MORE PICTURES!

4 Years Old!

It's been quite a while since I posted last! So much has happened. Zoe turned 4 and she has grown so much. She is such a fun, sweet, smart little girl and we are so blessed to have her as our daughter! We have recently moved to Stepehnson VA along with Zoe's grandparents, Vic and Susan. We all bought a house together and our kids love having their grandparents every day! Tomorrow is Zoe's last day of preschool for this year. Next year she will attend 4 days a week in a Pre-K class. She has loved going to preschool and she can't wait to go back next fall. Her are some pics of the last year. She has asked the Lord to come into her heart and her Grandpa led her in the sinners prayer!

Zoe Turns 3 years old on Jan.2nd 2014

Well last year at this time I was getting packed to leave for china to go get my Zoe. Now almost a year later she turns 3 years old today. She has changed so much in a year. She is loving and tender, funny and smart, kind and spicy too! She has changed our lives forever for the better. She gained a family but we gained a beautiful daughter and our two sons Taylor and Carter gained a little sister for life. Her Grandma and Grandpa adore her and she them. She is so close to them and they love spending every second they can with her. Her Aunt Shannon and Uncle Trent adore their niece too and her whole family is having a blast with her. Zoe is so excited about going to preschool next fall! She is speaking in complete sentences, so clearly and loves to chat! She loves to play outside and in her playroom. She loves all our dogs and loves to snuggle with them. This last year her personality has blossomed and we have seen such a happy girl emerge! She had a fabulous first trip to Disney with her Grandma and Mommy. She met all her favorite princesses and couldn't get enough of meeting all the Disney characters. She was a night owl at Disney and kept up with her Grandma and I till 11pm some nights! She is a great traveler. She had breakfast with Minnie, Mickey, Donald and Goofy and Donald Duck even did the Waltz with her. Shopping at Disney for souvenirs was one of her favorite things to do there. She loved the rides and would go on any ride she was tall enough for. We made some awesome memories in Disney as an all girl trip! Here are some pics of her in the last 7 months or so.

Settling In!

Zoe is settling in now and knows we are her family forever! She is so happy and loves being with her brothers! She loves going to baseball games to cheer them on. She has started to say short sentences and still loves to eat! So far she will eat anything we put in front of her. She now sleeps in a princess toddler bed and loves it. No more tears at nap time or bed time and she sleeps soundly through the night. Grandma and Mommy took Zoe to get her ears pierced and as she loves to wear jewelry. She was such a brave girl and loves her butterfly earrings. She is learning so much each day and says new words each week. We put her baby pool outside yesterday and she went into a pool for the first time and had a blast. She loves to jump on our new trampoline and she asks to go "Jump" every day. She especially loves it when we are all together!! One of her favorite things to do is color and she discovered stickers as well. She is such a fun girl to be around and has grown so much since bringing her home. Her hair is getting longer and thicker and she has gained weight too! My bond with her gets stronger and stronger each day and I am so blessed to have her as my daughter! God is so faithful!

USA!!!!

Zoe is now a United States citizen! We got her papers in the mail along with her certificate of citizenship! Zoe also had her first appointment to check on her heart. On March 13, 2013 Robert and I took her to see Dr. Mitchell. He is a highly qualified pediatric cardiologist and he was just wonderful with Zoe. It was a long 2 hour appointment including and EKG and 2 sonograms. This appointment was very hard on Zoe as she has regressed in her progress a little since then but is finding her way. The Doctor gave her a great report on her heart. He told us that the surgery they did in China was done very well and that she was very healthy and doing great. She has to see him once a year and told us signs to look for if she begins to have leakage between her lower valves as her heart grows. She is saying Mommy and Daddy in English now which is fun and she says, "excuse you" and "Bless you" and "Wuv you"! She continues to have a great appetite and loves ice cream! She has made a great transition into her toddler bed as she was struggling with nap time in her crib. So we gave the toddler bed a shot and she has done very well and sleeps through the night in her bed without getting up! She picked out some Disney princess sheets and some Hello Kitty sheets as those are her two favorite characters so far! Thank you for all your prayers for Zoe, keep them up!

Fun with family!

Zoe has been home for a little over 3 weeks and is doing great. She loves her family and toys. She is such a "girly girl"! She wants to put on jewelry and makeup every morning when mommy gets ready and have her hair done with style! Grandma got her some jewelry and mommy and daddy bought her a hello kitty jewelry box to keep all her stuff in. Grandma also got Zoe a little Hello Kitty makeup bag so she can have her beauty time while mommy gets ready. She loves her squeaky shoes we got for her in China as well.

Zoe had her first doctors appointment and it went very well. She got some immunizations and blood work done and the doctor said she is very healthy. She goes to see a pediatric cardiologist in March to make sure everything with her heart is working correctly. Her pediatrician could hear a heart murmur while listening to her heart at the doctors office.

Mommy and Daddy got her a princess 4 wheeler for her 2nd birthday and she loves to ride it! Grandma and Grandpa threw her a little 2 year old birthday party with a Minnie Mouse theme and Grandma made her a birthday cake! She also loves to eat and she has learned to fold her hands and pray at each meal. She has started saying more words in English such as: Owl, School, Cool, Bye-Bye, Eat, Puppy, Uh-Oh, Mama, Dada, Ball, when asked what a Ducky says, she says Quack-Quack! She is learning more and more each day. She loves music and dances to it any time its on and she loves books and balls. She plays at her little pink kitchen with her baby dolls and sets up her tea set!

Zoe's Grandpa loves to take pictures of her and has captured some precious moments! This is Grandma and Zoe at the Women's Bible Study that Grandma teaches. It was her first time coming to bible study to meet all the women who have prayed for her so much and supported our adoption! Grandma loves to cook for her and play with her and buy her cute outfits to wear! The boys are doing great with her and love to play with her and are wonderful big brothers!

Fun at Home!

Well we have had Zoe home now for 7 days now and she is doing great! She slept through the night last night for the first time and hopefully that will continue. She is having a blast exploring her playroom, her toys and getting to know her brothers and family. She says "uh oh" a lot now and she blows kisses when asked too! She waves hi and Bye and says "quack quack" for duck. We are so blessed to have her home and she is more than we could have ever wished for. Here are some pics......

Sleeping after our consulate appointment in Guangzhou!

Laughing at her brothers!

Sitting with Grandpa at his computer!

Playing with the baby doll stroller for the first time!