Letter from Papa Craig

We have been trying to come up with nicknames for Jude. I came up first with 'Squeaker' because he squeaked while in the hospital. Nick found this to not be manly enough so he vetoed it. I than came up with 'Scuttle' or 'Scuttle bug' because he makes a scuttle sound... often. My sister Yvonne calls him 'Little Man' because he looks like a little old man. My brother-in-law came up with 'Judo-chop' which may be a winner.

My in-laws are in Florida and already Jude is starting to get emails. Here is what he sent which I think is super cute:


Dear Jude, I found the internet after all, so tell your Daddy I got my hockey team covered.

I spend a lot of time on our balcony, watching the ocean, and many different kind of birds. I have caught a few fish, called Whitings, surf fishing right in front of our condo. We have a "sand spike", which is a 4 foot piece of PC pipe, that you push into the sand to hold your fishing pole. I used it to tie my stringer so the fish I caught would stay alive in the waves, but I had to chase away the pelicans, who kept trying to steal it for breakfast.

There are a lot of Terns down here. They look like a small sea gull, and fly very high over the water. When they see a fish, they fold their wings, drop straight down like a bullet, and plunge into the ocean 5- 6 feet under water. After 20-30 seconds, they pop right up into the air, and fly away with their fish. Very cool!!!!!!!

In the early morning jellyfish wash up in the tide, so you have to be very careful where you walk, as they will sting you even when they are dead. They are bright blue, and purple, and look a little like the alien in Independence Day, which you probably haven't seen yet.

When you go down to our house, can you look by the front door, as Grandma Pam is expecting a couple of deliveries.

Love Papa Craig