4 Month Portraits

Derrick and I decided to save a little money and take some pics of Harrison ourselves at home instead of going to a photographer in town. We have already spent a lot on pics for maternity photos and newborn pics...so we decided this would be the best option to save some money. We have taken tons of pics and have some really good pics to choose from. We are still not done taking pics but will finish this weekend...Harrison only cooperates for so long:-)

Dr. Derrick W. Smith

Derrick graduated on May 9th with a Doctorate in Special Education. IT IS FINALLY OVER!!! We are all so proud of him and very happy to be moving back to Alabama in August. He will be a professor at the Univ. of Alabama in Huntsville in the fall. We will be renting an apartment in Madison (a suburb of Huntsville) for 10 months while looking for a house to buy in the meantime.

Photos from April

Hey Everyone!! Sorry we haven't kept up with the blog!! Holly is now going to be working only part-time at her job so she is going to keep the blog going. So...here are some pics from April that we took of Harrison. He is growing soooo fast. At 3 months of age he was 23 3/4 inches long and weighed 12 lbs. 14 oz. He is getting so long that he is growing out of his newborn clothes just because of his length. Hope you all enjoy the pics.

Pictures...Sorry it has been so long!

I am sorry I have not added new pictures earlier. It has been busy around the Smith household. Here are some new pictures of Harrison on St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and our Spring Break. He is growing, but I guess babies do that! Enjoy!

Doctor!

I just wanted to make a quick entry about my dissertation defense. Last Friday, I successfully defended my dissertation. It took about 1.5 hours and was...well...tough. To say the least, I am glad it is over. It's like a load of bricks has been taken off my shoulders. So, yes, you can now officially call me Dr. Smith. (Que the "Lost in Space" Jokes....Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!)

As for Harrison, he is doing well. We have had some diaper rash issues but he is doing better. He is starting to sleep a little better at night. Holly is doing great, she is awesome!

I will post new pictures soon!

Derrick's Post-Partum

First, I want to apologize for not adding this post earlier. All of you that have children understand how busy it is once you come home.

Holly, Harrison, and I left the Texas Tech Universtiy Medical Hospital on Feb. 7th. Since then, we have been visited by both sets of grandparents who stayed for a combined two weeks. It was fun seeing them with their new grandson!

Harrison is doing great! He went to the doctor for his two-week check-up and got a clean bill of health. He is growing (he now weights 8.8 oz., 21 inches long). Holly and I feel very blessed to have him in our family. He is a character (gets that from his mom) and makes us laugh all the time. He is sleeping pretty well, but he likes to keep us up sometimes (gets that from his dad).

He hates being cold, so he does not like having his diaper changed. He hated the sponge baths but he LOVED his first tub bath that he had yesterday!

I have added some new pictures of him. They range from feedings, to baths, to playtime. I will try to add more as we get some good ones!

By the way, we have some other good news. I accepted an assistant professor position at the University of Alabama in Huntsville the day after Harrison was born. So, we will be moving back to Alabama in August! It is a great opportunity and we are very excited. I will be defending my dissertation next Friday so please keep me in your prayers.

Take care!

Welcome to the world Harrison!

It is our great pleasure to introdue the newest addition to our family, Harrison William Smith. He was born on February 5 at 6:15pm at University Medical Center in Lubbock, TX. He weighed 8 lbs., 3 oz. and is 20.5 inches long (yes, he is short and stocky like his dad). Mother and baby are both doing wonderfully!

He came a week early! Holly was having some issues with her blood pressure, so the doctor decided to induce. We checked in the hospital on Februrary 4th to get fluids in her (she had been sick and not able to keep food down). They started the induction on the morning of the 5th, broker her water around lunch, she started pushing at 5:45 and 30 minutes later he was born. It was amazing to watch! Holly is an amazing woman!

Keep posted for more!

35 Weeks and More Pictures

I apologize for not updating this as much as I should. Between the holidays, writing a dissertation, and getting the house ready for Harrison, the blog has been put on the back-burner. Holly is 35 weeks and we had our second ultra-sound today. He currently weights 5 lbs. 14 oz and is projected to weigh around 7.5 lbs. (Holly was excited about that as big babies run in my family.)

The pictures turned out great (I love 4D technology). Holly is doing well, no major complications. We are gearing up for three showers in Lubbock within the next 8 days, so it will be busy! Check back for more as I add pictures from the baby showers.

His name shall be Harrison William Smith

Sorry it has been so long since I updated this! It has been crazy around here lately. This is what has been happening:

1. Holly is pregnant! Oh yeah, you knew that...moving on.


2. I went to Louisville, KY for a week to present at the American Printing House for the Blind Annual Meeting and work on a project with them.


3. Holly and her mother traveled to Pennsylvania to visit her sister.


4. I went to Washington, DC for a training with the NCLVI Fellowship.


5. Holly took me to Flagstaff, Arizona for my 30th birthday trip. We went to the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, and the Painted Desert (see pictures below).


6. I am in the middle of my data collection for my dissertation. For those of you outside of academia, it is hard and time-consuming.


7. Holly is pregnant! Oh wait, again, you know that!



Holly is doing well. We went to the doctor for a check-up yesterday and all was well. The baby is moving alot now and it is SO cool feeling him move! Holly is starting to really show now being almost 7 months along.

We registered for baby things Monday and Tuesday at Target, Babies R' Us, and Wal-mart. We have decided to go with a Sports theme for the babies area (and future room once we move). OH YEAH, we decided to name him Harrison William Smith. We were going to name him William Harrison but we decided we did not want him to have to deal with being called by his middle name. William is my dad's name so he was pumped when we found out! Ironically, we chose Harrison because we like the name but it is a family name also.

Other than that, we are gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have alot of traveling ahead of us (three trips). We are looking forward to seeing family and friends!

I will make sure to post more updates. We have our next ultra-sound at 32 weeks, so some time in December. We are looking forward to more pictures! Enjoy our pictures and I will add pictures of Holly soon!

It's a BOY!!!

The great question has been answered: we are having a boy!

We went to have the sonogram this morning at the University Medical Center. The sonogram took about 30 minutes and was amazing to watch! Here are some pictures of our baby boy:

If you look closely, you will see an arrow on the picture. The small circle being pointed at is our baby boy's scrotum. (The only time in his life where pictures of his "stuff" are okay!)

This picture shows his feet (at the top they are pointing in opposite directions)!

This is a picture of his skull. You can see his eye sockets and nose. If you look closely, you can see his hand to the upper-left of his head.

Technology is amazing! This is the face of our baby boy! You can see his ear, nose, mouth, and eyes. Looks good-looking to me!

The sonographer said everything looked great. The body was forming normally and he is a good size for this stage (14 ounces)! Holly is doing well, still growing daily! I will post a picture of her soon! We continue to plead for your prayers for Holly, the baby, and our future as graduation approaches. Take care!