Ears Lookin' at You, Kid

"Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
~The New Testament Gospel of Luke, 8:8

Boy Basham has reached Week 26 and he is continuing to make his presence known with his seemingly nonstop activity. In addition to his wild, in-womb flailing and swimming, he now can detect noises in the outside world. Therefore, I have started reading to him from time to time. His first book is The Princess Bride by William Goldman. We have reached the part where Westley and Buttercup have revealed their love for one another and Westley has to go away. I know he cannot understand the story, but he now can detect different pitches and volumes. He can also recognize different voices. So, the more familiar he becomes with my voice, the more he will recognize me and the easier it will be for me to help soothe him when he is in the outer world. He can hear Laurie's voice, heart, and internal sounds practically all of the time at this point.

So, in celebration of hearing, I give you Anvil Basham. As sound enters the outer ear, it travels through the ear canal and vibrates the eardrum. This, in turn, causes three tiny bones, the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup, to vibrate and they pass the vibrations on to the snail-shaped cochlea. The tiny hair-like fibers in the cochlea send nerve signals to the brain and completes the process we call "hearing." Click here for a diagram and more info.

In other news, we took a day trip with friends James and Rachel Miller for a picnic and trail-walking at Mammoth Cave on Sunday. I'll post pics later tonight after we register for baby stuff! We are planning to register at Toys 'R Us and Target this evening. If you know Laurie and I well, you also know that having to make so many decisions in such a short time span will likely cause our brains to turn into pancake batter. Remember us, please!