Thank you to all our Friends and Family!

It's been a great week for Zoe. Both friends and family have given her some great gifts....she received several coordinating outfits from Lori McGuire and Patti Edwards. She also received a nice adoption journal book from Steve Trehern and the HR team, some really cool Barbie dolls from Linda Drumm, a badminton set from the Siwa's and cool set of Dr. Suess books from Dominique. She also received an adorable Chinese Doll from her Aunt Lisa and Uncle David & Family and a Canopy Bed from Aunt Brenda and Uncle Jack & Family and of Course the Fernau family. She just loved her cousins...especially the girls from York!  Thank you all for your kindness.  When we first met Zoe all she came with is a backpack with just one set of clothes.  Her eyes lit up every time she received and opened her gifts. This week she got to meet many of her Aunts and Uncles and cousins. So it has been a great week for Zoe.  Zoe continues to adjust very well to her new family...she is a very smart little girl.  She continues to learn new English words and has become very close to her mom. Zoe is a little dare devil...she likes to run, jump and scratch her knees. When she gets a bump or scrape..she says owieee but never cries!  We cannot wait to see what activities she will be interested in....we are thinking maybe gymnastics and T-ball to start...

Like last weekend...Zoe had the opportunity to watch her big brother play baseball....after a long weekend with 18 other teams from across the state! I promise Zoe...the season is almost over....Nathaniel's team...the Ralston Rams took 2nd place at the Nebraska State AAA Tournament in Milford, Nebraska.  The boys played extremely well.  They were a low seed coming in and beat two of the top seeds to place second in the tournament. They played well both offensively and defensively...we are very proud of all the boys!!!

Ralston Rams 2011 Nebraska State AAA Baseball Tournament (2nd Place)

Nathaniel and Zoe ( Nathaniel said Zoe was his Good Luck charm )

Hoisting the trophy....

So it's been a great week...Sonja is enjoying her time off!  She plans to meet with the school to see what our next steps are regarding preschool. Bellevue has a very good program that will help Zoe accelerate her English vocabulary.  In the meantime...Nathaniel is going to a number of College World Series games. He loves going to watch the games and hang out with his buddies.  So all is well this week....Hope all is well with you! Have a great week and thanks for dropping in!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers day to all of you fathers out there! So the whole family is settling in after the trip to China. I am still trying to shake the flu or whatever I got while in China. It continues to linger. Sonja has caught up on laundry and has made a number of trips to the store to get whatever we need now Zoe is here. Nathaniel is back in action on the field so he is happy.  Since we have arrived last Friday his team has played a minimum of 11 games.  They took third in the tournament in Sioux City and just took first in the Papillion Days NIT tournament today. So they had a very successful couple of weeks.  Which is great now that they are getting ready to go into the state tournament next week.

Nathaniel's baseball team wins the Papillion Baseball NIT Tournament

Zoe has also settled in.  She is doing very well.  Although the time change was harder on her than the rest of us, she has adjusted well. She is eating very well.  She likes chicken fingers, tuna fish, hamburgers, yogurt, bananas and has a sweet tooth.  She has explored the whole house and enjoys our telephone as we find her trying to dial and talk to somebody at least once a day. She is a quick learner and has picked up a number of English words including but not limited to:  Thank you, No, Water, Oh My, Awesome, Banana and can count to 10.  She enjoys her room and particularly likes her purse and also likes to color. She likes to wander into Nathaniel room, I am not so sure Nathaniel is crazy about that.  He recently asked if he could add a lock to his door...hmmmm...I wonder if he is telling us something.  She is at times shy but warms up quickly and interacts with others.  She likes cartoons and watches this crazy show called Yo Gabba, Gabba. She has already spent time with her grandparents and with Eric/Kris and family. It was great to see them. One thing we have learned about Zoe is when she gets in the car, she will nod off to sleep in just a few minutes.  Zoe loves taking baths as she likes to splash in the water.  She is getting along well and everyone that meets her just adores her. She has been very accepting and likes attention which she is getting plenty of.  We are so excited to have her here.  She is doing great....

We also have learned that Zoe is afraid of dogs.  We noticed that in China but when she came home she wanted nothing to do with our two dogs. Both of our dogs are very friendly and do not bite. She is warming up to them but will still avoid them if she can.  She will pet them if I am their petting them with her.  The other night there were fireworks and she was not crazy about the loud noises so July 4th may not be her favorite holiday.

Zoe in Sioux City helping with sandbags due to all the flooding

Zoe at the ball park with one of her new friends!

Zoe is a daredevil as she jumps down a few stairs

As I reflect on being a father, I must say I am very lucky to have two great kids. They keep us young.  Or at least younger.

Have a great week! Thanks for dropping in! Until next time....

Beijing to Chicago and Chicago to Omaha (so glad to be home).. jet lag has struck

Woo Hoo...we made it home after about 14 hours in the air. Sonja is on the sprawled out with Zoe on the couch, Nathaniel is on our bed sleeping. I know if I do not stay up I will not get adjusted but I did get a quick nap in this afternoon.

We got up really early to get to the Beijing airport.  We had arranged a Taxi to pick us up at 3:30 in the morning Beijing time.  The Taxi came on time however the taxi was very small and the taxi driver said there was no way he could all our luggage in the car. The hotel suggested we call another taxi however we helped the taxi driver figure it out and we made it to the airport with plenty of time.

On Wednesday we went to the Great Wall and it truly is amazing.  Our tour guide Emily took us to the wall that was about an hour out of Beijing. So we began our climb up the wall...I figured we would try to climb to 2-3 watch towers however it was so steep that Sonja, Zoe and i made it up the first set of stairs while Nathaniel made it to the fifth watch tower.  People were literally sitting on the stairs to catch their breath.  The stairs are so uneven.  One step may only be 3 inches high while the next step might be a foot and a half. Really made for burning lungs and rubber legs but it was so worth the visit. We were really worried about Zoe, on our last day in Guangzhou Zoe's ankle and foot had swelled and she was limping. Fortunately one of our new adoptive family friend Tara who is a doctor looked at it and said it as an allergic reaction to a bug bite.  She was right and by the next day the swelling had subsided and she climbed the wall with Sonja. I was quite amazed.  After our visit to the wall we went to a Cloisonne factory where we had lunch and learned how Cloisonne is made. It was a very interesting visit.

Back to our flight home....Zoe did reactively well on our flights home.  However there was about a 5 hour period from Beijing to Chicago where she was squirming, pushing on the back of the chair of a passenger in front of us and jut couldn't stay in her seat. I cannot imagine what was going through her mind...we tried everything to keep her entertained but that was difficult.  Too many buttons to push, knobs to turn and other stimulation on a plane for Sonja and I too keep her focused. The trip from Chicago to Omaha was a little over an hour and Zoe did amazingly well. As we approached Omaha we were amazed to see all the flooding...must have been a lot of rain.

So we are home and Nathaniel has a baseball tournament this weekend in Souix City. I am glad he is back as he sorely missed being with his friends and playing baseball.  I think it was a great experience for him and it was important that he was their to meet and begin to bond with his new little sister.  China has an amazing history, beautiful landscape and we met a number of really nice people in China.  Really great people...I am glad it is a requirement for adoptive parents to travel to China for their children.  It was truly an amazing trip.

Well that's all for now...I have added some pictures now that it is much easier to get on the internet.  It was actually quite difficult while in China.  It makes you appreciate the freedoms we have here in the U.S.  I have posted a few pictures with more to come.

At the Guagzhou Zoo

Guanhzhou at Night on the Pearl River

All the adoptive families

Enjoying Papa Johns on the Dragon Boat

The Great Wall

Shot of our climb up the staiss to the first watch tower

Sonja and Zoe climbing the wall

The Dragon boat we toured on! The Pearl river at dusk.

Chinese Medicine Market

 

In Guangzhou

Sonja, Nathaniel, Zoe and I have spent the last several days in Guangzhou. Which is located in the south part of China.  Approximately 16 million people live in and around the city.So why Guangzhou?  Well...this is where we get Zoe's Visa so she can travel to the United states. Currently Zoe has a Chinese passport.  Once she gets to the United States we will surrender her Chinese passport and get her a United States passport. Our hotel is located on an island which used to be owned by the British during their occupation.

Zoe is really beginning to get more comfortable with all of us.  However...I think Sonja and I have forgotten how active toddlers are.  Watch out all...she is like the Energizer Bunny...she like to explore and touch everything...she should fit in well with her cousins. Although she is accustomed to Chinese food including rice noodles in the morning...I think she will transition quite well to pizza, hamburgers and french fries.

Sonja and Zoe

Sonja and Zoe

We did get to do a few things while in Guangzhou....we went to the jade and pearl wholesale markets.  We did not buy anything but it was sure interesting.  We went to the Guangzhou safari which was very large zoo.   It was nice and had 12 panda bears which is the largest exhibit of Pandas anywhere in China. We also went to the Chinese medicine market which had dried seahorses, starfish, and a whole host of dried things....the Chinese have been practicing this medicine for thousands of years and the market was full of vendors.  Interesting but I think I will stick with Western medicine practices.  Last night we went on the Dragon boat which took us up and down the Pearl river.  At night all the buildings around the river are lit up...it was very cool.  Zoe spent most of her time with Sonja.  Zoe is transitioning well. Although she likes to give Nathaniel grief.  So, today...we finish our stop at Guangzhou with a departure meeting and a red carpet photo which groups all the adoptive families together.  One photo of all the children and one photo with all the families.  Then we fly back to Beijing.  We will see the great wall which we missed on the first leg of the trip but was able to rearrange our schedule...we are all glad we will get to see the wall....We will stay in Beijing until Friday and then fly back early Friday morning to Omaha.  We should get back to Omaha on Friday mid morning....remember China is 13 hours ahead.  We expect to arrive in Omaha in the morning in time for Nathaniel to rejoin his baseball team for their weekend games....he is excited to get back as we all are.  China has been a great experience but we are all ready to get home.

Nathaniel, Sonja and Zoe

On the bus

Thanks for reading our blog....I will post a number of pictures when we get back home.  Getting access to the internet has been tough due to Chinese restrictions.  One of our families found a way to get around the Chinese fire wall which blocks access to facebook, blogs, etc.