20 Weeks Update! {halfway there}

This week's artwork provided by Ella.

How far along: 20 Weeks!!! Halfway to meeting our baby!

Size of baby: Size of a mango!

Maternity clothes: Maternity pants and comfy shirts. And leggings all day everyday at home!

Stretch marks: Just the first ones from the original gangster, Ella.

Sleep: Sleeping great!!! So thankful that Ella sleeps all night in her crib in her bedroom!

New symptoms: Still fighting a sore throat. And a jolt of pain when I bend over if I'm sitting straight up and down. I think I'm pinching a nerve. Ouch. 

Fun moments this week: Finding out our sweet baby's gender, who can officially be referred to as Cora Jane from here on out!! It's a GIRL!! I wanted a girl SO bad! So I couldn't believe that it's a girl!!! 
On Thursday morning we went to my doctor appointment to find out the gender, but instead of finding out, we had the ultrasound tech write down the gender and put it in an envelope! We decided not to find out and wait until we revealed the gender with our family later that evening!! So we had the envelope in our possession from 12:00 to 6:00 and we DIDN'T open it!! So hard, but SO worth it!! 

I decorated a cardboard box the night before and we brought the box and the sealed envelope to a drug store in town. They filled the box with the corresponding color matching the gender! Purple for a girl, yellow for a boy. We went with an LSU theme this time around and it was so fun! 

We headed over to Nehemiah's Uncle Bubba, Aunt Sandra, and Grandmother's house to do the actual reveal, so Nene could be apart of it! We had everyone gather around, and we opened the box and we were all so excited & surprised that purple balloons came out!! Sweet Cora will be here in a few months!!! (Side note: My Great- Great Grandmother was named Cora. When I found that out, it confirmed my love of the name!! And we LOVE Cora Jane so we decided that her & Ella could share the same middle name! We love it! If we have another girl later, I guess we'll use Jane again!)

After the reveal we came back to our house and had dinner & cupcakes. Mr. John smoked a pork butt for us while we were at our appointment all day, Nehemiah made cole slaw, and we ate pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. They were DELICIOUS! Seriously, THE BEST.

Ella put on a show all night just walking around and being Ella. That personality is something else. haha
She's going to be a great big sister!! I cannot wait to see Ella and Cora together. Oh goodness, so much sweetness (and craziness) is headed our way and I can't wait!!!

Ella was so excited that she's getting a little sister!! Realistically, she is just excited about those balloons in this picture! Balloons are right up there with food for this girl, she lovessss them!

Family selfie before bedtime after the gender reveal!

 Thank you Aunt Jan for taking all the pictures and the video!!

Food craving: Just food. haha

Things I miss: Sleeping on my stomach!

Movement: Finally starting to feel some consistent movement! Sooo sweet!

Weight Gain: I think around 10 lbs...

Signs of Labor: No

Exciting Accomplishments this week: I finished Ella's gingerbread house this week! It turned out so cute! I am hoping to get some cute photos of her playing in it soon!

Looking Forward to: Tennessee Thanksgiving and we are in the SINGLE digits!!! Cannnnnnnnnnot wait!!!! Nehemiah is PUMPED about cooking a whole pig!! I am PUMPED about family time, the zoo, Pei-Wei, cooking, and gosh I could go on all day........

Random Update: Nehemiah will be at a BBQ competition next weekend and next Monday we're leaving for Tennessee for a week. SOooo... when we get home it will be Decemeber. That's the logic I used today when I persuaded Nehemiah to take our Christmas decorations down from the attic so we could start enjoying them ASAP and as long as possible! Thank you Nehemiah!! Ella & I had SOOO much fun decorating our house & especially decorating her tree in her room! The Barbie ornament's on the tree are mine. Grammy has bought Katy & I the collector Barbie ornament every year since 1992, I believe. I LOVE hanging them in Ella's room! Last year Grammy bought Ella her first Barbie ornament!! Can't wait to get this year's!!! AND NEXT YEAR CORA WILL GET ONE!

Hanging (and tasting... obviously) ornaments!

So much glitter and it makes my heart HAPPY.