Holden gives his audience a round of applause.  Yesterday while I was getting dinner ready, he sat in his booster seat and started clapping for Rob.  We encouraged his clapping by clapping along with him, which of course intensified his efforts.  He still has to master the high-five, but we are getting there.

Earlier in the day, Holden and I ran errands on our own because it was Rob’s turn to be very sick with the flu.  I like to turn routine errands into entertainment, so a trip to the pet store to pick up hay for the rabbit turned into an opportunity for Holden to see some animals he has never seen before.  His favorites by far were the mice and the fish.  When I took him to the mouse cage, he started giggling every time a mouse would dart around the corner of the enclosure and start digging frantically in the bedding.  Clearly, the mice were hysterical to Holden because they were so tiny and unpredictable.  The puppies, rats, and birds were moderately interesting, but when we got to the aquatic section of the store, Holden’s interest was piqued once again.  He loved watching the fish dart about in their organized shoals.  One day when he is old enough to take care of it, we might get him a small aquarium.

On the job front, I am still waiting for the interview to be scheduled.  It’s definitely nerve-wracking to know that it’s probably going to happen next week but not know exactly which day it is.  I have been preparing for the talk with the help of some very generous friends who have stepped up and offered to watch Holden.  Thank you to Amanda for being a good pal and spending time with Holden last Friday.  Holden spent the longest time he has ever been away from me (3.5 hours!) with Amanda while I worked on my talk.  Holden just loved playing with the puppy dogs over at Amanda’s!  Tomorrow he will spend 3 hours with my friend Adam, and on Wednesday and Thursday he will participate in a nanny share with one of our neighbors.  Wednesday will be the long, 8.5 hour day away from me, which will be difficult but necessary.  So far, Holden seems to handle being away from me just fine, although I imagine that this will vary from day to day and depend on his mood to a large degree.  

Hopefully I will know more about the job soon so I can update everyone.