15 Weeks

Now that I'm 15.5 weeks pregnant, I'm starting to feel 15 weeks pregnant and look pregnant, or a little chubby if you didn't know I was pregnant. In the first trimester I lost around three pounds due to the nausea and food aversions, but now I feel like I'm gaining a pound every day.

Since being pregnant, I've developed a taste for ice cream, much to Andrew's dismay and delight. (Andrew says he now understands why husbands gain weight when their wives are pregnant). I think I could have ice cream for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all snacks in between. I also am really enjoying cheese and Mexican food.

One Year Later

Andrew and I celebrated our one year anniversary the day after we arrived in Portland. I can't believe it's already been a year. How things change in a year. A year ago we were in China and didn't know how much longer we would be there. Today we live someplace completely different and are 3.5 months pregnant. I'm looking forward to many more years to come.

We had a great day together and celebrated with dinner at a local restaurant.. 

Portland we have Arrived

After a pretty smooth departure from China and our last international flight for awhile, we finally arrived in Arizona. It was great to see Andrew's mom, Deborah, and visit good friends before departing for Portland. We were only in Arizona for four days before departing on a three day road trip in the Tacoma hauling a packed 5x8 foot trailer. We left in the afternoon on Thursday and drove six hours to Las Vegas. On the second day we drove 11 days to Boise, ID. We finally arrived to beautiful weather in Portland after a 7 hour drive on Saturday. The first weekend we enjoyed a delicious brunch with our good friends Leon & Kevin and the next weekend we enjoyed a beautiful hike at the Columbia Gorge. We were thankful to enjoy a week of beautiful Portland weather before the rain started.

Pat

As I mentioned in the previous post, things are a changin' and I mean really changing... Andrew and I are expecting a baby. YAH! I'm due April 9, which makes me 15 weeks this week. 

While in Malaysia I found out that I was pregnant. Andrew found out a little later in the day and I'm thankful I thought to video tape it:

I'm thankful that so far my pregnancy has gone pretty well. For about a month between week 6-10, I didn't feel very well. I didn't have morning sickness, I had all day sickness. I was nauseous morning to night. I had trouble in China satisfying my food cravings and due to the restrictive diet recommended for pregnant women, eating out was difficult. It was difficult because you don't exactly know what you are eating in Chinese restaurants and since my Chinese is less than proficient, I couldn't ask about ingredients and MSG is served in almost all restaurants. 

We traveled to Hong Kong for my first trimester appointment. Intel recommends traveling to Hong Kong for prenatal care due to the lack of western medicine available in Dalian. My appointment was September 21, at 11 weeks and 3 days. The doctor was from Hong Kong, but trained in western medicine. While we were there we had an ultrasound. It was amazing to see our baby on a computer screen. The ultrasound was both 2D and 3D. Andrew was a little overwhelmed. He just started at the screen without any comments. 

Prior to traveling to Hong Kong I traveled for a week with my friend Kristin. I had fondly called our baby "The Babe;" however that didn't meet Kristin's standards. She decided that a unisex name would be more appropriate. She considered a number before deciding on Pat. So our unborn is now fondly referred to as Pat.

Andrew and I are very excited to be expecting our first child. It is a very exciting time. We can't wait for Pat's arrival.

Things are a Changin'

So the time has come; the Bain's are leaving China. Andrew's accepted a position in Portland, OR with Intel and we're relocating there. We have enjoyed our time in China, but are very much looking forward to returning to the U.S., to be closer to family and friends and of course the much missed comforts of the U.S. We will miss our friends who will remain in China, although may of them have also returned to the U.S., our driver Zhao, the shopping, some of the food and upon reflection I'm sure some of the chaos.

A lot has happened in the two years that we've been here; we lost Andrew's dad, we got married, Andrew's been challenged in new ways everyday working in a different culture, and I've learned a thing or two about myself. I never thought I'd embrace spending a lot of time by myself, but have come to appreciate it. I am more confident traveling alone and acting as a travel guide to friends and family in a foreign country where I still don't speak the language. I've also become a knitter and sewer, basically Betty Homemaker. 

We wouldn't trade this experience for anything and hopefully we'll have another opportunity in the future to live abroad, but for now we're more than ready to return to the U.S. and move to Portland.

Our Last China Holiday

A dear friend of ours, Kristin, crossed the ocean to visit last week. I met her in Beijing where we did a lot of shopping and a little sightseeing, flew to Huangshan to see the beautiful Huangshan mountain, took a 4.5 hour bus to Hangzhou and finally flew to Hong Kong to meet Andrew and complete our last China trip.

I'm so happy Kristin was able to visit. It was great to show her around the place we've called home for the past two years and spend quality time with her. I had a great time and I was sad to see her go today, but comforted by the fact that I'm not really saying goodbye, but see you soon since we're flying on a jet plane in two days back to the U.S. as well.

Kristin spinning the prayer wheel at the Lama Temple.

Huangshan
These workers are incredible: heavy loads, very steep steps and 100s of tourists. Not a fun job.

Some found it very difficult to climb the stairs.

West Lake, Hongzhou

The view from Victoria Peak in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong skyline at night.

Good Bye Zhao

As I mentioned before, Intel expat families are given a 24x7 driver and car since they discourage Intel families from driving in China due to safety reasons. Also, it is illegal for foreigners to drive in China without a Chinese driver's license. There are pros and cons to being chauffeured and we've come to realize that if you have a bad driver, the con list can outweigh the pro list and definitely have a negative impact on your China experience. After the first 5 months of a not so good driver, we were lucky enough to find our current driver, Zhao. He  absolutely is the best driver any family could ask for. Most importantly he's a safe driver, but he's also polite, punctual,  friendly, smart, non-smoker, and he doesn't smell. 

With out assignment coming to an end we contacted the driver/car vendor and recommended Zhao for another assignment since we were hoping he would immediately be placed with another Intel family. A week ago he was reassigned to another family with only two weeks left to our assignment. We were thrilled that he was placed with another family, but were very sad to see him go. He'll definitely be missed. 

With him departing we're realizing that it's actually happening, we're moving home...