Blog

With the holidays in full motion, the season of giving is also upon us. Giving was exactly what everyone did this past November 16th at our Dining to Make a Difference fundraiser. With a warm heart I am thinking of all who came out to support our second event for our commitment to community philanthropy. Wow! Thank you to everyone who gave their time, effort and financial support.  There are so many people and business that came together to help make this fundraiser a huge success. Our fundraising efforts will benefit The Arc of Howard County and Project SEARCH Howard County. The Arc of Howard County is a special organization that helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live full and meaningful lives. We worked closely with Barbara Moyer, Director of Marketing, Communication and Events who was "arresting" people all night. We had many people arrested who needed to come up with bail money!

Phoenix on Main

LaPalapa

Donations from businesses:

Pura Vida Med Spa

Primitive Beginnings

Lotus

Sweet Elizabeth Jane

RedBird Bar & Grill

State Fair

SteelFire Kitchen & Bar

Black Ankle Vineyards

Thames Street Oyster House

Bra-La-La

Tito's Vodka

The Beaumont

Stretchfit Massage

Forget Me Not Factory

Pam Long Photography

Gloss Studio

Xenia Greek Kouzina

La Palapa

Diageo

18th & 21st

Donations from individuals:

Michelle Wildman

Pete Delle-Croce

Shelley Sharkey

Mary Beth Dulin w/Mary Kaye

Sherri Carky

Sent from my mobile device.  Please excuse any typos.  

Some recent videos....

Taken during a September visit...

This is a little dark, but hopefully you will get the idea. Merrilee loved her visit to the National Aquarium...or as she calls it...the "big fish tank..." Can you tell by her "Oh...there's one...there's one..." that she was excited?

Barnyard Dance

One of Merrilee's favorite books is "Barnyard Dance" by Sandra Boynton.

It's her favorite book to read along with daddy at bedtime.

In fact, most of the time now, she reads it TO daddy.

It's not everyday you get to hear a four-year-old read the word "promenade..."

Summer Views

Haven't been writing much on the blog. Most of the pics and video of Merrilee gets posted on mommy and daddy's Facebook pages.

But, here are some pics from the summer. frim the 4th of July, to trips to the Maryland Zoo and National Aquarium.

Little Merrilee turned four in June. And every day, she is growing up a little bit more.

A Quick Visit

Merrilee and mommy came home for a quick visit this weekend.

Today, daddy took Merrilee to her favorite pond to feed the ducks and geese.

But alas, there were few ducks and geese to be found. But there were plenty of seagulls.



Guess even the seagulls need to eat!!!

Getting Caught Up

Time to get caught up on some older videos.

First, on the drive to Georgia in September 2010, Merrilee got to visit her friend Kassidy, and she had fun blowing bubbles with Kassidy and Kassidy's dad, Billy...



Next, there was the trip to the pumpkin patch and the fall festival with mom...



There was also the trip through the maze...



And of course, there was trick or treating, though Merrilee had a bad cold and wasn't feeling too well. Still, she "monkeyed it up..."



Some video from her first haircut...



And lastly, ice cream with mom...

Reading To Her Animals

Merrilee loves books. She loves to read books with mom and dad, at school, and with her friends.

And sometimes, Merrilee likes to do the reading.

Usually, her audience is a few of her favorite stuffed animals...

The Chinese Were RIght About A Few Things...

Before we picked up our sweet little girl, the Chinese sent us a packet of information about her.

Most of it was outdated by the time we got her. But three things were very true:

Merrilee has a great appetite....

Merrilee loves the outdoors....

Merrilee loves music (and that apparently means dancing too!)

Merrilee's First Haircut

Well, it only took three and a half years, but mommy mustered up the courage for Merrilee's first haircut.

Here are some pictures from that historic occasion -- February 19, 2011 -- Merrilee's first haircut!

A Christmas Together

Life has been so busy these past few months, and we haven't been posting many updates to this blog.

But today is Christmas! It is Merrilee's third Christmas with us -- but only the second with both mommy and daddy.

This time last year, mommy was in Iraq. And this year, we pause and say of word of thanks to all of those service men and women who are serving their country and separated from their families. They make it possible for us all to sleep a little better at night.

We're not certain, but we think Rudolph flew by about 3 a.m. and when we woke up this morning, sure enough, the jolly man in red had made a visit while we were asleep.

Here are some scenes from Christmas 2010!

And now everyone is bracing for the newest snow storm...

May the new year bring everyone health, peace, and happiness.

The Girl Loves Her Cupcake!!!

Daddy lives to get pictures and videos of his little girl. She is growing up a little bit more each and every day.

And clearly, she loves her cupcakes!

What's Merrilee Been Up To?

So what's Merrilee been up to in Georgia?

Nothing much.

Just hanging around...

Daddy's Little Monkey

Daddy got a chance to visit Merrilee the first weekend of October. The weather was beautiful, and while daddy was there, Merrilee's Halloween costume arrived.

Merrilee just loves monkeys. So this year, when she goes through the neighborhood trick or treating, she'll be dressed as a monkey...

Merrilee really enjoys playing with all of her stuffed animals -- especially her monkeys and alligators. Just the other day, mommy thought Merrilee was being a little too quiet. When she went into Merrilee's room, she found out that Merrilee was hosting a tea party!

A New Buddy

Daddy sure does miss his little girl. But he sent along a little love to her this week.

On Tuesday, when Merrilee got home from school, she found a package in the mail. It was a special gift from daddy. The package contained a new stuffed animal for her collection -- a stuffed giraffe.

Merrilee clearly loves the newest addition. She determined it is a boy giraffe, and so she has named him George.

Gettin' Southern

Merrilee is becoming quite the southern princess already, and she's enjoying chowing down on some yummy southern BBQ.

She also enjoyed a visit from her Uncle Barry....

Fly Away!

Well, no matter where she goes, Merrilee loves to find those coin-operated rides at shopping malls, Wal-Marts, and grocery stores.

It didn't take her long to find one near her new house in Georgia...

A Visit With A Friend From China

Well, this blog probably won't be updated as much in the future. Merrilee's mommy has taken a job in Georgia, and for the last few weeks, we've been busy working out details for a move. Yesterday, mommy and Merrilee left for their new home there. Daddy is staying in Baltimore and will try a long-distance commute for a while. We'll see how that goes.

When mommy and Merrilee left yesterday, they drove half way to their new home. They stopped in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and spent the night with Billy, Nikki and Kassidy. Billy and Nikki are our friends. They were in our travel group to China. They were very gracious hosts (Nikki cooked a yummy meal...) and the best part was seeing our two little girls together. Here are some pictures mommy snapped with her iPhone. The two girls both look like princesses!

On Merrilee's last day in Baltimore, she spent most of the morning with daddy. We made a final visit to feed the ducks and geese at the local pond. Then, we visited the local playground. Then, it was a final visit to Opie's snowball stand for the last snowball of the season. Here's some video of the last few hours together...

Beach Baby

Merrilee enjoyed her vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She is already a beach baby. She went shell hunting and she spent a lot of time playing in the surf and making sand castles. She loved the road trip down to Cape Hatteras to see the lighthouse.

Merrilee, mommy and daddy were joined by uncle Jim and aunt Judy from Arkansas, along with cousin Blakely.

Merrilee is already asking when she can go back to the beach.

Here are some assorted pictures and video.

And...some random video shots...

Gotcha Day -- 2 Years Later!

Has it really been two years already?

It was August 18, 2008, that we were in a little non-descript government building in Wuhan, China, getting to meet our precious little Merrilee for the very first time.

After almost four years of waiting, and traveling halfway around the world, it was a moment we will never forget...

Some days we miss that little girl so much. The time has gone by so quickly. But she has grown into one fine little buckaroo!!!

Happy anniversary, Merrilee. Happy "Gotcha Day!"