Belly Shot- finally

OK, well here is a belly shot at last. It has taken me awhile to get around to it- it goes so fast the second time around. I am now officially 23 weeks pregnant. The little guy has been moving for awhile, but has started packing more in his punch lately. His kicks and little movements are stronger and Chris finally felt them for the first time not long ago. Austin is too impatient to sit still long enough to feel them, but maybe in another month or two.



We had a good Friday. Playgroup this morning, time outside this afternoon and all three of us home for dinner this evening. It was a beautiful day here today, though pretty warm. It is a cool and windy night as I write this with a clear sky- something to appreciate here.

Clean Up and Big Rocks

Today I felt like I experienced a small victory in my mothering skills. I was planning to read Austin some books and kept calling him over to sit with me, when i realized why he wasn't responding. He was holding one of his (empty) toy baskets and putting some of the toys into it. He was also saying "clean up, clean up". He was initiating cleaning up his toys! This is definitely a first, though we have been working on cleaning up and putting things back for months now. Of course, he still only put about 4 toys in the basket before he got distracted by one of them and stopped (it happened to be a small stuffed pig. He then went to find Daddy, since Daddy makes the best pig oinks in the family). Still, I was impressed and hope this will be a trend.

We of course were outside this morning and I decided to bring the camera along. I wanted to capture Austin walking around, since it has changed so dramatically since many of you have seen him only 5-6 weeks ago. I also included a funny video clip of Austin with rocks today- especially for you, Dad!




The backside of Austin moving quickly is what I see most when we are outside!




Here is Austin with a "big rock". We have been learning about big and little lately and he has begun associating this with rocks. After holding it a few minutes he discovered is was muddy on one side- listen for his reaction.

Here is Austin officially on the "up and down".

Today was very windy, which is very common for the spring here. Austin does not really like it when it is "win-ie" outside, and happily says "all done" the minute the wind dies down. He was sitting here outside a door in our apartment complex during a rather strong gust.

Here is Austin near a pile of "big rocks" in our neighborhood.

Today Austin woke up at 5:40 am and then only took a one hour nap, which made for a very long day for both Austin and Mommy. This evening he had a very slight temperature and he has been chewing on his fingers all day and drooling, so I think his eye teeth are coming in. Hopefully we will all get some sleep tonight!

Learning grammar

Well, Austin is starting to put more than one word together and it is very cute to hear what he comes up with. When he is looking for someone or something now, he says the word plus "go" at the end of it - to mean "where did XXX go?" . I think he learned it from me, because before bed we are always looking for a paci and I often say "Where did your paci go?" So now he says things like "paci go?" or if I am out of the room for long he walks around looking for me saying "Mommy go? Mommy go?"

He also says "there" when he is trying to show where something is. For example, we often ask him "where is the baby?" and now he is will say "baby there" and point ( to either my stomach or often to his own). Another favorite word he adds onto things is "now". After dinner tonight he said "all done now" or "outside now". I think he understands what he is saying, which is sort of amazing to me how fast his little brain is developing.

The favorite word however that he tacks on to other words is "ok". Ok basically means "I want this". So recently he often climbs up on the couch and says "video ok ok" meaning- I want to watch a video or "milk ok ok"- I want some milk. He is certainly learning to communicate he likes and dislikes now.

The "Up and Down" and playgroup

Again, a quick anecdote from the playground. Austin's three favorite things on the actual playground (apart from grass, rocks and dirt, etc.) are the slide, the swing and the "up and down", otherwise known as a seesaw. The up and down has beaten the slide out of the "favorite" category in the past week or so. Usually Austin sits on one end and we lift it up and down for about 2 minutes and then he is "all done". Then he goes and gets on the other seesaw and does it again. Well, today he had found a rock and decided to give the rock a ride on the "up and down". So he put the rock on the seat and used his hands to lift it up and down. Then he picked up the rock and put it on the other seesaw seat and lifted it up and down. The paci has also had a ride on the up and down and I am sure if he ever had the chance to bring his (stuffed animal) doggies out, they would get a ride too.

Today is Friday, which means playgroup day. I am not sure who looks forward to it more- me or Austin. Recently we changed the format so we get there about 9:30, the kids play, a friend comes to babysit the kids for one hour and we moms go across the street, get a milk tea and share recent concerns, praises or requests and then we bring take out rice dishes back to Goldie's house and all eat lunch together. Today was extra special, as we gave Angie (otherwise known as Bree's mom) a little surprise baby shower, as she is due with baby #2 in two weeks! Here are some pictures from the day.

Here are the moms out celebrating-(Back from left) Emily and Sarah (bottom) me, Angie, Goldie

We lined up the kids on the couch today and got at least one shot where a majority are smiling- from the left is Sydney (19 mo.), Isaac (18 mo) Bree (2 yrs) Austin and David (10 mo). Can you guess which child belongs to which mom?

Isaac giving Austin a kiss. Austin isn't quite sure what to think.

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.

Time of Mourning

Today was the first of three official days of mourning in China for the victims of the earthquake. We were able to get a lot of the medical supplies, with the help of friends, and Chris and I spent the afternoon taking about 8 boxes of stuff to the airport to meet a group that was flying to help in the disaster area. We were thankful to have a very tiny part and hope the things are well used. Two boxes of rubbing alcohol did not make it because it is flammable and they won't take it on the plane. So we will try to find someone going by train or car to take it later.

We happened to still be at the airport at 2:28 pm, which started a three-minute time of silence to remember the earthquake. The quake hit at 2:28 a week ago Monday and lasted for three minutes. Three minutes is a long time to stand still and be silent and I can only imagine how those three minutes must have felt like an eternity in the midst of shaking and destruction. It was completely silent at the airport, only the sound of a siren, which played around the country. We watched TV broadcasts of people around the country observing the three minutes. In some ways I was glad I was there and not at home, because it felt like I was participating more with the Chinese people during this time. THere were many tears (including my own) as I looked around the terminal. Apparently cars and trains were stopped during those three minutes, really everything stopped around the country at that time.

Well, I don't think I have much more to say, but the sense of heaviness and loss is still very real here a week after the quake.

Dough!

Today Austin "helped" me make cinnamon rolls. I don't know why I was inspired to make them- maybe because I was inside all day because of bad weather. But after the bread maker made the dough, I was rolling it out and Austin was very interested in it. I told him it was dough and he apparently thought this was a great word, because he kept saying very emphatically- dough! dough! He stood on a stool next to me and "helped" me spread the cinnamon sugar on the dough and was very excited as I rolled it up and cut it. He kept trying to grab little chunks of cinnamon sugar and eat them and saying, "mmmm". I wished I had had the camera, but Chris had taken it out at the time. So you will have to imagine him helping with cinnamon all over his face and licking a beater with frosting on it afterwards.

In earthquake news, we continue to feel sad and helpless at times. But I heard from a Chinese friend from here who is working with the Red Cross in Beichuan, one of the hardest hit areas. She asked for help getting them gloves, face masks, rubbing alcohol, bandages etc. So we are trying to find large quantities hopefully by tomorrow or Monday and send through her friend. You can think about us and hope we can do it in a timely way. Apparently they are getting worried about disease. In my friend's text message she also added that Friday they had been able to save only a few children from a primary school and toddler pre-school, the rest had been crushed. It just continues to be heart breaking, but it will feel good to be able to help in a very small way. Also, our friend was interviewed on NPR- one of the Americans helping through the Heart to Heart group mentioned in a Friday broadcast if anyone heard it.