Merry Christmas Everyone!

We wish you all a wonderful Christmas! Here is a quick clip of Marlee's reaction to Christmas morning.

Happy Birthday Marlee!

Marlee is really enjoying her birthday! We took lots of video. It will take a bit of time to put it all together. But, for now, here is a quick clip to help you all share in the celebration. Marlee is such a sweet kid and so appreciative of everything. We love her so much!

Tomorrow December 19 is Marlee's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Marlee!

If you would like to wish Marlee a happy second birthday please leave her a comment.
We will read them to her!

Marlee goes to Santa Claus

T'is the season...

When our Marlee entered the Zhanjiang Children's Welfare Institute, she was truly blessed because they were just starting a program called "Open Arms" for the youngest children in the orphanage. This program was developed, and is supported by, a group of parents like ourselves who have adopted children from Zhanjiang. The "Open Arms" nannies have been trained by professionals in child development, with all of their salaries coming from donations. The children who benefit from this program are given the opportunity to play for hours everyday (VERY rare in institutions), their development is recorded, and their care adjusted to best meet their needs. Basically, they receive individualized attention and affection. I credit this program GREATLY for the physical and emotional well being of our baby during her 16 months at the orphanage. The same group that sponsors the Open Arms program has also started a program to send the older children of Zhanjiang Children's Welfare Institute to school. Education is always important, but especially so in China where one's future depends on successful studies. Without parents, these children need to be successful in school in order to have any hope for a better future.

The time of year has arrived for fundraising. These programs are funded by donations only. I strongly urge anyone and everyone who's enjoyed watching Marlee adjust to her new life here in the USA, to consider donating SOMETHING, ANYTHING to help these programs continue.

http://www.zhanjiangkids.org/helping.htm

Also, take a close look at the additional information about the Open Arms program, just above the pledge form. One of the children featured there is Marlee! See if you can guess which one.

Finally, for a little extra motivation, here are some photos of our little beauty this week. Enjoy!

Here are Mommy, Daddy, and Marlee playing in the Opryland Hotel in Nashville

We had a wonderful time in Nashville with our friends Robert and Shakila. Here are the gals.

Our good ole friends Jeff and Justin stopped in to visit us. We finally got to meet Jeff's wife Leslie and their baby Cydney. It was so great to spend time with them. Marlee really enjoyed playing with Cydney.

Happy Thanksgiving from Sgroiland!

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. We hope you all had a great holiday! Here is the latest Marlee YouTube video to help you share some time with us! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

(It's best viewed in high quality. To do so, double click on the movie. It will open up the movie at the youtube site. Then click the "Watch In High Quality" option at the lower right of the movie.)

Marlee makes new Friends!

We all had a wonderful time this weekend with our old friends Jim, Kim, and JD! Marlee has some more favorite people in her life. She can't get enough of those!

Marlee's first snow

It's snowing! What a surprise for our little Zhanjiang girl. She laughed with delight as the snow fell all around her.

A weekend trip to the Mall

So, we went to the Mall this past weekend and guess who we meet? Santa Claus! As luck would have it we had just been talking about him. Marlee really liked him and blew him a kiss as we left. Santa gave her antlers to wear which she has continued to wear even as we speak. We think Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be particularly fun this year!

Marlee's Halloween

Marlee has been with us now for 3 months and we are all so happy. She is doing wonderfully and we feel so blessed to have her. To celebrate, we invite you all to share Marlee's first Halloween with us! Enjoy!

(It's best viewed in high quality. To do so, double click on the movie. It will open up the movie at the youtube site. Then click the "Watch In High Quality" option at the lower right of the movie.)

Let the Halloween Season Commence!

Marlee was very decisive about what she wanted to dress up as for Halloween. She went right to the shelf and pulled out the little witch costume. Her gymnastics school held the first party of the Halloween season this evening and Marlee was ready! What a fun time. Have you ever seen a cuter witch before?

Marlee and Cousins

Marlee has been having a great time with her cousins this weekend!

Little Miss-Fashion-Statement

Marlee is already what I would call a girly-girl. She loves trying on clothes, shoes, and Mommy's jewelry. And occasionally she accessorizes her own outfits (even her nightie), as you can see here!

Creating a routine

I currently, thankfully, have the luxury of staying home with Marlee. We attend gymnastics and Kindermusik and I try to incorporate some sort of outing everyday. However, I think it's equally, if not more, important to establish "normalcy" and a sense of daily routine for our family. And I have to say that our girl seems to be thriving in this environment. I watch her learn new words and concepts and physically cross new milestones daily, and I'm doing my best to guide and support her. I waited a long time for this opportunity and I try to savor every moment! Here are a couple pictures from our "home" time this week. Enjoy!

Mia and Marlee

We had a great time with Mia and her family this weekend. Here is the latest YouTube video. Enjoy!

(It's best viewed in high quality. To do so, double click on the movie. It will open up the movie at the youtube site. Then click the "Watch In High Quality" option at the lower right of the movie.)

Random acts of cuteness

Here are some favorite photos of our girl.

Music and Gymnastics

Marlee is learning and experiencing new things every day. She is amazingly smart and has a great sense of humor. She had to try on Mommy's shoes and walk around to get us to laugh.





She does gymnastics and "Kinder-musik" with Mommy each week. Here she is playing her first instrument.

Marlee hanging out at the pool.

Marlee still doesn't want to get into the water but she loves watching all the other kids play in it. Here she is by the pool with Mommy. She got ice cream so she was quite happy.

Marlee meets Grandma and Grandpa!

Marlee enjoys her brand new Grandma and Grandpa from Walton, New York! Lots of laughs!

This one is cute too!

Little Marlee

After three weeks of dedicated family time I finally went back to work this past Monday. It was hard to leave Marlee. When I arrived home that evening and opened the door she was sitting in her stroller looking at me and she burst into laughter. She laughed with delight for about a minute straight. That made me feel pretty good. We also recieved some pictures of Marlee when she was a little baby from the Open Arms Program she participated in when at her orphanage. This is just a couple of them. Cute ehy?

Baby Sleeps through Night! Parents Ecstatic!

Yes, last night Marlee slept during the night and through it. And so did we. It was glorious! She woke up laughing for the second straight day. That is pretty funny. Here is a picture of Marlee sleeping through the night at the White Swan Hotel. We hadn't seen this in a while. She is quite the angel.