Christmas Pictures

http://flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157603554891094/show/

Christmas Morning

Santa came to see Kailey:

Wow.....

The holiday season is a time for amazing and wonderous things..... and dancing elf videos:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1227841507


sometimes the dancing elves are cousins!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1228459754

enjoy!

Insert title here

It is the night of December 2, 2007. Only a week and a half has passed since our last entry into the blog. However, a lot has happened since then. Shelli and I attended our first NFL football game together. Unfortunately, the Saints lost to the Texans.



We took a family trip during the middle of last week. I left work a few hours early, and we went to the Houston Zoo. Kailey gave a few of the animals some interesting looks as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. While I took dozens of photos, most aren't worth uploading to the blog. However, here are a few: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157603357887382/show/



Next, we began to get into the Christmas spirit. We have our tree up and some of the shopping complete. Here are the two girls in front of our tree.





We have had one more trip worth mentioning in this Blog entry. Earlier today, the three of us visited Space Center Houston at the Johnson Space Center. There, we were able to see the actual Mission Command Center where the Shuttle Missions are commanded. We also saw various pieces of America's history in Space flight. One of the artifacts that I enjoyed being able to see was the actual lectern that John F Kennedy was standing at during his speech in 1962 where he challenged America to go to the Moon (http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/jfk-space.htm).

Ok, if you have read this much of this entry, you're probably wondering where all the Kailey pictures are this time around. Well, I will not disappoint you. During bath time tonight, Shelli used her soap and water while I snapped pictures. We liked the way that they came out. These start with the bath and go through the next 30 minutes of so afterwards.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157603358139012/show/

Unfortunately, we also have some sad news to report in the blog entry. Our home lost one of its pets over the weekend. Maggie, Shelli's cat for 13 years, passed away Saturday night. She was a part of the family that will be missed by all of us.

Giving Thanks

Well....today is Thanksgiving. Not only is it my first Thanksgiving as a Dad, Shelli's first as a Mom, and Kailey's first Thanksgiving, ever...it is also the first Thanksgiving that Shelli and I have had a niece. Shelli's sister and brother-in-law welcomed Ella Kate Crookshank into the world November 15. The following is a picture of the two girls.

Also, we took several more pictures over the past week. The better ones have been uploaded to Flickr and are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157603267675162/show/

Bath Time

A little video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=180567319876242433

Halloween

More are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157602827616684/show/


We also spent some time in Mississippi this past weekend. Kailey met, for the first time, her great-grandfather and great-grandmother as well as various aunts, uncles, and cousins. Pics are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157602830582591/show/

Sunday Evening....

Hi everyone...

This should be a picture-loaded blog update. First, I spent some time last weekend in Big Bend National Park. Big Bend is in west Texas. It's about 600 miles from Houston.


View Larger Map

We hiked about 23 miles in two days and 19 of those miles were in just one day. I know that the main reason everyone comes to this Blog is to see pictures of Kailey. So, I won't write anything else, other than to say that the pictures from Big Bend are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157602310894028

Ok, and now for a Kailey update. She is doing great. She has a bit of a stomach bug but is doing very well. We went today and had family pictures taken. Our favorite one is:

We also spent some time yesterday at Dewberry Farm (http://www.dewberryfarm.com/). Our little pumpkin spent some time with her first fall pumpkins.

A few pictures

Kailey's first hurricane

Ok, so the title of this blog posting may be just a *bit* dramatic, but Humberto was Kailey's first hurricane. Well, it was more of the first hurricane since Kailey was born. The weather in Katy when Humberto made landfall was spectacular. There was no rain and the humidity was low. We are glad to know that our friends and family across Louisiana and Mississippi only sustained some minor damage and a little rain.

To update everyone on Kailey; she is just one week short of being 5 months old. She had a visit to her pediatrician earlier this week. The checkup was fine. Kailey is now 25" long/tall (80th percentile) and 13 lb 9.5 oz in weight (55th percentile).

Finally, we took a few pictures of her earlier this week....enjoy. (yes, *sometimes* she doesn't have that gorgeous smile....but she is still very very cute)

Austin City Limits

The three of us spent our weekend in Austin. Actually, we were at Lake Travis. There, we attended Shelli's cousin's wedding.

The following should link you to the pictures from this weekend:

http://photo.walgreens.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=23846385/a=15698797_15698797/t_=15698797

or

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelandshelli/sets/72157601841989994/

If you want to just view the pics, use the 2nd link (flickr). If you want to order any from Walgreens, use the first link. You will have to login to Walgreens.com to do this.




These are a few of my favorites:

Kailey and Shelli

Too long gone

Well, after two weeks of no posting on the BLOG, I have started to get a few emails asking what is going on with the family. We're still doing great. I don't think that I ever posted about Kailey's second cardiologist visit. The doctor said that she was basically fine and for us to not come back for two years. This past weekend was Kailey's first time in the swimming pool. She didn't cry, but she didn't exactly laugh either. Speaking of laughing, today was a good day for her. She smiles all the time when prompted by Shelli or I. However, just today did she begin to associate a tiny little laugh with those smiles. We're sure that in the next few days that tiny little laugh will grow as she develops more and more. If there was one thing that was not exactly going our way it would be that Kailey does have a small cold. She started daycare last week. She goes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while Shelli works. When she came home on Wednesday, she brought a runny nose with her. It took a few days, but that first cold is now all but behind us.

I do have one multimedia file to add to this posting. We spent some time filming Kailey this weekend when she was in one of her good moods and was very talkative. I edited the clips together and uploaded them. Let me know what you think.

Pictures

I uploaded all of my unedited and unculled pictures onto the blog. You can view them at: http://www.flickr.com/people/michaelandshelli/

Sweet Home Alabama or Deep in the Heart of Texas?

We made it back from Gulf Shores a few days ago. I have lots to say and lots to share (and a few dozen pictures to upload). For now, I am just going to upload a few random pictures that I took....(more to come)

Quick Pic

We are packing for Gulf Shores and Kailey wanted to try on her new hat....

"The blog goes on forever and the party never ends"

Hi everyone.....

No, I don't have any great additions or Kailey pictures to add to the blog today, but I do have a small update. Shelli and I are doing well and are continuing to settle into life as parents. Kailey is growing more and more each day. She is smiling and laughing more and more each day as well. Also, we don't want to ruin our good streak, but she is sleeping through the night! For about the last two weeks, we have put her to bed around 10 pm and she has slept until at least 6 am. While that is pretty good, almost any sleeping that she does is done at night. She naps very rarely and when she does it is for a very short period of time. Oh well, I think that we'd rather have a long time of uninterrupted sleep at night rather than half a night and then a few hours in the afternoon.

This upcoming week will be a good one for us. The Barrett's, the Bridges, and the Crookshanks (9 of us total) will be getting together in Gulf Shores, AL for the week. I'm sure that I will have some pictures and stories when we get back.

thanks for all of your emails and comments.

07-07-07

Good evening out there friends and family. I think you all are going to like this post. I have some plans to make it one of the better ones in quite some time.

First, we had some visitors last weekend. My Grandmother, Aunt, and cousin stayed with us for a few days. It was their first time to see Kailey. Last Saturday, we all went to the Houston Downtown Aquarium http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumhouston/flash_content/index.html. It was the first time any of us had been there. Below are a few of my pictures from that day.

We spent some time around the house so that each of the guests could have plenty of time to spend with Kailey. Here is a picture of Kailey with my Grandmother.

After my family went back to their homes, it was back to the three of us at home again. This week went by quickly partially because Wednesday was Independence Day. That night, Kailey went to her first fireworks display. A friend of mine from work lives "in town" so she had a lot people over to see the fireworks from her roof. It was very cool. The Houston Downtown fireworks display was the best fireworks display I have ever seen....yes, better than Disney World.

Earlier today, I decided that it was time to get caught up on my picture taking of just Kailey portraits. She was a very cooperative subject for my camera. I hope that you agree:

Well, based on the past few nights, I can turn in now and still get a few hours of sleep before Kailey is ready for her EARLY morning breakfast. Please keep the comments and emails coming so we know who is reading and enjoying the Blog....and please let us know how you are doing; wherever you may be!

g'night.....

A picture sampling

Ok, I know......I am way way behind on adding pictures to the blog. I will try to fix that this weekend. However, I wanted to report that Kailey slept from 11 last night to 630 this morning without any problems in between!!!!!

(Updated pictures to come).



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Sent using BlackBerry

Traveling

Hello to everyone. I (Michael, Kailey's Dad) am in Chicago on a short business trip, but I still have some blog-worthy news. Kailey had another visit with her "head doctor" today. He said that she is fine and that we are clear to not have to bring her back to him again! That is great news. Also, she is learning to put on some weight. Our "little" one is almost into double digits at 9# and 10 oz.

I thought that this may be something that you all would be interested in knowing.



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Sent using BlackBerry

Video slide show

Blogging again

Hi everyone again. First, this is the latest snapshot of Kailey. It's one family portrait where it does not matter if no one is smiling or if everyone blinks.



Also, because I like the look of black and white photography (if you didn't know), I made some "enhancements" and came up with the following revision.



Which do you like better?

We are all doing well. Unless you watched the video that I posted last week and listened to the audio, you haven't gotten a cardiology update. I had said during the video what all we learned during our visit. Basically, we were told that Kailey does have a small "ASD" that they fully expect to get better on its own as she continues to grow. They did a full echocardiogram on her and want us to come back in one month. If everything is ok then, we won't have to bring her back to a cardiologist until she is four years old.

Also, I am being indecisive about what web server to use to host the pictures of Kailey. I saw a recommendation the other day to use Flickr. I don't want to bounce back and forth from kodak.com to flickr.com, but I think I am for right now. Hopefully, I will pick on in the near future and be done with the double (or triple if you count this blog) duty. If I copied the hyperlink correctly, my flickr album is at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8174941@N04/. If you have comments about kodak vs flickr (or any other), email me! (Mi.Barrett@yahoo.com).

Video Time

After a long wait....I have been able to post a video to the blog.

Just press [play].

Back to Katy

We finished our weekend in Louisiana and made it back to Katy late yesterday evening. After bath time last night, Kailey was both awake enough and content enough for a few posed pictures. Below is my favorite:

What do you think?

We have another hurdle tomorrow. We'll be taking her for an appointment with a cardiologist. They want her heart murmur to be monitored. Our hope is that it will improve on its own and not require any surgical intervention.

bienvenue vers la Louisiane

"bienvenue vers la Louisiane" or "Welcome to Louisiana". Kailey got to "see" that sign as we crossed over the Sabine River and into Louisiana on Friday. It was her very first time to leave Texas. We are all three spending the Memorial Day weekend in Lake Charles. I had some time to day to do what everyone seems to enjoy the most.....take some pictures.



I'm still working on a few that may be *published* on the blog. However, there is one that I really like. After getting so many compliments on the one of Kailey holding my ring, I decided that I wanted one of her holding both of our rings. It is below:



Well, there is not much else to report. We are all doing fine and enjoying our time in Cajun Country.

Doing just fine

Yesterday afternoon, the three of us took Kailey to a doctor at the Houston Medical Center complex to have her little head looked at. The news could not have been any better. The doctor said that her head had no problems and that he was "99.99999%" sure of this. We are going back in one month for a checkup. Also, we have another appointment one week from today to have Kailey's heart murmur checked. Hopefully the news will be just as good. Also, she is gaining weight. She weighed in at 6 lb 11 oz yesterday!

Monday

We had another good weekend. The three of us went out to dinner Friday night, went to a friend's house on Saturday (thanks for dinner, Debbie), and then shopping yesterday. We have a busy week ahead of us. Kailey has an appointment with a specialist tomorrow to have her soft spots examined. The pediatrician is a little concerned that one of the locations may be beginning to solidify too early. Also, for the first time in five months, we are going "home" this Friday. We'll be spending most, if not all, of the Memorial Day weekend in Lake Charles.

A quick note about pictures. The following link is very similar to the last one that I had posted. The difference is in the album. With the earlier link, it took you to a testing album that I just posted some random pictures that I have taken over the past years. The following link will take you to a folder that will have just Kailey pictures. Also, I *plan* to put all of the pictures on both the blog (easy to view) and Kodak.com (easy to order and print).


http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9kz4g3ec.5igmaulg&x=1&y=62negj

Kodak picture clarfication

Based on some more thinking, and a little feedback, I will again be posting all of the Kailey pictures on the blog (not just Kodak.com). This is because most of the blog viewers have no interest in ordering pictures. The ones that do (mostly family and ourselves) will still b able to go to Kodak.com.

My favorite recent picture is below.

Blog Transition

As the blog has grown, the popularity of the photos have outpaced the text. As part of this evolution, I have decided to begin to host my pictures on a web page from which they can be printed. Also, I will not focus much anymore on writing updates.

While I haven't started posting many pics to the printing web page, if you would like, you can get a head start accessing the page.

The following link should get you started:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=9kz4g3ec.6fepzulw&x=1&y=-mrregm

If you have questions or comments, let me know (mi.barrett@yahoo.com).

A few pictures

Kailey at 2 weeks and six days.

A rose from Shelli's first Mother's Day

Mother's Day in the Barrett household

____On Saturday, all three of us went to Sugarland for a little shopping. Kailey and Shelli had never been. We had a good time. We picked up a new camcorder while we were there. I hope to be able to start posting videos of our little one shortly.

The other major part of this weekend was the fact that today is Mother's Day. Shelli was able to celebrate Mother's Day for the first time. It has been a good day for all of us.

I know that as much as everyone 'loves' to read whatever I have to write, the big 'star' of the blog are the pictures. I'll try to get some more posted tonight or tomorrow.

First Doctor Visit

Today Kailey was able to venture out of the house. Mom and I took her to see her Pediatrician for the first time. She has gained 7 ounces in the last six days and now weighs in at 5 lbs 11 oz. Those are all good numbers. The rest of the visit was without incident. We will have to take her to two specialists later this summer (head and heart), but there's nothing that we are seeing as an immediate concern.

And baby makes three.....

It's been a few days since I have had the time to write much on the Blog. I guess you have seen the comments that Kailey was able to come home the other night with her mom and I. All three of us had a great weekend. Shelli's parents, along with my parents, spent the weekend with us. Both our moms and dads are first time grandparents so this was a very big weekend for many generations of Barretts and Bridges.

Even with the time away from writing, it has not slowed down the tremendous support that we have been receiving. Shelli and I really appreciate everyone's encouraging words. If you have time, please email either of us (mi.barrett@yahoo.com or slbbarrett@yahoo.com) or just post a comment in the blog. My goal is to take the comments, compile them, and then place them in Kailey's baby book.

Also, spending some time away from writing has led to a back log of pictures that need to be posted. Below are some from the past several days.