The Epilogue.

Thanks to all of you for the encouraging words about this Blog.  I am glad so many people followed along in our journey and have been "with us" in spirit.  I have actually been asked if I am going to continue to update the Blog-while I don't plan to update on a daily basis, I think I will try to update it occasionally-at least until we get settled.  The computer/internet/VPN issues really made it challenging to maintain after the first week in China, but I am really glad I kept posting.  Already, the days and events are running together in my memory, but this record enables me to remember with detail all the wonderful experiences we had in China.  I guess the title of this is really inaccurate, because an epilogue means closure, and I don't think this will be the end.  I would still like to capture some of the funny (and trying) moments we have and will have as we grow as a family, so look for more posts on occasion. 

I would like to say that somehow I avoided jet lag both ways.  I am either really lucky, or my strategy that I learned while I was traveling to and from Asia as a kid really did work.  I used that same strategy with Zoey on the way home and it worked with her as well - she seemed to escape the jet lag trap.  How did Jenna do?  Well-that is a totally different story. Little Miss I-Am-Going-to-Watch-Movies-the-Whole-Way-Home was exhausted and was a complete zombie on Easter, the day after we returned.  She slept from about 9 p.m. on Easter, through Monday (she did wake up and was ugly ugly ugly, so I told her to go back to bed and not say another word), and she woke up Tuesday all refreshed and ready for school. 

We are home and settling in-though not much of a routine this week because Sam and Megs had spring break-we did go to the museum, the Cinci Zoo, and we all hung out and played all day.  She had a blast with them home, and they totally love her to death. 

Cinci Zoo

Loves her gogurt

I told them to look scared-these are their scarey faces...  hmmm...

How cute is this.

Waiting for the train at the Zoo.

We are still working on the meaning of the word "cheese" before I snap a picture.  Lol.

Loved the train ride.

No one put her up to the first kiss to Sam-but then we made her do it again so I could snap a picture.  Cute cute cute!

Playing with Morgan after dinner tonight.

Cousins  (check out who Morgan is watching...)

These pictures are out of order-but I am not going to spend another half hour re-sorting them.  This was on Easter morning-the day after we arrived in the US.

We were laughing-she probably thought this was great.  "I get to wake up every morning and look for a basket full of candy and presents.  I get to then eat the chocolate and play with the toys.  Then we go to someone else's house and do it all again, with more candy and presents." 

Easter morning, again.  My 3 older kids in their floods-they've all grown so much this winter...

I simply looked up "your color is orange" on the translate app and that was all she needed to start the Easter egg hunt.  She understood what to do-was pretty impressive.  She loved it!

Shopping with mom.  She ran right to this cart-I forgot how difficult these crazy carts were to steer.  Think I gave her whiplash.

Zoey's first Dragon's game.

Xbox.  She loves it!

Joining in the wrestling with Ba ba.

Our first official family photo, taken Friday at my sis' home. 

Friends of ours had a little welcome home party for Zoey on Saturday-it was great!  4 families and 17 kids.  She actually did well-hung with the kids Sam's age for a while, then would come and sit with me, then go back and play, then sit with me.  Everyone LOVED her!

At the park earlier today.

Not a lot of fear in her, we've noticed...

At the Boonshoft Museum with Megs.

Locked up at the Boonshoft.  Bryan didn't throw their key away-he did for Sam's cell.  :)

Trying out Skyline Chili... noodles... but we are still not so sure she liked it.  A little different from Chinese noodles... (Cinci chili has cinnamon in it-totally different from anything I have tasted anywhere else.  You eat it over noodles, with cheese, onions, peppers, etc...  It is definitely an acquired taste.)

Medical Update: I did have her checked out by our pediatrician this past week.  The thing on her face is not a concern (yeah!), but he did not want to remove it on her first appointment there.  He did pull her lip up and showed me-she does have a bit of a palate issue.  There is a cleft that is very narrow that starts from the same area where the lip is repaired, but he said it is so narrow, it is unlikely she will need surgery.  Besides this, she looks great.  We'll head down to the Cinci Int'l Adoption Clinic next week and they'll do a complete eval down there. 

Siblings and Family Life: Zoey is getting along well with Sam, Megs and Jenna.  We had a bit of a turf war the first couple days, which continues on occasion-the older girls want her as their own.  I had to remind them that she is not a PET, but a little sister.  In a couple months I am sure that I will hear them scream for me to get Zoey away from them, but for now they are doting on her and she is soaking up every last bit of attention.  Despite the girls trying to win her attention, she is really gravitating toward Sam.  He is the closest in age, and a really likeable kid.  He doesn't want to compete for attention-he just wants to play.  She goes to his room in the mornings when she gets up-she plays with his toys til he awakens. 

Zoey is really active and social, but she is a pretty laid back, funny kid.  She also has limits to her tolerance, and she will let you know when she's had enough.   Probably the funniest thing I have witnessed is an interaction between her and Megs on Easter-during the peak of the turf war.  Megs was in her face a little too much and kept trying to get her attention.  Zoey had apparently had had enough, and pointed her finger at Megs and spouted off about 2-3 sentences in some pretty harsh, loud Mandarin.  She pulled her finger back and marched off in the other direction.  Megs was stunned-but she started laughing.  She understood the message and went inside the house.  She is still laughing about how "Zoey told me off in Chinese, and boy did she let me have it!"  Now she has mastered English: "Stop it, Jenna!"  Very cute.

With us-she is a doll.  I wouldn't say that we are at the "mom and dad are the greatest thing in the world" level to her quite yet, but we are definitely getting there.  We see progress every day.  I had to go to work for several hours on Thursday and when I got home I got a squeal, then multiple kisses.  (Insert big cheesy grin here.)  On Friday night, we went over to my sister's house.  Zoey played with her cousins-really played.  They hung out by the Fisher Price kitchen, played ball, and ran around.  At the end of the evening she crawled up onto Bryan's lap.  Last night she was very cuddly with me-she snuggled up to me several times, and even laid in the crook of my arm.  I get huge smiles when she sees me for the first time every morning.  I keep waiting for her to start screaming and asking when she is going back to China-but so far, so good.  She really seems happy to be here.  And we are thrilled.

We have had some testing here and there, but she IS three years old.  If you can convey the rule to her, she will usually follow it.  We have used Google Translate a bit when we need to explain something to her, and so far she has towed the line.  She also has a quick recovery-doesn't get too stressed out by anything and can move from being pouty to being hilarious in a matter of seconds.  She just moves on.

Food Issues: She is trying everything I put in front of her.  She doesn't like everything-but she is doing pretty well.  The milk is the biggest issue-that is a struggle.  I keep offering it to her-I am going to try and heat it up, since they drink it hot in China (Chloe's mom just reminded me of this and I will give it a try).  For now, she loves yogurt and is doing pretty well with cheese, so she is getting a fair amount of calcium.  I also have to say that she gets the whole eating-as-a-family thing.  I am thinkin' I have the foster family to thank for that.  She'll sit at the table and joke and laugh with us.  She does want to leave the table early and run around.  But hey-she is THREE.  I suppose I can cut her some slack.

Sleep Issues: Yes.  We have some.  The first couple nights she had to sleep by herself, she woke up around midnight - one of those nights we found her on the couch and brought her in with us.  She does go back to sleep after she wakes up, which really makes the difference.  The other night she ended up sleeping in Jenna's room.  We have let her sleep with us a couple times.  That doesn't work all that well-she snores very, very loudly.  She also spins in her sleep.   But, she is very cuddly, and I really like the snuggling.  A couple nights ago after we gave her a bath (whereby she put her face ALL THE WAY in the water about 5 times-that is huge progress), Sam and I read her some books and it came time to really go to sleep.  She kept repeating something over and over.  I took our Chinese for Adoptive Parents book (this is essential-spells things out phonetically) and asked her if she was scared-she said no.  I used the Google Translate to tell her it was time for bed, please stay in your bed, and if you are scared, come to mom's room.  Sam offered her one of his IKEA bulldogs that he cannot sleep without-it was so sweet.  She shook her head yes to Sam and tucked the dog in next to her.  This is only a twin bed, but it looked like this: Pooh, Elmo, Zoey, bulldog and crazy goat, all tucked under the covers.  She actually went down pretty easily-no hysterics that time.  It was the cutest thing.  She slept the whole night in her room that night.  We have had several of these nights.  We are just taking it day by day. 

The Dogs:  She still hates them, but is getting better.  She makes it a point to pet them and point out to me that she is petting them.  When she's had enough and the dogs are out, we stick her on the kitchen counter-she is the master of the remote control car from that vantage point.  Very funny.

Really, we are so blessed.  She is a doll.  She is funny, happy, playful and pretty outgoing.  A little shy at first-which is fine because she'll cling to me when we are around new faces, and I LOVE that. But she does well in different situations and is starting to really look to Bryan and I for assurance, comfort, and/or just a quick check-in.  Already we have noticed how quickly she is fitting in, and how it just seems like she is meant to be with us - they say you get the child who is meant for you.  I think they are right.