Flying Solo, and a Blessed Life

Wednesday, I "flew solo" for the first time in, well, decades, taking care of both Henry and Sullivan for a few hours.  As I was reminded by the parents, I watched Henry for short to long periods when he was as young as one month, but to watch both him and baby Sullivan, I haven't done that since my kids were that age.  I was more than a little anxious.  Henry can be a handful by himself, even as independent as he is (he can talk, BOY can he talk!  Don't have to worry about changing his diaper!  He feeds himself, etc..):  how would I do juggling attention to him while also caring for his six month old brother?  

View across the frozen, snow-covered cover of Great Pond, at sunset.

Before I continue, I have to say that Kathy and I have been so darned lucky to have the McCannells all living with us.  I get to play Legos/Duplos alot, which I really find fun, not only for me but for both of us.  Henry has develop a joy of 'wrestling,' adding to his believe that every bed and chair is really a trampoline.  So, he and I do a fair amount of wrestling, which I always hope is draining at least as much of his energy as it is mine!  That's what he needs, activities to drain some of the boundless energy.  This winter has been tough, forcing us to stay inside much of the time.  I'd be up for some snow hiking, but he wouldn't make it far enough to make the trip worthwhile.  We do go for walks in our neighborhood, which we both love, as long as it's above 25 degrees and the air is calm. 

Kathy and I both get the benefit of his wonderful self, a cuddling, happy, bright, beautiful grandchild.  He often wants to help around the house, too, which is great, and encouraged by all four of us.  His hugs, insights, and charm are also appreciated.  His mental growth is so fun to watch, too, and something we get to see much more often and in real time while they are living with us.  So, truly, the plusses outweigh the minuses, and I am not looking forward to the time when they move out.  

Of course one of the benefits of being grandparents is the grandkids usually go home at the end of the day.  This is really more important in the morning:  adults just don't have the instant-on energy that toddlers do, whether parents or grandparents, right?  In Henry's case, he is raring to go every morning, right out of bed.  Ugh, these grandparents, not so much.  On the other hand, this and a few other toddler issues are a very small price to pay for the enormous fun it is having them around all the time. 

Having them move in with half the floor of our small living room torn up and half the carpet removed to the concrete floor and some walls ripped up in the downstairs family room, for six weeks, was challenging, but made it so much nicer when finally all repairs were completed, about a week and a half ago.  It took a long time due to many other homes also having  suffered damage.  Although my Dad always tells me "They always say that!"Mainers tell usas this winter has been significantly colder and for longer periods of time than usual.  

Luckily the morning routines of the four adults and two toddlers don't overlap much, and it helps that I'm still not working.  I've picked up Henry from school since they moved in, and had him to myself each afternoon, except Thursdays when he goes to his Grampies, and that has worked out well.  It would be even more fun if the weather was warm and better so we could do more outside, but it's still been fun.  (they will be moved out when the warm weather comes, :-(  )  We play with his Duplos a lot, which we both really enjoy (we may never graduate to Legos - the Duplos are so much easier to use).  We watch his favorite shows, at which I am much, much more knowledgeable than I ever expected to be, and includes Sophia the First, Daniel Tiger, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Sheriff Callie, Henry Hugglemonster, Mickey Mouse cartoons, Dinosaur Train, and a few others.  

Corner of our garage, and our house, and path to neighbors house.

Back to Wednesday, Jared went to work late, which helped my anxiety.  An hour later, Baby Sullivan got hungry, and tired.  I prepared a bottle for him, which is to say I opened a bag of mother's milk and poured it into the bottle.  He had no issues with me feeding him, a happy moment, standard for this happy boy.  Maybe I was being overly sensitive, or did his look really mean, "This is new, but as long as I'm getting fed, no complaints from me!"  After his bottle and burps, I put him down for his first nap.  This guy is amazing, takes care of falling asleep all by himself!  This is just too easy; what was i so worried about?  Then, though, 45 minutes later, the silence blasting from the baby monitor got to me:  was he still breathing?  Did he get wrapped up in his blanket too tightly?  Had I checked the crib enough for dangerous stuff?  I went up and found him perpendicular in the crib, with blankets around him that I hadn't placed, but he was fine, sleeping away.  I lasted another 45 minutes, and same thing.  This time, I found his face in a blanket, and I couldn't see his chest rising and falling!  Again, why was I so scared?!  He is certainly vocal enough that I would hear him over the baby monitor if there was any problem.  Still, my imagination was working overtime.  Again, he was fine, breathing the peaceful easy breath of a baby.  Next, at two and a half hours, more anxiety:  how long are his naps usually?  It seems to me they aren't this long.  With each successful visit, I've grown a little calmer, but at three hours, time for another check:  I find him just waking up, thank God:  my trial by silence is over!  Phew!  When he is awake, he is the easiest baby in the world to take care of, really.  I'm not sure I can handle another nap though.  

Next, a new challenge, changing his diaper.  Circumstances with Sullivan have been very different than with Henry, and I've been able to easily avoid this so far in his six months of life.  Now, it's unavoidable.  It's not something I hate, just something I avoid if I can.  He has pooped, and it's very thin but sticky.  It takes this unpracticed Grandpa four baby wipes to get the stuff off his bottom.  Ugh.  Now for a fresh diaper, but where are they?  What, none within reach?!  Ugh again, what's going on here?!  Why are there no diapers, anywhere in this room?!  I have a diaperless baby on a changing table, and I can't leave him to hunt for a diaper!  I pick him up and head downstairs, hoping the diaper bag is in plain sight and fully stocked, and I'm in luck, crisis averted.  

Nona came home from work early, so my shift was only about six hours.  It was much more trying than I had expected when I signed up for it, surprising me.  Hopefully it will make my second 'flying solo' much easier.

Kathy and I took a weekend vacation to Portland ME last weekend, for Valentine's Day.  She also had Presidents Day off, so it was a nice long weekend, for us and for the McCannell's.  We stayed at the Westin Portland Harborview, which is a nicer hotel than we are used to, and in a great location for walking downtown Portland.  It was freezing Friday when we got there, with a chilly wind just for good measure.  We braved it anyway, to get our bearings.  

Portland is a true big city, something rare, er, unique in Maine.  Museums, restaurants, busy people driving and walking, more what we are used to.  Saturday we visited Angela Adams Design, where we used our gift card, compliments of our excellent Realtor.  We choose a beautiful rug, from among the many beautiful, and expensive, rugs.  Next we took a drive south, and ended up at Old Orchard Beach, a very popular place during the summer.  There was actually snow covering most of the sand, a new sight for us!  There is an amusement park, and maybe even a boardwalk.  It looks like it gets very, very crowded in the summer.

Sunday we took it easy.  We had room service breakfast, always a fun splurge.  

Monday was Presidents Day, a holiday for Kathy, so allowed us to stay another night.  We got up leisurely, packed and we were off, with no real plans for the drive home.  That changed when we hit Freeport, and the Outlet Center that is next door to L. L. Bean.  Wow, Presidents Day sales galore, and not so crowded.  We too advantage and picked up a few things we needed, and some we didn't.  :-)  

The weekend was also the ending bracket to a week that someone we know was in Vieques Island, in Puerto Rico.  They don't like to have their names bandied about the Internet, so they shall remain anonymous, but you know who you are.  We're so glad you both got to get some nice warm sun, among other island amenities.