Thanksgiving, Shower, Cradle, Etc....

***** WARNING: SUPER LONG POST *****

We have had an extremely busy couple weeks, and I apologize for not having an update on here sooner! Steven has been working crazy hours and been in the field quite a bit…so by the time Thanksgiving came around, he was ready for a break! We were anxious to get to Fort Wayne to see family and spend some much needed time relaxing. We left Wednesday evening when Steven got off work and drove the 7 hours home that night. I expected there to be so much traffic the day before Thanksgiving, but we made it home in record time with no hitches!

My mom and I spent Thursday cooking like crazy and having some much needed girl time in the kitchen together…we always have so much fun! Meanwhile, Steven and my dad worked on his new “Man Room” by putting up cabinets and tiling the top for dad’s new wine area….wish I had pictures…forgot! Both of my parents have gimp wrists….mom broke hers slipping and falling on a deck at camp, landing full on her wrist, and my dad has had wrist issues forever and recently hurt it again. Anyway, they needed our help to pull together the food and lift cabinets…I think that’s the only reason why they invited us up! J just kidding, mom! We did have a great time, and we realized that this was the first time in ten years that I’ve been home for Thanksgiving! When I went away to college, we always had volleyball matches over the break, and same with my time at UK and in Georgia. It was so nice to be home!

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday so that most of our family would be able to come and avoid the conflicts with other family Thanksgivings. It worked out perfect! Around 10am, we went to my dad’s school and had a huge volleyball match with the family. The Quance family has some serious volleyball players, my aunt Carol and I both played in college, my cousin Brittany was a high school state champ, cousin Melissa was a great high school player, my mom and cousin Andy were/are current coaches, and my parents, brother, aunts/uncles, other cousins, have all been around the game so much that they’re all really good! We’re talking serious volleyball here…rules apply and everything! It’s really a sight to see!

We headed back to my parent’s house around noon and had dinner all ready to go! The feast was amazing, as usual, and we all ate too much! After dinner, my sister and sister in law threw me a fun baby shower. It was mostly family and close family friends, we had such a good time. Thanks so much ladies! Baby is now fully geared up and ready to rock when he comes!

We left Saturday afternoon to come home, Steven had Staff Duty on Sunday and was then in the field all week. This past weekend we got a lot of stuff done around the house, including the cradle! We put the lacquer finish on it and set it up in the nursery. It is so beautiful, and we are so thankful that mom Terry kept it and passed it down, and that mom Sue made the gorgeous bedding!

33.5 weeks

Family Picture
L to R: Anna and fiance Scott, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Quance, Sarah and Greg, me and Steven.

Too many in the kitchen!

Delicious Desserts: I think I had a little of them all!

The dinner plate. so yummy!!

Ladies at the shower. Thanks everyone so much!

Baby got so many wonderful things this day, we are truly spoiled! These are just a couple pictures of some heirloom gifts. My mom made these bumpers/bedding for the cradle. It is so beautiful! My mom is seriously talented! Thanks Mom, we love it!

This Bible ABC book was given to us by my Grandma Dowling. It used to be my dad's book, and I have vivid memories of my grandma reading it to me as a little girl. I'm looking forward to watching our baby read it with his Great-Grandma Dowling one of these days!

Pin the diaper on the Balloon! I think Susie and I came in a close second place to my Aunt carol and Melissa.

Our Nursery. We love it so much!

Cradle Assembly Begins.

Steven putting it together.

So pretty and it matches the nursery perfectly!

Tying on the bumpers.

All Done!

It's a little cramped in there right now, but I don't think Baby will care.

Daddy to be enjoying some time in the baby's room. He is going to be such a wonderful father!

Getting the baby monitor all set up...that thing is amazing!

Baby Shower

Our friends here in Clarksville threw us an awesome couple's baby shower last weekend. We had such a great time and we are sincerely thankful for all the food, fun, and gifts for baby! I did not remember to take my camera, but thankfully Holly and Erin took some great ones. I did not get a picture of the wonderful hostesses, but Thank You so much Erin, Holly, Mary, Lisa, and Regan.

Erin pinning on a pretty corsage. You girls are too sweet!

Daddy and Mommy to be!

What Are Little Boys Made Of? Snakes, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails!

The Nursery Rhyme theme was so adorable! The girls made these huge cupcakes (that were delicious, by the way) and decorated them themselves...that's right...they should go into business together!

The gorgeous and delicious food table!

The Meatballs had toothpicks that say "It's a Boy!"

Some mingling before the festivities began.

Upstairs decor...so cute!

Theresa, Sarah, and Jenny

Pete and Deena, our friends from Lexington, they came all the way down to spend the weekend with us. Thank you guys! It was so great to visit with you!

Jenny and Nick

Some of the Hostesses, Mary, Regan, and Holly. Behind the couch are our friends Chris and Emily who came up from Nashville!

Holly and Chris

Playing Games!

Reading cards.

Opening gifts. Thank you all so much for everything! You totally spoiled us and baby!

Diaper Changing Pad! Steven just realizing the smelly side of being a Dad...get ready, Honey, you're in charge of the stinky ones!

Family Heirloom

We had gorgeous weather this weekend in Tennessee, and Steven and I spent quite a bit of time outside working on our baby cradle. We are so excited to have this cradle; it is the same one that he, his sister, Alicia, and his brother, David all used as babies. Steven’s mom, Terry, gave it to us when we were out in Washington this past April after talking about starting a family! We recently had it stripped of its old stain and polyurethane so we could start from scratch and refinish it. Here are a few before and after….well, more like before and middle, because we’re not done. We’ve sanded and put the first two coats of stain on it, but you’ll see we haven’t stained the bars yet on most of the sides or put on the lacquer finish. Anyway, we are so excited about the color and how it’s going to look when we’re done.

Also, to make this a super unique family heirloom…my mom is making special bedding for the cradle. We picked out some gorgeous white eyelet fabric when they came down to visit in September! Mom made fancy bedding and bumpers…and we can’t wait to see it!!! We hope that one day we’ll be able to pass it down to our kids, the cradle from Grandma Reynolds and bedding from Grandma Dowling! How cool!

Lacy loved being outdoors with us too. She just chills in the front yard while we work! The neighbor kids love to play with her, so they’re over all the time running around in the front yard. Fall colors are some of my favorite, and the mums on my porch are so pretty this time of year, and the berries on our holly trees in the front just turned red. Love the Fall!

Pre-Sanding and Staining

After the first two coats of stain

Halloween Fun

I'm 31 weeks today!! crazy how fast this pregnancy has flown by! I'm still feeling good, let's hope that keeps up!
We've had a busy couple of weeks. Steven has been working lots of long hours lately, and he's in the field this whole week...can't wait to see him Friday afternoon! I've been pretty busy at work, too, which is nice. My boss is in the process of trying to find someone to replace me, so it looks like my last few weeks here will be training someone else. I'm kinda going to miss this job!
Last Thursday my small group bible study ladies and I volunteered at the Nashville Zoo. We passed out candy to the kids and manned a few booths...it reminded me of when my family used to volunteer at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. We had a great time!

30.5 weeks


The Witches! We met at the church and drove down together. Fun Fun!!

L to R: Theresa, Jenny, Jenae, Sarah, Kelly
Sorceress Theresa

Sarah

Kelly

Jenny

Me

Jenny in our scary trees booth at the zoo...we passed out M&M's.

Sarah, Kelly and Theresa at their booth. They handed out kazoos...who wants a kazoo on Halloween?? I guess the zoo thinks that's a fun treat...maybe that's the trick...no candy.