Baby Joey

Hola Joey,

I hope your having a good time in mommy's belly today. So yesterday we got you some new stuff. Actually your Grandma and Grandpa got you you a nice playpen. It's super cool, and has a change table as well. There is also a night light and music built right in too. I suspect you will be spending a lot of time inside it, so we wanted to make sure it's a really cool playpen. We also bought you a stroller with car carrier. This will be your home on wheels. We will be able to take you everywhere we go. We can go down to the beach, or just walk around Playa Del Carmen. Pretty exciting, because it makes your arrival seem very real and closer than ever.

We got back from New Orleans last Monday. What a great city it is! Great food, nice people, and very hot! It's about the same temperature as here in Mexico, but far more humid, so it feels even hotter. It also rained a bit while we were there. In fact while we were on the Hurricane Katrina tour, seeing the damage around the city that still remains from the 2005 hurricane, it started to rain heavily. In fact there was some flooding that night due to all the rain they got. Sort of ironic. We also witnessed a pretty intense thunder and lightning storm while we were there. We were staying on the 37th floor of our hotel, and we had a great view of the city overlooking the French Quarter. We watched the lightning light up the sky for much of the evening. We even got caught out in the rain while walking back to the hotel from the tour bus. The down pour soaked us right to the bone, it was pretty wild. Even though it was wet and rainy, it was still really warm. Of course the whole trip wasn't rainy. It was mostly very nice, and really hot.

Once we got back to Playa Del Carmen it was back to the weather we were used to, at least for a few days. For the last couple of days now we've been getting quite a few tropical rain storms and even some thunder and lightning. It's the first really rainy days we've had here since I moved here in March. But enough about rain.

So the Stanley Cup finals are nearing the end. The Stanley Cup is the most coveted pro sports trophy there is (in my opinion) and is played for every spring/early summer, and is to determine the National Hockey League's annual championship. This year it features the Detroit Red Wings, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Both teams are really good, but since Detroit just won last night to take a 3 games to 1 series lead in the best of seven, it's looking like Detroit is on the verge of winning their 4th Stanley Cup in the last 11 years. I'm a big hockey fan, but mostly I just like watching if my favorite team the Edmonton Oilers are playing. The Oilers had a rough season this past year, and honestly and even worse season the year before. But 2 years ago the it was the Oilers who were battling for the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately they lost in game seven of that series. Next year however is looking very promising. They finished this year very strong and have a really good group of young talented players who look as though they are going to be a force next season. It will be exciting to watch them from time to time if I can next year. I can't wait to teach you about hockey, and maybe get you a hockey stick and rubber puck or something for us to play around with. I don't think we will find any hockey leagues here to play in, but we will make due.

There are lots of other sports you may find fun too. Soccer is very popular here in Mexico. It seems to be their number one sport. I played soccer very briefly when I was a kid, but never really got into it. All I remember about playing soccer was there was a ball and crowd of kids following the ball. I was the kid at the very back of the crowd more interested in kicking at the dirt with my cleats than actually trying to catch up to the ball. In hindsight, I probably would have liked it more had I been put in goal. I also got into softball. I was much better at that, and enjoyed it a lot more. I even started playing softball again a few years ago. It's a great summer outdoor pass time. We will definitely be getting you a ball, glove, and bat at some point too. Of course your mom's side of the family are big football fans. I never really got into football, although I do follow your mom'm favorite team the Cleveland Browns. I'm sure there will be no shortage of people trying to teach you how to throw and catch a football once you're older. Since I never really learned how to myself maybe I'll try and pick up a few pointers too, then we can both learn.

Sports aren't everything though. Sports can be a lot of fun, but there are lots of different activities that can be fun. Music for example. Your daddy loves music, all sorts of music and loves to play and write music, but we'll get into that in another blog. For now Joey, have a good time in the tummy. Only 3 months to go before we get to meet face to face and I can't wait! I will write you more soon!

Love Daddy