Looks OK. Don't plant it deeper! You never want to bury the crown.

Your plant looks OK. It is not unusual for young leaves to look somewhat distorted. It looks like it really bloomed its head off.

We have had a strange summer with some cool dry weather followed by the heat wave that is coming. During the heat wave, watch for wilting. If the leaves curl in the heat of the day and are OK in the morning, that is OK and does not indicate it needs water. If the leaves are curled or wilted in the morning, then it needs water.

This is important since too much water will lead to root rot and death.

It looks fine. It's too close to the hardscaping. It's going to grow. Give it some room. Move it this Fall or Spring.

great, thanks for the advice! it's about 2 feet from the wall, i do wish i had planted it about a foot further out, but i don't think i'll move it for fear of killing it. thanks, now i won't worry about it so much!

oops, i meant 3 feet from the wall.

I'd say don't hesitate to move it in fall. As a novice gardener, I've moved several rhodies and it didn't even seem to bother them at all.