22 Weeks

First Portland Run

Andrew and I participated in our first Portland race last weekend, with our friends Leon & Kevin, Rock & Flora and their children. It was the Winter Wonderland of Lights at the Portland International Raceway. The race track was decked out with Christmas lights. People can pay $19/vehicle to drive the two mile track to view the lights, we paid $35 to run the track and that included a t-shirt. Andrew chose to do the 2 mile run, which is once around the track and I did the 4 mile, twice around. Of course being Portland, as soon as we lined up to start the race it started to rain so it was a bit chilly, but a lot of fun. 

Andrew was late so we played a little practical joke;
I convinced him we were all dressed in ugly sweaters.
He was less than pleased when he showed up in this beautiful sweater.

After the run, cold & wet, but happy.

My mom didn't think it was a very good idea that I was running, but I reminded her that when she was pregnant she was tossing hay bales.

We'll have to do it again next year with Pat in tow. Many moms and dads were pushing strollers or pulling wagons.

Creepy Movember

Andrew participated in Movember, which is a month-long event where men don't shave their mustache to raise money for prostate cancer and other male cancers. Andrew raised over $1,350 so it was worth it, but let me tell you, he was looking super creppy for a month... 

Thankfully November is over.

20 Weeks

We reached the half way mark; I'm now 20 weeks and feeling great. Pat seems to be active. I can feel him kicking, which is a pretty cool experience. Andrew keeps hoping to feel him kick, but I understand it will be a number of weeks before he can feel him kick. I had a doctor's appointment this week and Pat's heart beat was 156 and the fundal height was 18 inches, which the doctor said is what it should be.

Off to Work I Go

As I've previously mentioned, I miss my career. When I got pregnant and realized we'd be in Portland less than 6 months before Pat arrived, I figured I wouldn't be able to find a job in my profession  for a company that was willing to give me three months off in less than six months. I was a little worried about what I would do with myself for those six months because I knew I would want to be working. About a week after we arrived, and I wished I was working, I decided it couldn't hurt to look at job postings, maybe I'd get lucky. It could happen, right? 

Well, I got lucky. Along with a handful of other jobs, I applied for a temporary part-time HR Generalist position with Adidas and I was hired. YAY!!! It's perfect; a great job for a fantastic company in an industry I feel right at home in, great people and a great schedule.  I'm hopeful that this will create opportunities when I'm ready to return to work after Pat's born.

I have a lot to be thankful for.

A New Place to Call Home

Before moving to Portland we thought we'd live in downtown, that was before we knew what it cost to live in downtown Portland and how small the apartments were in our price range. Although we would like to live there, we decided a single family home  just outside of Portland would be better than a tiny apartment and a long commute for Andrew with Pat on the way.

Fortunately we found a rental house in a neighborhood we like. It's an older home with 3 bedrooms, a 2 car garage, large backyard, and some character. We are happy to finally be getting settled into a place we can call all our own. We think we'll stay only a year or two, although after unpacking I hope we never move. You truly never understand how much stuff you own until you move and unpack.

It's a...

Boy!!! 

We had our 2nd trimester ultrasound at 19 week. More importantly than finding out Pat's gender we we were told that everything looked "perfect." Which of course is exactly what expectant parents want to hear. His heart rate was 146 and he weighed three quarters of a pound.

Here are a few photos from the ultrasound:

We shared our news with friends and family in a number of creative ways (thanks to Pintrest and me having a lot of time on my hands):

Leon asked, "What's this on the inside."

Her expression... priceless

Our family in Minnesota had to blow up balloons to find out if Pat was a boy or girl:

We sent Andrew's mom a package which she first thought was a DVD of the ultrasound, but was actually a tiny baby hat I knitted in blue. We were able to Skype with her, Andrew's brother and his girlfriend, grandma and aunt. They were all very happy to hear the news. Andrew's brother Travis insists that we name Pat Travis. (Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the hat.)