The Playground

I know the blog hasn't been very Austin-centered lately, so I am trying to do that today. I am even posting pictures. Going outside continues to be his favorite activity. Today he was in an especially "exploratory" mood. He wanted to go outside the complex gate, so we ended up at the park across the street. He enjoyed looking at flowers and grass, and especially loves the tube slides and sand (or dirt) box there. He did get a little upset over getting hit by a sprinkler, but otherwise was happy, even after many "spills" on the sidewalk (he thinks he can go faster than he can). There are these little signs all over the park (and every park in China for that matter) saying "Love the grass" (it actually says glass) "Take care of every blade" etc. but Austin tends to ignore those signs. At this park though they are orange and shaped like a flower. Austin however thinks it is a lion head, so he growled every time we passed one. These pictures are actually from a few weeks ago, but at the same park so you get the idea of what he likes to do there.

The slide

Playing with rocks. Yesterday I had to discipline him for repeatedly trying to eat rocks he found at the playground.

A little girl at the park took a liking to Austin and wanted to help him. Austin tolerated her directing where she wanted him to go for a little while, but then broke loose on his own.

Chris is out of town for the next three days. Austin and I have a normal week and probably will spend lots of time outside. One other thing before I sign off. My friend who is in Sichuan asked me today if I can help them find donations of child-size wheelchairs for children who have been handicapped as a result of the earthquake. I guess the child-size ones are hard to find here. If anyone has any leads or ideas of how that might happen, let me know.