Justin and I have always loved our weekends. They are our time to spend together. But, when Brady was born, they took on a new meaning. This weekend was probably one of the most fun we've had.
Saturday morning, we had an appointment for Brady to participate in a study being conducted by Duke University's psychology department. They're trying to understand better how babies learn to process language. When we arrived, they explained in more detail how the study works. They are sitting babies at 3, 6 and 9 months of age in front of a TV screen that plays an image for them to watch (sitting on mommy or daddies lap, that is). On the left- and right-hand side of the TV, behind curtains, there are speakers. In alternating patterns, they played words in English and Japanese to see how/if the baby reacted to the different sounds (the parent puts on head phones and listen to other music, so they don't subconciously encourage the child to listen to another noise). The researcher watched Brady through a camera in another room and filmed him, observing carefully his movements. Brady was interested for about 5 minutes of the 10-minute test. Then he was interested in everything else! It was pretty funny to watch him. Maybe even funnier was watching Justin try to keep a straight face! Anyway, we successfully finished and Brady got a certificate, a picture of us in the lab and a crisp $5 bill. That's going in the college fund!
When we were done, it was off to watch the Florida-South Carolina football game. This game is always bittersweet. Yes, Urban Meyer has proven himself, and we really do love him now. But, he'll never be Steve Spurrier. The 'ol ball coach's return to the Swamp is always bittersweet. However, we're OK with it when it is a 56-6 BLOWOUT! I won't harp on the details, but I feel like we're on our way to Miami. It's hard to look past our next few games... maybe not the Citadel, but for sure Florida State and then Bama in the SEC Championship... but it just feels like it is our season! OK, no jinx.
Saturday morning, we had an appointment for Brady to participate in a study being conducted by Duke University's psychology department. They're trying to understand better how babies learn to process language. When we arrived, they explained in more detail how the study works. They are sitting babies at 3, 6 and 9 months of age in front of a TV screen that plays an image for them to watch (sitting on mommy or daddies lap, that is). On the left- and right-hand side of the TV, behind curtains, there are speakers. In alternating patterns, they played words in English and Japanese to see how/if the baby reacted to the different sounds (the parent puts on head phones and listen to other music, so they don't subconciously encourage the child to listen to another noise). The researcher watched Brady through a camera in another room and filmed him, observing carefully his movements. Brady was interested for about 5 minutes of the 10-minute test. Then he was interested in everything else! It was pretty funny to watch him. Maybe even funnier was watching Justin try to keep a straight face! Anyway, we successfully finished and Brady got a certificate, a picture of us in the lab and a crisp $5 bill. That's going in the college fund!
When we were done, it was off to watch the Florida-South Carolina football game. This game is always bittersweet. Yes, Urban Meyer has proven himself, and we really do love him now. But, he'll never be Steve Spurrier. The 'ol ball coach's return to the Swamp is always bittersweet. However, we're OK with it when it is a 56-6 BLOWOUT! I won't harp on the details, but I feel like we're on our way to Miami. It's hard to look past our next few games... maybe not the Citadel, but for sure Florida State and then Bama in the SEC Championship... but it just feels like it is our season! OK, no jinx.
Next! On Sunday, we were off to the NC Zoo in Asheboro! It was Brady's first trip to a zoo - and mine! How much fun. We had a blast! While we only made it to the North America side of the zoo (we'll go back for the Africa visit soon!), we saw bears, snakes, spiders, otters, gators, ocelots, cougars, turtles and more! While we couldn't get pictures, Brady's favorite exhibit was the spotted skunk. He was laughing up a storm at the little guy, who was running around like a madman in his man-made environment. It was awesome! Brady stayed awake during our entire visit, and when he hit his carseat, it took him all of 15 minutes before he fell asleep.Check out our pics!
2 comments:
Was it really your first trip to A zoo, or just THAT zoo?
Infant Scientists!!! Matthew is one too. He just got his doctorate. :) Aren't we lucky they get started with their education so young.
Post a Comment