Life with Plants and a Mobile Child

So, a couple of nights ago as I was throwing some clothes in the laundry I heard a big crash in the living room. As I rushed out to see if my precious child was alright, I discovered one of my plants scattered all over the floor with the stand it had been sitting on still propped on top of Ben's head. He had been scooting around in his walker and accidentally backed up into the plant stand knocking it over - needless to say he was fine but a little surprised at what had just happened and getting a little irritated with this thing pressing down on his head. I was a little annoyed at the mess of dirt and muddy water spread all over my carpet and that I was now going to have to clean instead of cook dinner for my hungry family, but I told myself, "Ok, Ben's fine and accidents like this are bound to happen... No big deal." So I picked up the plant and the stand and set them aside so I could take care of business. Then, as I was mindlessly vacuuming like I'd done so many times before, I bumped into that same plant stand and sent the plant flying through the air again to land on the only clean part of my carpet... This pushed me off the edge and into the abyss of aggravation! But, I got my act semi-put-together and started cleaning all over again. This time I thought I'd be smarter by placing the plant on the kitchen counter where none of us could knock it over again! After getting all the dirt picked up and the muddy water sopped up as much as possible there were still mud stains all over my carpet so I called Catherine downstairs and she came to my rescue by lending me their mini carpet cleaner. It worked beautifully and I felt much better having completed my task and seeing my house back to normal order. So, I went into the kitchen to empty the vacuum bag into the garbage can not noticing that my curious and mobile child had followed me. Before I knew it, I heard another loud crash with an infant's cry immediately following. I look back and saw that menace of a plant lying scattered all over the floor... AGAIN!!! Ben had grabbed the vine of the plant out of curiosity and pulled it right off the counter. So much for my being smart about moving it where it couldn't be knocked over again! This time it landed right on Ben and I'm assuming from his cry that the pot hit him in the head - he had dirt covering every inch of his body. At the sight of this third disastrous mess even Brian was getting annoyed (probably mostly because I was over it and asked him to clean up so I could give Ben a bath... he's such a great husband!). 

Isn't life grand! Praise God for plants and curious mobile children.

Here's Ben after the last episode covered in dirt. 

Notice the loving nurturing look on my face - priceless!

The Amazing Tongue

Ben has recently discovered his tongue! He now knows how to "click" it but also just likes to play with it and the different noises it makes. It's quite entertaining to watch so I've posted a little video to share with you. Notice the little bruise on his forehead from head-butting something hard. Yes, he likes doing that now as well. We're trying to teach him not to head-butt people but if he feels obligated to head-butt other objects then that's his choice at this point. He's not doing it as much as he used to because I think he's realized that it hurts when you actually hit something of substance (thus the bruise on his head). However, he still does it some and you'll be able to see a small display of this at the very beginning of the video. 

The New Benjamin Schultz

That's right... Ben got his hair cut for the first time last night. As you all know, his hair has been growing like a weed the last few months and was overdue for a trim. So, I decided just to jump in and get it done. Here are some before and after shots our growing boy. 

(Before) Side shot

(Before) Front shot

Notice the nice straggly stringy look, and yes, that is chocolate on his face! He grabbed a warm cookie off the plate and quickly shoved it in his mouth before anyone could even think about stopping him... He thoroughly enjoyed it!

(After) Side shot.

(After) Front Shot.

An awful handsome boy if I do say so myself! I'd say it's a pretty clean cut for such a wriggly little bugger! :)

The Half Crawl

This video was taken a week or so ago and Ben is already moving along much more quickly and efficiently, but it's kind of a fun video so I thought I'd share it anyway. Enjoy!

The Swimming Boy

So, here are the promised photos of Ben swimming in the lake! There are lots, I know, but who doesn't like pictures, right? In any case, he wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first but once he got used to it he had a ball. He also really liked floating on the tube but kept trying to crawl off it and back into the water!

Here, Grandpa was helping Ben as he first got into the water. 

"Peek-a-boo Mamma!"

Ben loves splashing in the water - he kept getting himself in the face. 

In this photo Ben REALLY looks like his daddy (based on some childhood photos I've seen of Brian).

Gazing at the sparkling water.

Our little fish!

Here he is trying to crawl off the tube.

Again... gazing at the sparkling water.

Such a sweet boy - I love this picture.

What fun we had swimming in the lake!

Beautiful Seeley Lake

Last Sunday we drove to Seeley Lake to spend some time with Dad & Mom Gauthier. They rented out a cabin on the golf course for a whole week so we thought we'd crash their party for a few days. It was a great time! We went boating and thus tubing, swimming, golfing, had good conversation, and ate some great food (thanks Mindy!). Ben experienced quite a few "firsts" on this trip: his first time on a boat, his first time swimming in a lake (pictures coming later), his first time putting his feet in the sand, his first time eating grapes, his first time golfing, his first time helping to drive (a golf cart), and there may be more that I don't remember. Here are a whole bunch of photos from our excursion. 

Thanks Dad & Mindy for a really great trip!

Helping Grandpa drive the golf cart.

Grandpa's coach

"Awe shucks! Is it really time to go?"

There were a ton of deer roaming around the golf course including this little fawn. It was fun being able to get really close to them. They also made fun targets!

The golf pro teeing off.

Ben's reaction to daddy's shot! ;)

The other golf pro teeing off.

Ben was a great spectator, he also really liked eating the grass!

Hanging out on the fairway. 

"By the way Grandma, have you seen this grass?!"

"Hey Momma, we're going on a boat ride!"

Check out the tube master! He was literally trying to do flips with the tube when we went around corners... CRAZY guy! It was quite entertaining, though.

Having a good ol' time.

Being rescued after the first dump off the tube.

"What's going on here and what is this huge thing I'm wearing?"

"Ok, maybe this isn't so bad after all."