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.