Yesterday we had our first official doctor's appointment (even though we already had the early ultrasound at 7 weeks, we hadn't met the doctor yet) to go over medical history, basic info about the process of appointments and timing, and to check up on the baby. Both Bret and I really like Dr. Wittman - she seemed friendly & energetic, and was great about answering our questions & providing additional information. She found the baby's heartbeat pretty quickly with a doppler - I can't remember exactly but it was either 173 or 176 beats per minute. So much was going on that it wasn't until I left the hospital that I thought "hmm...does that seem high? what did she tell us was the normal range?" I looked it up later and some books say 120-160 is normal but then there's also a bunch of stuff on the web about 170's being common...and a study from a University in Texas that determined that in the end, the heart rate has nothing to do with gender (old wives' tale says that higher heart rates indicate girls, lower rates indicate boys). I guess the bottom line is that Dr. W didn't seem shocked or phased by the heart rate, so I figure all must be ok. It was really nice to hear the hearbeat because, since I don't feel pregnant, sometimes it's hard to believe I actually am pregnant!

In other news, this past weekend we went up to Bellingham to visit Bret's friend Kenny. Kenny also had a friend in town from Calgary, and we had a good adventure in the rain on a hike to a waterfall. Kenny had been there last Thanksgiving and he said at that time it was maybe a 10 or 15 minute walk from the road. The flooding must've hit the area hard because this time around it was a scrabbling adventure over trees & logs that had been swept down the river & piled on the banks. Kenny said the area looked totally different (of course, I didn't bring my camera!) from when he'd seen it last. I was quite proud of myself for not slipping or falling (me = not the most athletic kid on the block), even if I was a slow poke about it! Slow & steady wins the race though (or so I say to make myself feel better)!