...but I'm sure most of you are familiar with the age-old "The Black person is always the first to die in movies" bit, right? Well apparently, this theory holds true in the world of children's literature as well! I was reading this book (Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman) about well, a class field trip to the zoo. The kids are noticing all the different animals in their cages, but they fail to see that this gigantic anaconda is rising out of the water and planning to devour all these little children one by one. I'm probably making it sound a little worse than it really is but the bottom line is, kids go on a field trip, kids get eaten by an anaconda. But that's not even the problem. The bigger issue here is that the first victim is none other than Kyle. Little brown, kinky-haired Kyle. Why? There are 9 other non-Black children in Class Two so why him? Terrible book. Why did I pick it you ask? For one, because I could read them the Declaration of Independence and they'd giggle jut the same. And two, because after all the effort it took to get the munchkins dressed, out of the house, into the car, into the library, apply for my library card (I know. What am I, 10 years old?) and maneuver the limo stroller to the kids section, I was too exhausted to actually hunt for the 'perfect' books. I just blindly ran my hand along the shelves and swiped up whatever books extended past the rest. Lesson learned.

I just looked at the date of my last post and gasped at how long it's been! I've noticed that as each month with the boys passes, the amount of "free" time I have continues to dwindle. They are awake for most of the day and have discovered the joys of PLAYING! They can't get enough of the stuff. They want to be bounced, tickled, kissed, thrown in the air (and caught of course), and just about anything that does not involve reclining of any sort. There's been much action around here so I will try my best to recall the big things.

1. STARTED AND ENDED SOLIDS: The boys made their first attempts at rice cereal last week. Not only did the experience lack any nutritional value, but it was a bit anti-climactic for the parents as well (at least for me). The image I had in my head was fit for Disney channel but in reality, it was more like public access TV. I thought there would be food all over the walls, belly laughs, and pictures galore. All I got was sticky hands and a couple of blurry photos. The whole thing lasted all of 8 minutes. Boo for cereal. We haven't tried anymore since then; not because I'm lazy, but because it's just not necessary before 6 to 9 months. I only tried it because I can't escape the "when are you going to give them food?juice?formula?beer?cigarettes?". It's amazing that I'm a 28 year old mother of two and still succumb to peer pressure. So heeding the American Academy of Pediatrics' advice, I will attempt the food thing again at 6 months.

2. TOENAIL UPDATE: Some of you may have heard (or seen) that Braxton was suffering from a grotesquely infected ingrown toenail. I'm exaggerating but that's what it felt like. I was afraid to even take him in to the doctor for fear that I would be greeted by CPS. Fortunately, our new pediatrician passed no judgement and assured me that 1) his toe was not going to fall off and 2) it was not my fault - I was given incorrect cutting instructions by my former pediatrician...hence the word FORMER. So...I've been giving him antibiotics and Epsom salt pedicures 3 times a day and his toe looks fabulous! Hooray for Dr. Wolens!

3. TAKE THIS HOUSE AND...Sell it!: Yep, we're putting our house on the market. It's a bittersweet feeling, but I'm certain we're making the right decision. Our house is just not physically or financially practical for two growing, soon to be mobile babies. It's just so hard to think about leaving behind the home I barely left for 4 months straight. There were just some really amazing memories made in this house and in such a short amount of time! The past two moves we've made have been very emotional for me but with each one, life has just gotten better and better so I can only expect the same from this one. Please keep us in your prayers regarding this situation.

4. STEVIE'S WRITING: It has REALLY taken off! He has been given several assignments for the Houston Press and Envy magazine! At the time he began this endeavor, his goal was to have something printed in one of these publications and here it is just a couple of months later and he did it! So I believe he is officially a "writer". How crazy is that? Make sure you all pick up a copy of the Houston Banner, Houston Press, the Examiner, and Envy magazine and check out his work!

Okay, I've been rtying to add images for 20 minutes and it's not working. I'll try again later.

Thursday afternoon we paid a visit to my Uncle Aubrey and Aunt Brenda's house (my great uncle/aunt AND godparents). Rumor has it that my uncle has special baby-calming powers, and judging by the events of the day, it's true. It's been a while since I've seen them sit with anyone for such a long period of time without a whimper. Both my aunt and uncle were even able to put them to sleep! We were amazed. Being at their house made me remember how much fun my sister and I would have visiting them when we were children. I guess they've still got it:)

...was quite a success! Two months ago I started brainstorming costume ideas and browsing for patterns to make them. By the time October arrived, I had decided that Old Navy was probably a lot better at making costumes than I was. By last weekend I had come to accept the fact that even getting the boys to Old Navy was going to be a struggle in itself. So without further explanation, I present to you.....the "My First Halloween" Onesies!

I love how Caleb's "peeking" out from behind me:)

So I gave it another shot and this one actually fits! The construction leaves much to be desired (I haven't figured out how to sew knit without it being wobbly), but he's wearing it, he's dry, and it was free (another receiving blanket) so I can't complain! Thank you Anonymous person who commented yesterday with the links. They were very helpful.

Caleb rolled over for the first time on Friday night (10/19)! He was NOT happy about it:) This is not Caleb rolling over, but it's Caleb being cute as ever.





Okay, this just in...I started (and finished) sewing my first cloth diaper. It's pretty tacky (and it looks SO much better in the picture than in person)but it was made from old receiving blankets, t-shirts, the wrong elastic, and a broken sewing machine so I'm still a little proud of it. Oh, and by the way, I think it would be too small for a Cabbage Patch Kid so it's also not at all functional. Whatever.

It's been a while since I posted so to those four or five people that actually check this site regularly, I apologize:) Here are a few things that have been going on around here:

Sorry about the shaky camera. He would stop laughing every time I put it in front of me.

New pictures!

We learned this the hard way this weekend. From the time they woke up on Saturday morning to the time we put them to bed tonight, the boys have been on their own cooky schedule and we only have ourselves to blame. Actually, I have myself to blame. Every now and then on the weekends I get this ridiculous idea that I have one baby and Stevie has the other. I know, I said it was ridiculous. So I throw out all the rules and grab whichever baby is awake first, feed him when he looks like he's even considering being hungry, play with him when I know he should be sleeping, and let him nap on my chest for however long he sees fit. And all the while, Stevie is doing the same with "his baby". Before you all start torching me, of course we are not each assigned one baby for the whole day-it just ends up that one of us is holding/playing with/putting down for a nap one of the babies all day. The point is, they spent two days without their weekly pattern of wake-eat-play-sleep. At NO point during these two days were both babies asleep at the same time. Which means they also never ATE at the same time. Which means that for about 46 of those 48 hours I had a little human attached to my shirt. By bedtime Stevie and I were so exhausted there was nothing to do but look at each other and laugh.



We recently switched from stroller walks to walking with each baby in an infant front carrier. On Saturday we attempted to take our daily walk but halfway down our path, we felt a few sprinkles and immediately turned around. Three seconds later, it started really coming down. I don't know if you've ever tried running in the rain with a 13 pound, screaming, wet baby hanging off of you, but I certainly don't recommend it if you haven't. Note to self: babies think rain is poisonous. To make matters worse, I had grabbed one of the baggies from the pooper scooper post outside our gate thinking it would be large enough for a make-shift umbrella for Caleb. Turns out the opening was just big enough to fit over his little head like a hat. I knew it wouldn't protect much, but I had to at least try. He looked like the pope. The whole scene was a hilarious mess.

On a better note...on Saturday morning around 8 AM, I finally made Caleb laugh! And not just a hee hee laugh, a big belly laugh. I spent the entire remainder of the day trying for an encore but he wasn't having it. Luckily Stevie was right there in the bed with us and witnessed it firsthand. I wish I could say that it happened as I was singing to him or rattling a toy at him or even telling him a clever joke. Unfortunately, his first laugh was after I referred to his little naked chest as man boobs and jiggled them back and forth. Not exactly baby book material, huh. Oh well, the ends justified the means. It made my day.



So that whole photo-a-day thing...not so much. I did however take a shower today.



They're really starting to look alike, right?!

To make the most use of my amazing new toy, I have decided to commit to posting at least one photo a day. As I am typing this, I realize what an absurd commitment I just made. I think my family would much rather I commit to taking at least one shower a day:) I will at least promise to try. By the way...the boys and I paid a visit to A Woman's Work and weighed in:
I believe Braxton is smuggling bottles into his crib at night!

I am so thrilled about my early birthday presents! My husband, parents, and parents-in-law all pitched in to give me this:





That's right, the Canon Rebel XT. I can't believe it! I have been eyeing this camera for the past two years. I'm certain that it was WAY outside of our budget, but try as I might, I'm having a very difficult time making myself feel guilty about the purchase. I haven't really been able to experiment with it much for two reasons: one, because I still need a memory card and two, because I'm scared to touch it.
Sadly, I was almost equally excited about this present (you guys could have saved a lot of money;):


I've really been needing it lately as the boys have decided that their new trick will be to pull the blankets right off when I nurse them in public. I attempted (unsuccessfully) to make one of these. Apparently every time I see something that I don't want to pay for I convince myself that I'm able to make it. And I mean anything: hats, jewelry, shoes, small electronics, you name it, I can make it. Needless to say I have several unfinished projects lying around the house. I remember when Naughty By Nature came out with the "Hip Hop Hooraaaaay. Hoooooo" song, they wore these knit hats that tied at the crown. They were usually made of some sort of striped material. They were so ridiculous I didn't even think about asking my mom for one, so what did I do? Yep, made one out of a striped nightgown. It was something awful. Never even made it out of the house.
So...my birth(few)day(s) is off to a fantastic start!

Yesterday was the first time Caleb and Braxton rode in their strollers like BIG BOYS! The first picture is how they were forced to travel in this beast of a stroller BEFORE they grew so big and strong. The second is the new and improved baby limo riding experience. Don't they look so much more relaxed? They cooed and wiggled their little toes the entire walk.


Before


After

Much to my mom's dismay, I had recently fallen into the "family bed" trap. As strongly as I opposed parents sleeping with their infants, I must say it turned out to be quite the guilty pleasure. It was just so much easier to roll over and feed those little drowsy babies and not have to disturb them by putting them back in their co-sleepers. It lasted a couple of weeks, but I've finally come to my senses. As of Wednesday, the boys have been consistently sleeping in their big boy crib! We moved it into our bedroom to make the transition a little less painful (for mom and dad, not the boys:)) They've even been napping there! We both miss them terribly, but we're staying strong because we know it's probably for the best *.

Here are some recent pictures of the little ones.


Caleb "Alfalfa" Serrano

The boys in their crib

Braxton hamming it up

Caleb with his new friend


Weights as of Friday September 7th:
Caleb - 11 lb, 5 oz.
Braxton - 12 lb, 8 oz.

Have a great weekend!

*In my defense, several medical professionals including Dr. Sears are supporters of the "family bed". Don't believe me? Here's the proof.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t102200.asp

For those of you who haven't heard, for the past couple of months Stevie has been contributing articles to a host of sports-related websites (most importantly, ESPN.com!). While this in itself is a huge accomplishment, I am even more thrilled to announce that one of his articles has been featured in a news publication called the Houston Banner! I know that readership on the internet far surpasses that of print these days, but there's just something about printed media that seems so "official". Whatever the case, I'm so proud I'm busting my vest (sound familiar Stevie? :)

...and of course an update on the boys. They're doing great! We got back on our sleep schedule after a fun weekend in Galveston. They got to spend the day with their grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, the whole crew! Good times.