Adventures in Baby Land

The pack n' play had been sitting in the corner of our bedroom for weeks--just staring at us. So, we decided to see if it works. This was our first adventure into the realm of baby gear. I am happy to report that all went well. We all survived (the pack n' play included). I don't know what was cuter--the pack n' play or Ben carefully reading all the instructions and putting together basically indestructible baby gear with such care. The pack n' play will be even cuter with a little bundle of joy in it. Thanks, Mom and Dad!



Last week we received a package from my best friend in North Carolina! Not only are the onesie and burp cloth absolutely adorable, they have little man's name on them--our first monogram! It feels odd to see his name embroidered. It makes it feel so real! Well, my ever growing mid-section also makes it feel pretty real (you'll see an updated tummy shot below). Receiving this package helps me to say to you, "It's official!" His name is Grady Benjamin.


Here is my tummy at 25 and a half weeks. Getting pretty big, huh? He is certainly growing!


One of my best friends from college made a quick trip to Waco this past weekend! It was great to spend a long time talking and laughing. It is hard to believe that we have been friends for over ten years now. We had a great time together!

Registering

We finished registering today! We don't have any pics to add (apparently it's illegal to take photographs in Target...I have to bail Ben out of jail tomorrow). It was a lot of fun but we are exhausted. Thinking about all the little things we might need is also overwhelming.

SO, if you're interested (shameless plug), you can checkout our registries at Target.com (search under my name) and Pinwheel Kids in Waco (www.pinwheelwaco.com, our registry won't be up for another week or so). We also registered for a couple of things at Babies-R-Us (babiesrus.com), but since there's not a store in Waco we decided not to register for too much there.

My Birthday (a few weeks late)

Baby Boy Mangrum received his first package! It was not a birthday present for his mother, but it just happened to arrive in Waco on my birthday, which made it especially fun. Grana and Pop sent him an adorable hoody towel and a little footie that says "Team Grandpa." It is almost silly how excited a person can get over pint-sized clothing and footie pajamas.



Ben always does a great job at making me feel special on my birthday. He has always been good at that! We spent the day together doing fun things around town and then eating a steak dinner. Ben got me a new blue-ray player because our 10+ year old DVD player refused to play anymore DVDs. And, because I do prenatal yoga almost every day and I love movies, I needed a player that wouldn't eat the DVDs.

This is the first time we (and I should say Ben because he surprised me with it) have bought anything from the electronics section of Best Buy in our almost five years of marriage. Pretty remarkable. Ben prefers to spend that money on books. :)


After dinner, Ben planned a surprise dessert party at a friend's house. Since I had to turn 29, at least I had fun doing it!

Hadley Turns 1!

We celebrated Hadley's first birthday on January 25th. I know that was almost a month ago, but better late than never! Anyone who knows me knows that I am doing good to update the blog at all. I drove to Jackson from Waco with my parents and flew back after the festivities. I am so glad that I was able to be there to celebrate Hadley's birthday! Here are few pics.





Mandy made this adorable banner for Hadley. If you can't tell in the picture, it was quite impressive! Below are some of my favorite pics from the day--Hadley is getting a piano lesson from her Grana and Pop. I think she looks like a natural already!

Ben's Graduation

Ben completed his first master's degree in December--a Master of Arts in English. I was SO proud! He has worked incredibly hard to be in two master's programs--and the excel in both if I may say so--at the same time. Here are a few pics from the day.

It is a bit blurry, but this is Ben's face on the big screen as he accepts his degree from Baylor's president, Judge Kenneth Starr. Next Ben is walking across the stage.


Don't we look happy? It was in part because graduation day is a big day--no matter what you are graduating from or to--but it is also because the three and a half hour ceremony was finally over! Below are some friends, Kyndall and Nate, who were also celebrating graduation.

Baby News

It's been a while since our last post, but thanks for the constant, loving reminders from Lindsay, I have decided to post an update. A lot is happening in the lives of the Mangrums these days. Ben graduated with an MA in English in December, and we both graduate from Truett with an Master of Divinity in May. Soon, our time in Waco will come to an end as we move on to somewhere and something else. But the most important and exciting news--we welcome to the world a little bundle of love and joy on July 6 (or some time around then!). Because I am 18 weeks and about to find out if junior is a boy or girl, I figured that I needed to back track on the baby news just a bit.

Here is our first pic after finding out that we were, in fact, pregnant--such fun!


Next, our first trip to the doctor who confirmed the good news. Below is junior's first picture! I know, he or she looks like a shellfish then but by now the baby already has all the makings of an adorable baby boy or girl, complete with all major organs, bones that are in the process of hardening, and ears that can hear!

The happy parents!


Soon after we started telling friends, we received our first baby gift--for the little bear cub--from our dear friends Corey and Rachel.