We have a FIRST!!!!!

The girls, Logan and I were out back playing. Logan was cruising around the wagon and then aimed for the seesaw 1 foot away. He held on to the wagon and took a step, then LET GO, and took his very first solo step!!! And then, after that one and only step, he was able to grab the seesaw and take a final step to it.

I just stared, dumbfounded, and pointed at him. Michaela asks, "What? Did Logan do something?" So, of course, I say excitedly that he took his first step. Who knows when he'll repeat it, but hurray!!! He's getting brave!

Michaela's new BFF

True story. BFF. ;) We got to meet Senator Clinton because we happened to be at Emma's birthday party. Emma is Michaela's real BFF, and her dad is a volunteer firefighter. There is one house between their house and the fire house. Bill (Emma's dad) took the party over to the fire house around 4:15pm. The kids were going to sit in a truck and have a blast. But... We had to wait. Hillary was about to come inside. About 5 minutes or so later, there she was - greeting the fire fighters. The kids were all at the front of the fire house, so they waited patiently. Hillary came over and shook Emma's hand, asked her about her party, etc. A very pleasant warm woman. I nabbed a shot of her talking to Emma, and then the press ate up a group shot of her with the kids from the party. I snagged another picture there and then asked Sen. Clinton to pose with Michaela (who thought it was cool to meet the woman that could be president.)

What an afternoon! Sheesh, the only thing I get to brag about from one of my birthday parties is a hot air balloon landing a few blocks away! Here, Emma gets to rave about meeting a former First Lady/senator/presedential candidate! :)

This picture is not from today - but Logan looks absolutely adorable in a onesie Daddy bought for him. It says Level 1 Human, with a bunch of stats. A Dungeons & Dragons style item.

Ever feel like you're going in circles?

Logan knows the feeling well... ;) (He's modeling his forest green Happy Heiny's diaps in this video.) Also note, he thought it would be appropriate to dance to the jazz playing in the background. Oh, and a shout out to Scott & Michaela - you can see the trike is getting put to use! He even got to ride on it the other day outside with his sisters. :)

Cooleys are going green...

And it's starting with the little stud muffin, modeling his new Haute Pockets one size "pocket" diapers. I bought 4 different type of one size pocket diapers to try out. So far, I think I'm gonna love going cloth. Sure, I have to handle a little more poo, but after feeling just how darn SOFT those diapers are... I know I'd want that kinda soft on my bum every day if I had to wear diapers! :) The several diaps I ordered will be my test run. If it works out, I'll end up buying enough to last us about 2 days, maybe 3.

In other green ways, I'm working on recycling more. I've been lax about doing that, so now have started up with paper & cans (which our trash dept. picks up), as well as glass & plastic (which we can take to Waste Management.) I'm also making our household a bit healthier, too, and will be cleaning with homemade all natural products.

Kinda feels like I'm "stealth granola".

But the changes I'm making feel so good! :) We already have the HE front loading washer (LOVE it)... Already switched most of our bulbs to CFLs... Our oldest daughter is happy because it's incredibly important to her to recycle and be good to the Earth (they've discussed this a lot at school - to the point that on her paper "If I were president", she wrote that she'd make it a law for everyone to recycle. So, hey, I'm helping the earth, providing a more healthy home for my family, AND helping instill an important value in my children. Not a bad payoff!

Playground fun

On Sunday, the kids and I headed to a favored playground - complete with swings, slides, climbing wall, tunnel tubes, a futuristic train and, the favorite, a creek. They all had a blast. Michaela spent most of her time "fishing" at the creek. Ava loved the merry-go-round. Logan... Well, he just loved everything.

One of the highlights for me was watching Michaela decide to be a Ninja Warrior (very cool show from Japan that's on the G4 channel all the time.) I took video of it, as her sister joined in, too. We all love the show and the girls get totally into it. Fun watching them make challenges.

Here are a few pictures and video. For more, click on the Our Family Photos link under Hot Spots on the right.

Oh, and lastly, a video of Ava... Uncle Dan, watch out. You might have a challenger for Best In Family Break Dancer. Go Ava! Bust a move! tee hee!

The Girls of Ninja Warrior - Part I


The Girls of Ninja Warrior - Part II