Fairly Symmetrical

Today Jen and I took Ollie to the University of Texas Natatorium and introduced him to swimming. He loves his nightly bath so much--he squishes himself as far down as he can get into the water--we figured that putting him in the biggest bathtub he had ever seen was a good idea. He actually seemed alternately entranced and freaked out by the whole thing, but it was a lot of fun and I think he'll love the water as much as his parents do eventually. The lifeguards seemed to think it was really cute; I love it when people randomly smile at you because you have a baby. I just don't trust people who don't like babies. Anyway, he got cold pretty quick, so we were only there a half hour or so, but it was a good time. And then there was spicy vegetarian Chinese food after, so that's always a plus.

Speaking of Ollie, there are two new videos (one an "artistic reinterpretation" of the other) up in Ollie's gallery, as well as new-old photos from a 2004 vacation with Jen's family in North Carolina. Should you be interested.

You can definitely see the changes in his behavior, I think. He's nine weeks old now; when we brought him home, "holding Oliver" meant holding him in your lap while he slept for hours on end. (Ah, the joys of newborns, he says with the air of an experienced parent... ;)) Nowadays, he wants to be actively entertained, and what was hugely amusing ten minutes ago is as passe as last season's fashions. He does love his mobile, and he's getting pretty good at reaching out and smacking/grabbing onto random things, but he's not really to the point where he can significantly entertain himself yet, so things are actually a little more labor-intensive than they were a month ago. On the other hand, he smiles (hugely), coos, laughs, and is a lot more interactive, so it's not exactly a hardship spending time with him. :)

Work is very good lately. I had my annual review, and while I've had some positive annual reviews in my time, this was easily the best so far. Not only did I get a promotion to senior software developer, but the Director of Engineering has laid out a pretty comprehensive career plan for me, one that sounds absolutely perfect. It means a lot more responsibility over the next several years, and a pretty steep learning curve, but I think it will be a lot of fun and I'm really excited about it.

So life is pretty good right now. I'm excited to be going to Louisville in May, to show Ollie off to my dad, my brothers, and one of my grandmas (who haven't met him yet) and see everyone again. Time is flying by, so I'm sure it won't feel like too long. Although I do miss having people around. We had friends or family around so much from December-January that I guess I realized again how much I miss all the people we love when they're not around. I'm sad, too, that we won't get to go to England to hang out with Fiona when her and Simon's baby is born; I know she'll be well-attended, but nonetheless. Hopefully we can get over the pond sometime fairly soon.

So, to summarize: Ollie got wet, he's fun to play with, work rocks, and I miss you all. :)