The holidays

well we have made it thru the holidays. We have been home for 3 weeks,it has been hard to get into a routine with the boys being home and visiting friends. Zoe seem to enjoy Christmas although I am sure she doesnt understand any of it. She receieved some wonderful gifts from her sisters and grandma in Florida.She stayed up on new years eve ,actually she has made it to midnight almost every night. lately she has been wanting to sleep in my room, a few nights she will put herself to bed in her room, most nights she makes a bed for herself on my floor but ends up in my bed. This little girl is a thrasher, i mean 360 turns ,flips ,knees in my back, feet on my head, not a good co sleeper. i usually put her in her bed when she is sleeping in the hopes that when she wakes she will become comfortable in her own room. this is for her own safety, she sometimes wakes up and goes neow neow and then sleeps great the rest of the night.vhoic
we went to visit my friend Connie and her daughter Tiffany. Connie's son sean is one of Tevins friends. Tiffany is a month younger than Zoe so we hope they will become friends. Zoe seemed very comfortable at Connies and took her coat right off and started playing.. Connie was a reference for my homestudy as well as a continued support person. A personal request, Connie's husband Cliff will be leaving for a 13month tour of Afghanistan next week so if you could lift him and their family in your prayers it would be so appreciated.
I have to return to work tonight I don't want to but have no choice,apparently FMLA ends the 1st of the year no matter what.I hope Zoe adjusts well to the changes, soon she will be taking a nap everyday when mama does.
Zoe continues to do well, she is speaking more english but also more Chinese. I am excited about attending the CNY celebration with our area FCC group. Thanks for following along. Have a happy new year....

first week home

Zoe has done wonderfully and plays well in her room with the toys. She has a great sense of humor and loves to make silly faces. She has yelled at me in Chinese a couple of times when I made her mad. I am not sure what she was saying but i am sure it was not good.
tuesday was her first dr appt. She weighs 32 lbs and is 39 inches tall. She had no shots in China so she now has to play catch up. She had 6 shots . She still has a little cough so the Dr prescribed an antibiotic. She still has her heart murmur so we made an appointment for the pediatric cardiology specialist. Their next available day was in feb so I was put on the wait list. they called back 2 hrs later with an appt for Weds.Zoe did not like the first part where she had to get her pulse points taken and an ekg. They decided to wait until june to do the ultrasound . she has no restrictions as it does not appear to be interfering with her breathing or growth. There is still a chance that the hole may heal on its own.
zoe can now repeat almost everything we say. She can say Zoe Pontillo better than most people.still getting ready for the holiday. Have a joyous holiday Bonnie

meeting the family

after the airport we went to my house, now to explain when I left my house was a mess, like a bad remodel show reject. I asked Shari and Kelli if they could try to move some boxes to the basement They kept telling me that they didnt have time, so I figured we might end up staying over sharis until I finished up. Shari met us at the airport with Desmond after his daylong treatment. i was so happy to see them. of course none of us thought to get the camera out - I also was so stressed in Detroit trying to get thru security in time for our connecting flight that I did not take any photos of her first steps on US soil. Zoe was shy at first but by the time I retrieved our luggage she was laughing and happy. She went in her carseat just fine. Shari said that Kelli was going to meet us at my house so I could get my car. Well i walked in my house and was shocked. Shari,Kelli, Desi and a few of their friends had basically done a complete makeover of my house , all the unfinished jobs were completed, seats redone, carpet put down and everything cleaned. Zoe's room is amazing , so many little details. I have to say I was overwhelmed and shed more tears than when I met Zoe. I was so touched that they would have done so much for me,I mean most days I am not sure if they even like me. Zoe was very happy at her room and all her toys. She seemed to like the cats. after the full tour complete with the slide show of before and after shots( it might be on utube) we went to Pizza hut. It was Shari,Kelli, Des, Tev, Zoe and myself. we were also joined by Guy( my Bf of 7 yrs who wanted no part of the adoption, and apparently had a change of heart when I was gone)and His 3 girls Sondra 15 Jessics 13.5 and Jade 11. Zoe was shy until she had a chance to see kelli and Desi and then she was fine. Zoe is just a great kid, very easy going. Well we went back to Guys apartment in town because we were suppose to be getting a big storm , we did.
Zoe likes men and was asking for Guy and he was hugging her and saying how precious she was( i don't recall him ever saying i was precious LOL) Zoe has him wrapped around her little pinky he made a little bed for her, he tucked her in... I went all the way to China for her and she trades me in for a 6 ft redhead.He is great with her, as he has raised all 3 girls since they were babies.
Zoe warmed up to her bro Desi after some confusion over there being 2 GUGUs
so far Zoe has slept thru the night, then stayed up all the next night, She has gone to walmart,we went to the kids school concert and she was great. She fell asleep towards the end . She has her first drs appointment tuesday. I will post again then. She has started copying what we say and loved to play with a teaching stuffed dog that Guy bought her while we were still gone(desi ratted him out on the phone)It says "peek a boo" and then Zoe says "peek a bow" so cute, she also learned to say no. She still calls me just MA as if she was a teen... enjoy the pics... peace and happiness and still pinching myself daily that she is really home.... Bonnie

the journey home

we started out early at 5 am to the guangzhou airport for our first flight. We had the wrong forms from our guide so had to redo some forms. made in on in plenty of time then we had a delay of an hour due to the heavy air traffic. the sky was a beautiful blue and once up the 4 hr flight was great. In tokyo we asked to be put together but we told the flight was full. when we went to board my ticket came thru as not found but luckily it was just that they had moved my seat so we did sit together. that flight also was pretty smooth and only had slight turbulance. we arrived in detroit a little early around 1 pm but it took forever to get thru security. Zoe had to have her forms processed ,then our luggage went thru 3 different checks we were even set to the agriculture check point ????? not sure way. Zoe has been saying "neow neow" meaning she needed to go the bathroom at the first line poor girl. We found our next gate and of course it was the farthest possible from where were. there was a symbol next to it so I thought it was already boarding. We rushed the whole length of the airport and every time we passed a restroom she would start yelling again. we made it and the plane was still being serviced. that symbol??? it meant to take the monorail..LOL We made it to rochester at 4:30 pm and were greeted by Desmond and Shari who had come straight from the hospital to pick us up. more later Bonnie

homeward bound

Well its our last night in China,and I just found a shop that takes credit cards,so I decided we would take a later flight.... just kidding... but we would have done some sightseeing .Zoe is ready to meet her family.I am ready to come home. Kelli should have come she would love all the bargains. Yesterday at breakfast we were able to see many new babies  and their first time parents... pretty neat to be able to witness one day just people and the next day families. The babies are all so beautiful and up until then we had mostly seen boys around. we met a few people from long island ,and wisc. we fly out in the morning and as of right now we dont have seats together from tokyo hopefully that will change. by the time we land in rochester ny me and Tev will have had 8 flights in 16 days thats alot.

     We ate at Lucy's the last 2 nights I reccomend the fish and chips I have had  it 3 times this week thats more fish then I have had in the last year. They also have a special beer container(like a coffee urn)that sits on your table. we didnt have it but another table did we didnt have the camera.

       China had been a wonderful experience, Zoe is such a delight. She is rough and ready so I know she will hold her own with other kids. I think she must have had a few jobs. She can cut up food like a chef,fold clothes like she has worked at the gap,clean the laundry, scrub the bath.She has a wonderful happy personality most of the time. Today as we were walking back to the hotel Tevin was ahead of us and then we lost sight of him and Zoe started running and crying Tebin, saying something about her GuGu and wailing. Not sure why as they seem to get on each others nerves(typical sibs)

    We leave in the am 9ish to tokyo then to Detroit then arrive in Rochester at 4:30 still on friday. we look forward to seeing everyone.. Thanks for following and being a part of the Journey to bring Zoe home.....Peace and happiness bonnie

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2 more days

Monday night we did have papa johns pizza. Zoe's first time having pizza and she loved it.In true pontillo fashion she even ate it cold the next day. Tuesday we went to the American consulate . Tevin stayed in the hotel as it was his "naptime" Me and Zoe walked to the white swan hotel to catch the bus with many others parents. The consulate is now a 25 min drive from the island. The buses were packed and one little girl cried the whole way.Zoe was fine sitting on my lap until we were almost there when she started her "neow neow" meaning she has to go the bathroom.She repeats this in a "redrum" tone(the shining). I knew she did not have to go as she went before we left. I am starting to think that she does this when she wants to change what we are doing.Zoe is such a happy little girl. She really has only cried that first day for a little while and now she cries when she doesnt get her own way.At the consulate we had to go to the window so they could see in person that we were the right people. then the director came out talked about what a happy event this was and had us swear to the info,then we recieved the brown envelope that we have to give to someone at the airport in Detroit.  We are ready to come home. I can not get my bank card to work so now we are counting every penny. Its too bad cuz there are so many good deals here. 

         We said good bye to Corey and Jack.Both of them have been great travel mates, very easy going and fun. The 3 of us then when to the Swan to catch a taxi with a friend of Lily's down to the Boat dock.We didnt get the dinner buffet tickets  but we had window seats. the boat was beautiful, very english tea like. we were served tea immediately, even Zoe, and then soup and then a carry out container of rice,chicken and egg and greens. so we ended up with dinner anyways. The boat tour was pretty neat . we couldnt understand anything that was said but the lights were pretty cool. When we return we had a little trouble catching a taxi back but finally made it . we walked to the hotel and ended up purchasing the last few gifts. Tevin decided(finally) that he did want a chinese suit. It is being made for him and will be ready weds afternoon.It cost less than 16$ . i wish I had more funds I would be getting suits for all the boys .Zoe had some more ice cream tonight and then in her crib for sleep. She is a great kid . she "did" our hair today with 6 barrettes and a ponytail.Only 2 more days  , we still dont have seats together on the planes.  enjoy the pictures,: Zoe with pizza and a message for her big sisters,the boat trip, and some others..

   take care .. Bonnie

 

ready to go home

Well we are ready to go home but still have to wait for fri.only 4 more days.Everything went ok at the CA according to Lily.We went to the Zoo.Tevin and Zoe had a great time. They got their pics taken with a monkey, a very angry monkey that only minutes before had been fighting with a husky that had gotten loose, the trainers gave the monkey a switch from the tree and let it beat the dog. Corey is ready and willing to try anything I was happy they didnt offer to let him feed the tigers. We saw the panda and the fierce wild pomeranians. We also saw a circus show which was strange.We went to lucy's for our meal of the day.Tevin went in to the monkey pit and fed them . Zoe thought that this was very funny until she saw the stroller down there also. lily brought some amoxicillian and cough syrup for Zoe so hopefully she will get better before we fly. She has been getting better everyday even without meds. i found a brochure for papa johns Pizza so we may try that tonight. We havent done anything here because the other two families have been here before and dont want to do anything again. we may be going on the river cruise tuesday night I hope to get to see the six Banyons or something soon. Tevin is being a great help Zoe really likes her gugu most of the times.
China really is a very interesting place so much contrast. Some every wealthy areas and people and then people just making it thru everyday. It seems unfair that I am walking around with 2 kids and 3 more at home and most the people here can only have one child. I am so thankful to have all my kids. each is so different and special in their own unique way.
Iam anxiuos to get home and see my family and of course have Miss Zoe meet them. She continues to be a very happy girl. She doesnt speak any english or much chinese unless it is to announce to the entire world that she has to go to the bathroom
todays photos : Zoe looking sweet on the island, Tevin and Zoe the monkey is the one in the middle, Corey and his son Jack, tevin letting the monkey fix his hair,the panda, the pomeranians, Zoe's first ride, Zoe and the statue , she loves this one and ran right up and starting hugging it. Too cute. Still having fun but tired of being stuck in the room.
Peace and happiness bonnie