can say my pregnancy hasn't been that bad. Not that I have enjoyed it by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't complain too much.

In addition to scary things I've had people tell me, I have had some pretty dang funny comments too.

One of my friends little 4 year old boy asked me, "Laurie? So that baby in your belly, How does he come OUT?" Hmmm.....well....uh...... ha ha. Luckily his mom was there and we both kind of gave him the very basic version of the story. He looked at us, wide eyed with look of disgust and said, " Whoa. Thats WEIRD." You're telling me kid!

Another little girl in primary who is about 5 or so said to me, "You have a baby in your belly!! Can you take him out before church is over?" To which I replied, "No, he is still to little, he needs to stay inside." Then she said, "When you take off your belt, are you still fat?" Me, "Yep, Unfortunately." Her, "What about when you put on your jammies at night? Then are you still fat?" Ha ha! I think this is the first time i have ever been called fat. Luckily I didn't take it too personally and I got a pretty good laugh out of it. Man I wish this was just a fat suit I could unstrap at night.

Perhaps the most comical comment came from a truck driver at work. Now not to stereotype, because there are a lot of very nice truckers that have very good people skills, but this particular trucker did not happen to fall in that category. I was filling out some paperwork for him and I stood up. He obviously hadn't noticed my "fat suit" previously and was struck speechless, until he said, totally seriously I might add, " Oh my, you're overweight." Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not the right term for my condition dude.

Now I shall leave you with one last amusing story. I told my friend Tasha this story and she made me promise to put in on my blog. So one night Clint and I were taking a nap together on our couch. (We have made a bad habit of falling asleep on the couch after dinner) And all of the sudden Clint wakes up and touches his hair, which is wet. He is a little confused and says, " Why is my hair wet?" In my state of sleepy delirium my first response was "Oh my gosh! Did my water break???" Well nope. It turns out I had just been drooling in his hair. HA HA HA. I don't know why I would have thought my water had broken and only gotten his hair wet, but I did. I'm telling you I get a little kooky when I am prematurely awoken from a nap.

Well thats all for now for my pregnancy memoirs. Wish me luck! Baby Boy Allred's arrival is just around the corner.

Here's to you, 2010!

2010 was quite a monumental year for the Allred's. We had some new family members, entered new phases of our lives, and some very epic adventures. Lets take a moment to recap.....

We had some very lovely ladies join the Mackay-Allred clan, just see for yourself!


McKinlie was born in January to my brother Nephi and his wife Shandie. She is just as cute as can be and we love her so much!


Clint's sister, Angela also gave us a new niece in August, little Amelia! What a cute girl!


And I was luck enough to get a new sister in law this year! What a bonus! Kimberly Gochnour married my brother Clayton in August and we couldn't be happier about that. Kim is already one of the girls and fits right in with the family. Clayton did a good job picking his wife!

New faces....And new places. Clint and I took a little trip up to Niagra/Toronto in the Spring
And then a month later we took our first "Big" trip to Costa Rica. It will always be one of our favorite trips. We loved every minute of it! (Well I could have done without some of the crazy bus rides....)
We also found out in March that we would be staying in Ohio for Clint's residency, so we are already looking forward to the Spring when we get to see more of this guy:
One of the biggest events of 2010 for us was Clint's graduation from Medical School. What a huge accomplishment this was! And with graduation, a new phase of life. After being a student nearly all his life, Clint started his residency in June and that has and will continue to be one of life's greatest adventures.

But without question, our biggest adventure of 2010 was this little guy:

Little Baby Boy Allred added quite a lot of excitement and anticipation to our year. And of course being pregnant for the first time is quite the expireince in and of itself. Its been amazing and hard at the same time, but we wouldn't trade the chance to bring this little one into the world for anything. Of course being pregnant has been made a tiny bit better because I've had one of my best friends to commiserate with, my beautiful big sister Sarah. We are excited for both of our little boys to join the family in 2011.
We were very blessed this past year, and we can only hope that 2011 brings us as much joy as we experienced in 2010. Of course there were hard times this past year, but looking back, its the good things that really stick out. And this next year will be without doubt, one of the biggest adventures of our lives!