Socks!

img_0571, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Windsor.

I can't believe how fast Ian is growing. He sits up by himself and rolls over both ways, he got his first tooth on April 23rd, and he is now really close to crawling! He's such a great kid - a big charmer that has the girls cooing all around him, wherever we go. His grandpa, Doug and wife Lisa came to visit this past weekend. It was good to see them. Lisa is about 7 months pregnant with Ian's uncle. (Don't think about this too hard, Aaron and I both come from happily dysfunctional families.) The funniest moment came when I walked in the room to find Aaron giving his Dad advice about having a baby! Things have changed a lot in 30 years so I guess Doug needed a refresher course. Anyway I got to pawn off a lot of extra baby stuff that had been pawned off on me, so my closet is cleaner!

I started my job the Monday after graduation. I am working for a structural engineering firm in Ann Arbor called SDI. They are a smaller firm with two partners and five engineers and an intern (me!). I am helping out on a project called the Watermark which is a nine story, reinforced concrete, mixed use building with separate townhouses also on site. It's located on the shore of the Detroit river just north of the Ren Cen. Mostly I am plotting and organizing the output side of the process (plans). The project is just beginning so as we get further into it I will get a chance to do some design (I hope). I have also done some detailing of a couple of little jobs my first week there. It was a little intimidating that Paul (one of the partners) had me do some work, then have Andy (the other partner) seal and sign off on the drawings, then Fed Ex them to the client, and he was going to be out of the office so he didn't even check over my work! ARGH! They assume I know what I am doing! The responsibility of structural engineering is a little intimidating to me. If I screw up, at the minimum lots of money is lost and at the max, lots of lives are lost. This is why I am going to get my masters. Well, that and to be a licensed structural engineer, they are working on changing the requirements so that you have to have a masters. And also it means better job with more $$. I got my first paycheck yesterday, that was nice.

That's it for now - time to get some work done. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers that are in my life. I have so much more respect now that I have become one. Every mother deserves sainthood! What a testament to the love a mother has for her child that she doesn't kill them or go crazy in the first year! Ian even makes me smile at midnight, 1 am, and 3 am.