Sunday, February 17, 2008

Nice Visit

Lolli and G-Pop went home this afternoon after a long weekend (that felt short!) in honor of Valentine's Day. Their Valentine's Day present to each other was to spend a few days with their grandbaby, and their Valentine's Day present to us was to give us an incredible worry-free two whole days and nights off from being on Baby Duty.

We had originally planned to go to Breckenridge for the weekend and go snowboarding, but as it turned out I came down with the latest incarnation of Roan's cough and cold and wasn't up to it. You would think that would be a bummer, but it really wasn't. We had two whole blissful nights of long, uninterrupted sleep while Mom, Stephen, Jen and Micah looked after Roan at Jen and Micah's house. And no kidding - it was absolutely transformative for me.

Having that time off, being able to get a good night's sleep, being able to get up and just take a frigging shower and blow dry my hair without having to entertain/ divert/ herd Roan was so wonderful. I felt a fog I hadn't even realized was there quietly lift away, as I was able to lift my gaze from where it's been the past ten months - three feet in front of me - and take stock of all the stuff that I've let fall to the side. Arwen and I spent some time together doing some fun stuff and some necessary stuff, having conversations that were about six months overdue. It was really really good for us!


We also got to spend some good time with my mom and Stephen. We took Roan to the Children's Museum Thursday afternoon. She had so much fun! She climbed up and down and slid and crawled on this cool contraption they have. She played in a toy boat and caught stuffed fish with a magnetized fishing pole. And she wandered around chewing on every random toy that wasn't glued down.

And then on Saturday we took her to the Aquarium where she saw all kinds of fish, sharks, and her very favorite: tigers. We brought her stroller, as did virtually all parents of kiddos Roan's age, but we might as well have left it at home. She was determined to walk through the whole thing. I think she had more fun walking from exhibit to exhibit like the big kids than actually checking out the fish. With the exception of the tigers (why they have real live tigers at an aquarium, I don't know), which she didn't want to leave. And Aunt Jen swears she heard Roan say "ti-guh."

We've had another major development this weekend: Roan is now clapping her hands. I know, compared to walking, no big deal right? But it was the one thing left on the list a kid her age "should" be doing that she just had not done. And then out of nowhere, she started clapping with G-Pop and Lolli, clapping either her own hands or grabbing their hands to clap them.
Also, on a note of personal satisfaction, Roan seems to *love* the new hat I knit her. At first it seemed all she wanted to do was pull it off as soon as I put it on her. But over the weekend when she was staying over at Aunt Jen's house, she apparently got her hat out and wore it around quite a bit. It seemed like maybe she picked it up as a way to connect with Mama when I wasn't around. And again this evening alone with me, she was curled up in my lap drinking a bottle when she caught a glimpse of the hat and insisted on putting it on. Jen says she wants to knit me one to match. I can hardly wait!

Tonight I watched a show about a couple with eight kids and it really gave me a lot to think about. They had fertility treatments in order to conceive a set of twin girls. Then they wanted "just one more." Instead they got a set of sextuplets. Holy cow man. Knowing the challenges that one child presents to your sense of self, your relationship with your mate, your sleep patterns... I cannot imagine dealing with eight, and six of them being newborns at the same time! Not that Roan is some terrible burden. She is a joyful burden, if you will, and one I feel so lucky to carry. She is an angel of a child. Even sick her temperment is so sweet and joyful. Watching that couple though, I will confess, it made me stop and think maybe we should be grateful for the wonderful child we have and leave it at that.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We miss our little tweety pie - G Pops and Lollie