This is what the world looked like this morning when we had to leave to get to our second in-office appointment. I was worried that the roads would be terrible and nigh undrivable, as they were last night. As it turned out, it wasn’t too bad. The roads were a bit icy and traffic a bit slow, and there were a few cars (mostly overconfident SUVs) that had slid off the road, but nothing I couldn’t handle. That, by the way, is what the driveway looked like after the snowblower we got last year was done with it – thanks Mom!

Today being Valentine’s Day, it’s fitting that this be the day we first hear the baby’s heartbeat. It’s currently running at 156 beats per minute (I toyed with the idea of titling this post, “It’s a Hummingbird!”). We’re entering the second trimester this week, which is supposed to be much easier to handle. That’ll be nice. I’ll never understand why early pregnancy is all about vomit. Seems counterproductive, somehow. Depending on what she’s wearing, Shannon is either slightly pudgier than usual or obviously well into her pregnancy. In today’s dress, she was the latter, and she got compliments and well-wishes all day long.

For our Valentine’s dinner, we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant. We hadn’t been there since we got pregnant, and the cute couple that owns the place were very excited to have a new customer on the way (we’re regulars, and they know us when they see us). Shannon’s fortune, oddly, was this set of SAT answers. We’ll be sure to put them away in a safe place for later use by the little one.