More of the Story

We had a pretty big storm overnight and Cheryl woke up on Tuesday (8/28) thinking it was time to have the baby. We called my Mom and she arrived at our place around 7am to watch Andrew (who had been suffering from croup) while we went to the hospital.

At the hospital, after substantial deliberation, they finally determined there were not enough indicators and Cheryl went back to work in the late morning. I was working from home and around 3pm talked to Cheryl who was at her regularly scheduled pre-natal check up appointment. She said her doctor thought she needed to go back to the maternity ward.

So, instead of sending my Mom home, it was “go time.” With sick little Andrew in tow we got to the hospital some time after 4pm. We said good bye and Grandma took him back to their place while I hunkered down with Cheryl and the delivery nurse, Sue, for the big event.

Cheryl did a great job of handling the contractions until some time after 6pm when the Pitocin really started kicking in and she asked for the epidural. Until the anesthesiologist arrived the contractions became more frequent and painful. Once the epidural was in place things got a lot more comfortable.

Right after the epidural was done, nurse Sue assessed things and called for the doctor believing delivery was imminent. She was right. Doctor Immerman arrived and the baby’s head was already visible. With only one push he was out of there!

It’s incredible all of things happening right around the time of delivery. You just hope everyone knows what they are doing and everything goes ok. The staff at Southdale seems to do excellent work. The delivery nurse especially is flying around like crazy getting everything ready and you can’t imagine how she does it! Hats off to Sue, we are so very grateful to have the assistance of people like this!

Anyway, little Scott popped out before the Twins game was over and everything worked out just fine!

Big Brother Andrew says Hello!

With Grandma Maidie...

Which outfit would you like to go home in?

I don't care, just let me sleep and stop taking pictures!

Baby Scott

Scott Maxwell Felton
Born August 28, 2007 at 7:46pm
7lbs 12 oz 20.5 inches long

Cheryl went into active labor around 6pm. Mother and baby are doing great!!

Crazy Car Guy

Well Andrew is still just crazy over his Hot Wheels. They are the first things he plays with in the morning and the last things at night before bed. This morning he must have gotten bored with the garage because he tried to make a run for it downstairs to where the track is currently set up. Here's the sequence...

Hey Dad, these Hot Wheels sure are fun!



And the garage is ok for a while...


But I'm thinking of something else...


How about we take 'em downstairs on the track?


Please!


OK, if you're not in, I'm goin' by myself!


Oh no! Intercepted by Mom the Tickler!



On second thought, maybe I'll just stay upstairs!

Beach Party

Monday I picked up Andy from daycare because Cheryl had a doctor appointment. She has said it’s tough to get him to go home with you and now I know why first hand. When it’s hot and sunny out like it’s been recently all the kids have their swimsuits on and basically throw a Sixties style beach party in the backyard all afternoon!

There are sprinklers and lots of other water toys in addition to balls, hula hoops and anything else you can think of appropriate for playing around on a summer day. So when an adult in work clothes crashes the party and tries to take you away from your friends it’s a REAL BUMMER man!

I didn’t get the camera into the beach party but took a few shots the next day as I asked Andrew about how these events go down…

Hey Dude! Can you tell us how you like Debbie's afternoon "beach parties?"



Beach parties? I really dig 'em man!



First, you gotta get your groove on, man!



Then just start swinging to the crazy beat... it's so cool!



Obviously, it's hard to compete with this!

Anyway, we do our best and try to feed him dinner and maybe take him to the park. Who knows, maybe we'll break out the pool this weekend?

Last night we ran into TJ who is only 2 months older than Andrew but quite a bit larger… it’s no surprise when you see his dad, Kevin, who played center for his college football team. He and his wife, Courtney, live just up the street on the corner of Lake Susan Hills and Heron Drive. The two kids did have a lot of fun playing with each other on the playground equipment and TJ was very nice and didn't throw his weight around at all.

Andrew hasn't had the greatest appetite lately, and with all the dancing and partying he's been doing I don't know if he'll ever be as big as TJ!

Worth It

OK, so traveling 2 ½ hours (one way) with a 21 month old for a weekend windsurfing event is a challenge, but our trip to Worthington was definitely worth it.

Because we were traveling far enough and for 2 days it was difficult to predict what the conditions would be so I had bring more windsurf gear than I would have liked. Man, the gear piles up fast!

The Family Truckster, Fully Loaded:



Most of the big stuff was on the roof but we had to stop a couple times and ratchet down due to shifting on the highway.

We arrived around 10:30am and the wind was already blowing, so after registering and saying hello I rigged up and hit the water. It was a phenomenal day with a SW wind between 20-30mph. There are a ton of civilians hanging out on the beach watching the sailors which is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Usually a crowd of say 3 people is the most I have ever seen watching locally!

Dad with his favorite set up on Saturday, he's smiling, you just can't tell!



Here's Daddy-o sailing merrily along...





There were several races throughout the day and Jeff A., a local Twin Cities racing star we know, won at least 2 races on Saturday. I was more than content to free sail both days and we were lucky enough to meet Kevin and Kelly from Rochester who shared this mindset and were camped next to us on the beach.

Windsurfing is an extremely exciting spectator sport for all ages:



Andrew was well-behaved on the way down and seemed to enjoy himself on the beach with Mom. I took him swimming at the Travelodge pool that night and he had fun playing with some pool toys another family was kind enough to let him borrow.

Andy woke us up again very early Sunday, and drove us out of bed so we had an early breakfast and got most of the car packed for the day. After some running around the hotel he seemed to be winding down a little so the whole family caught an hour nap until 9am… what a schedule!

Two-fisted snacking on the beach with Mom:



Anyway, he had another good day at the beach and we headed home Sunday afternoon. He was definitely glad to be back with his full suite of toys including the Fisher Price parking garage which seems to be one of his favorites for the moment to zoom the Hot Wheels around on.

Oh, and after a little struggle in the beginning, Andy slept right on through until morning. So who knows, maybe the whole family will be back next year at the 9th Annual Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival!

Pleasant Dreams?

Instead of just getting up early, Andrew struggled to make it through much of the night last night with several crying/sleeping with Mom & Dad episodes before finally settling down. I can't imagine he was having bad dreams because Cheryl brought him out to lake Minnewashta that evening where I was trying windsurf in the big winds just before some storm clouds came through.

On my way to Waconia just before 5:00pm, I thought I would check out 'Washta just to see what it looked like. Normally this lake is practically unsailable it's so small and shelterd, but the huge winds made it look doable. Wednesday evening I had a pretty succesful session on Lake Calhoun so what did I have to lose?

Unfortunately I had packed just my small Waconia gear which turned out to be too small on this lake, but it was fun trying. Cheryl brought Andy out and he thought the wind was fun, kind of like a gigantic cool blow dryer I suppose. Once the storm clouds were over us I recommended they head home, but the storms ended up barely grazing us and by the time I got home it was pure sun.

Andrew socialized with his younger neighbor Benjamin for a while and walked over to his house to get a little wet and muddy in his sprinkler. Nothing his nightly bath couldn't handle!

(here's a pic with Dad by the lake)

Well the whole family is off to Worthington, MN in the southwest part of the state for a windsurf and music festival on Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully we will have more tales of pleasant times & wind and Andy will sleep peacefully!

Early Riser

Andrew woke up at 4:30am this morning for some reason and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Basically he wrestled around in Mom & Dad's bed until it was time for everyone to get up. He should be napping well today!

Yesterday we took him to Great Clips for his second haircut, much less drastic than the first, and he was a little better behaved. Still likes to throw his head around whenever the stylist tries to hold his hair to clip it... she had a lot of patience!

He sat on my lap like last time, it might be a little while before he can sit on his own. I had to literally hold his head still a few times for her!

After haircuts for Andrew & Dad we stopped by Lake Susan Park which is a lot bigger and newer than Sunset Ridge behind our house. There were a TON of rowdy kids climbing, running, yelling, etc... surprised little Andy wasn't spooked away!

Anyway, he seemed to really enjoy himself and even socialized a little. The baby swing was taken so we tried out the big kid swing with Dad close at hand. He's not quite ready to go this one alone!

After bath, snack and playing with cars he went to bed later than usual, a little after 8:30. So the question remains why did he get up so darn early?!?

(here's a pic of the shorn tyke the day after the cut...)