The New Nixon

Every election after Richard Nixon's bruising election to the US Senate from California in 1950, he tried to demonstrate that he was a "New Nixon." This was never more apparent than when he appeared on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In" during the 1968 campaign to utter the show's catch phrase "Sock it to me." Nixon wasn't really much different than the earlier versions of himself, but he did manage to eek by the Happy Warrior (Hubert H. H. Metrodome) for the presidency.
I'm trying to decide whether we have a New Anders on our hands or if we still have great distance to go. Anders is up to 7lbs 5.5 oz. He took his full bottle of 64 mils at 6 pm tonight. That number is on top of feedins of 60, a couple in the 50s, and a 49. He was neotubed at 9 am, but that was because he was ready to eat at 8 am when our nurse was feeding her other baby. Anders played himself out and was too tired to eat at 9.
I think he's starting to look more like me as a baby than before. I will let those of you who remember me as a baby decide, others will have to use their imaginations. I will have the pictures up later tonight.
Our instincts were correct on Friday. Anders was doing much better than before. NNP Debby Downer was wrong. Today's nurse thinks Anders turned a corner today. We will still look into getting a hospital transfer tomorrow. If he's out in a week, we don't need it, but if it's more like 2 weeks, then we need to get back since Anna must return to work on Nov. 4.
This autumn is unprecedented territory for my football teams as well. Iowa is 7-0 and the Vikings are somehow 6-0 after a game they had no business winning sailed their way, wide left. I sent the Ravens' kicker Gary Andersen vibes from Jan. '99. Also, Irv Favre's ghost might have blown that ball wide left. If Irv Favre could propell Brett to his best game as a pro after his untimely death in 2003, then I think Ol' Irv could blow a kick wide left.
I expect both teams to lose next week. The Hawkeyes must travel to East Lansing to play Michigan State. They never play well over there under Ferentz. Plus, MSU is a total wild card. They could lose to any MAC team or beat Ohio State.
I think Pittsburgh with Polamalu back and at home will have too much for the Vikings especially with their exposed defense and mediocre offensive line.
So, as all this football talk might tell you, we are doing much better tonight than Friday night. Five Grain Belts and half a frozen pizza make a surprisingly small dent in paternal despair.
I finally made the run from Mandy and Matt's place NE of the 46th street Light Rail stop, along Minnehaha Creek, past Lake Hiawatha, all the way around Lake Nikomis and back. Matt told me that was about 10 miles. I would guess it's not quite that far, but either way that's the farthest I've ever run. The long distance running metaphor works well for premature babies. It felt good to get back to pounding the pavement, and I did literally pound the pavement!
As you will see in the pictures, I am responsible for dressing Anders the past couple of days.
Oh, and to the MN Steve fans out there, he believes Anders has turned the corner. Extensive study of the Atlantic Slave Trade equips him to make this determination.