R&R in Review

Not surprisingly, we had a fantastic time with Daddy during R&R. Our time together was truly blessed. Kathleen took to Daddy as though he had never left and the two of them played and played. Thanks to Nan O'Connor's babysitting, Mama and Daddy even snuck out to their favorite Italian restaurant in Kailua before Madeline arrived. And, of course, Madeline arrived (in her own time, but nonetheless) healthy and happy. Really, everything worked out perfectly.

One of the greatest blessings of R&R was that when Jim's chain of command heard that I would be induced, they encouraged Jim to stay a few extra days to make sure we got settled at home before he left. We didn't expect anything like that (we were still hardly willing to hope that he'd make it home for the birth), but it was a huge help. Jim should have left on Thursday, the day after Madeline was born and the day we came home from the hospital. Thankfully, he didn't leave until Monday, which came in really handy when Kathleen surprised us with a 103 degree fever Friday afternoon. . . (What a welcome home!) Daddy took Kathleen to the acute care clinic, while Madeline and Mama stayed home. They returned four hours later with some cold medicine, some tylenol, and some antibiotics for a "very slight" ear infection. Phew! I can't even begin to imagine if we'd tried to endure the four hour wait -- Mama, Nan O'Connor, Kathleen, and Madeline. Ugh!

But aside from that mini-catastrophe, our time together was just about perfect. We even managed to fit in a number of "firsts" that Daddy would've missed. For example, we got Kathleen's first haircut. Amazing how still a toddler can be when she gets to sit in a special "airplane" and watch Barney on her own tv!

Kathleen also watched her first full-length movie. (Well, not all in one sitting, but still!) We had our very first pizza and movie night picnic on the living room floor. Daddy rented Cars for Kathleen to see, predicting that she'd love it. Mama was skeptical, but Daddy was right. Kathleen is crazy about that movie!

She loves to say "cars" and "fast" and "vroom-vroom." In fact, when we do not respond quickly enough (or in the affirmative) to her requests to see Cars, she switches from asking for Cars to asking for the clicker. Once she's located the remote she points it at the television and pushes buttons, as if to say, "Look, grown-ups, if you're not going to take care of me, then I'm going to take care of myself!" I'm afraid that shortly our daughter will be all about Nascar!

Kathleen seems to be adjusting okay to her Daddy's departure. She asks about him every morning when I pick her up, and sometimes after her nap, too. We talk about how he's at work far away, and how much he loves her, and that he'll be back in a little while. Just after that, Kathleen usually spots Madeline and calls out, "Baby! Baby!" I think she's excited to see the baby -- perhaps she thinks Madeline's going to disappear to go off to work some night, too. Kathleen also seems to be adjusting okay to Madeline's arrival. She's been cranky and tantrum-y, but we'd expected that. And I think (or I like to tell myself) that things are getting better each day. Kathleen remains exuberant in her love for Madeline, which is great for Kathleen and only slightly dangerous for Madeline. ("No, Kathleen! Please do not climb ON the baby! She is too little!") We've been really, really grateful for Nan O'Connor's help this week. We'll just have to see how we do when she leaves on Monday. Wish us luck!