Duke Infant Study

Megan and I participated in our 5th Duke Infant Congnition Center study yesterday about infants' non-verbal understanding of numbers. If you are interested in the details, you can read more about the study by clicking here. Megan did really well, especially since this was a much longer, 3-part session. She even made it all the way through the 15-minute touch-screen portion of the test (which she didn't make it through last time). I even got to participate in a portion of the test at the end while Megan hung out and played with the lab assistant in the other room.

Our refridgerator is getting full with all of Megan's "diplomas."

Afterwards, since we were already on Duke's campus, we went to Sarah P. Duke Gardens and strolled around. We saw tons of ducks up close on the little footbridge at the pond, and there were lots of beautiful flowers in bloom - mostly lilies that I could identify. We found some really neat "off-the-beaten-path" nooks and crannies in the Asian garden that we will go back and explore. The gardens aren't always stroller-friendly with all the gravel paths, but we managed ok. We also went over the terraces, which were amazing. Megan really liked the lily pads and the rose blooms. I forgot to take my camera (since the Gardens was a spur of the moment decision), so we're watching the weather for a nice day to go back and get some new photos.

Megan's Pet Kitty

Megan has a best friend, her pet kitty. Kitty is her little stuffed cat (I think it's really a jaguar, but that's still part of the cat family!). She loves to take Kitty with her pretty much everywhere. He naps and eats with her. She feeds him whatever she is having for lunch and gives him milk, too. Here, she's sharing her grilled cheese sandwich with him. We love Kitty-kitty-kitty!!!

Where's Megan??

Megan has a bad case of "morning hair."

Sticker Crazy

Megan received an adorable sticker book from Granddaddy and Grandmommy for Easter. The stickers are removable and Megan absolutely loves to play with the stickers and stick them on the pages and peel them back off. Yesterday she spent almost the whole day playing with the book and the stickers. When she got tired of sticking them on the pages, she found a new place to put them!

Sweeping the Dog

Granddaddy and Grandmommy's dog Bailey loves to be swept with the broom. Megan remembered this and on our last trip to Albemarle, Megan got out of the car, went straight into the garage and got the the broom, and proceeded to sweep Bailey. But of course, one broom was not sufficient for the job, so Megan went and got the second broom. Bailey is very easy-going and loved the attention and the sweeps! (Unlike our own dogs, Bailey does not run away when Megan comes wielding the broom.)

Granddaddy and Grandmommy also recently got a new puppy, Tigger, who thinks it's cool to have a little person more her size around to play with.

And there's still plenty of puppy love left over for our own puppies as Megan shares a hug with Shoki.

Mocha is still camera shy and declined to have her picture taken for this blog post or for any other reason.

Signed up to Swim

Megan is officially signed up for the Parent-Tot swim class at our nearby community pool. I can't even begin to tell you what an accomplishment this is - and we haven't even made it to the pool yet. Apparently Durham swim classes are akin to Willy Wonka's Golden Tickets. I arrived at the pool to sign up around 9:15 Saturday morning (registration opened at 9:30), thinking it would take about 15 minutes and I could get back home. Wrong. When I arrived, there were only half a dozen parking spaces available in the far corner of the lot and there was a line of people stretched almost as far back as those parking spaces. One Mom had arrived at 6:30 that morning to secure her spot at the front of the line. People had brought chairs, books, and snacks...they looked prepared for a day at the beach. Hello, people!!! It's a swim class. I think I would have had an easier time getting Megan enrolled into an Ivy League preschool =).

At least I was in line with some nice folks, so that helped pass the time during my 2-hour wait. That's right -- TWO hours. We had fun laughing at the expressions of Oh My Gosh! and You've Got To Be Kidding! on the faces of other people arriving after us. I also got to play nurse to some of the kids in line who came off the playground with banged up hands and knees. The first aid kit came in handy for sure!

Nonetheless, we are excited about our upcoming swim lessons (they begin on the 20th), and for future swim class sign-ups...we may finally have an occassion to break out the camping tent!

Riding Big Al

During one of our last trips to Albemarle, Graddaddy let Megan "ride" on Al. Megan adores the horses and thought being on Al was awesome!