Toddlers are unpredictable little creatures; Haleigh Mizzles knows this well. The mom from Flint, Texas, says she's used to her 2-year-old son, Lincoln, getting into some pretty unexpected (and hilarious) predicaments that keep her on her toes. But earlier this month, the toddler did something that even she could never have predicted: During a family photo shoot, the curious 2-year-old decided he'd had enough of standing still — and jumped in the muddy lake behind them, mid-photo shoot.
The hilarious moment was luckily captured on film, because photographer Jasmine Tamlin kept snapping away while it went down.
And the results are pretty great.
"We were about halfway through our shoot when it happened," Haleigh tells CafeMom.
That's when she and her husband, Matthew, decided to let the kids take a break, so they could snap some photos on their own.
"We placed our [three] kids on a blanket with snacks," she recalls, noting that when they stepped away, the kids were still nearby, in full view.
But although her other two kids stayed put, Lincoln was apparently feeling … antsy.
"After a few shots we noticed our son Lincoln walking toward the water," the mom shares. "So we darted after him."
But toddlers are quick — and neither his mom nor his dad were a match for Lincoln's speed.
"He just beat us before we got to the edge," she says, recalling how her son waded into the muddy water. "Then my husband jumped in after him."
Lincoln sure did get himself pretty muddy while he went for his quick "dip" in the water.
And by the time his dad was able to scoop him out of the water and set him down in the grass, he was covered in mud too.
But if you're thinking the dad of three was annoyed that both he and his son totally ruined their Sunday best, think again.
"After we pulled him out we all were just laughing about it," says Haleigh, adding that the moment of levity definitely made the day.
"These are types of memories we will cherish forever," she says. Plus, it's not exactly like this kind of thing is out of character for her rambunctious tot.
Lincoln has managed to get into a LOT of debacles in his short life so far.
Like that time that he accidentally spilled an entire gallon of milk at the grocery store.
(Yep — that sure was fun for mom!)
Or that time he got caught literally standing inside the toilet ...
Clearly, he loves splashing his feet around in some water. (Can you blame him?)
Or how 'bout when he got a bit too excited over his morning cereal, and the entire contents of the box wound up on the floor?
Oof. It's safe to say that toddlers are literal magicians when it comes to wreaking havoc in mere seconds. And Lincoln sure is one talented magician.
But hey, clean clothes and stuffy photo shoots are overrated!
Lincoln may march to the beat of his own drum — and keep his parents forever on their toes — but he sure makes things interesting. And at the end of the day, it's one of the things Haleigh loves most about her son.
Things may not have gone (totally) according to plan, but the hilarious moment definitely wasn't one the Mizzles will ever forget.
The photos, which were shared online by both Mizzles and Jasmine Tamlin Photography, perfectly capture what life with a toddler is really like — as well as how hard it can be at times to keep tabs on three kids who each have a mind of their own. (Yes, even when you're mere feet away.)
Muddy pants pants and all, she says she'll cherish those sweet moments forever. And now that the photo shoot is going viral, she's even making a scrapbook to keep track of all of the news coverage her son is getting. (Something tells us that this won't be the last adorably funny thing Lincoln will do!)
