He's 4!

This has been the first year where we have actually had to count down to a certain little boy's birthday. Once November hit Luke knew his birthday was coming up...it was only a matter of 12 days...11 days...10 days...etc. What a hoot!

Friday morning came and we were greeted two little boys (as usual), only the oldest proudly declared "Hey Guys, I'm 4 today!"...he was so excited. I had asked Luke several times over the coming weeks what he wanted to do for his birthday and his choice was IHOP for breakfast and the aquarium. So what did we do? Well, we went to IHOP for breakfast and to the Baltimore Aquarium of course! What a fun day as a family! (We threw in Chick Fil A for lunch...not a bad addition.)

Here is our 4 year old!

The pure joy of opening birthday presents!










Yummy IHOP!




Baltimore Aquarium












Tired and Hungry...Chick Fil A comes to the rescue!






Checking out Frank the Fish


Happy Birthday Luke!

Halloween 2010 - Buzz and Woody

I owe you some pictures! We had so much fun this Halloween in our neighborhood this year. The young families got together for an early dinner/potluck and then split ways to take our kids trick-or-treating. We only did a few houses with the boys...we don't need a lot of candy in our house and the boys were tired too. Needless to say they loved their costumes!

Road Trip!

John recently had a much needed Spring Break -- it was a LONG time coming for all of us! It was a great week of hanging out in Montgomery for a few days, just enjoying our home and time together as a family...but we also hit the road! We had so much fun with our friends David and Krista in Atlanta back in February that we decided to go back! We hit up the same hotel (the Embassy Suites in Buckhead certainly was a nice treat) as we knew we were within walking distance of the MARTA (Atlanta's metro), Trader Joe's, and a great selection of restaurants and shops.

Back in February we toured Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium...this time we hit up CNN and Zoo Atlanta. Of course it was marathon/half-marathon weekend so we had a few crowds to work around...but it was all so much fun!

CNN was a pretty cool experience. John and I don't find ourselves watching network nor cable news much, but we really enjoyed seeing the inner-workings of CNN. The building was HUGE, bright and very colorful. We took the 55-minute walking tour and were thankful for a fun, patient Kimberly (our tour guide) who used our boys and distracted them at the same time. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures during the tour...so if you ever find yourself in Atlanta one day, take the time and check out the tour yourself!






Had a very hard time telling this big boy NOT to touch the Humvee!





Saturday was such a beautiful day that we decided to hit up Zoo Atlanta. What we didn't realize was that half of Atlanta's families had decided to do the same! They happened to have their "Marathon" 1-mile family walk and 5K AT THE ZOO! Say what?! So we joined the post-race crowds and enjoyed the many animals and rides. At times we were tempted to leave our own little monkeys in the exhibits...but we would miss them so!









































We wrapped up a great weekend in Atlanta with John running the half-marathon on Sunday morning. Now mind you, it was a race that began at 0700...in downtown Atlanta...on a dreary morning...there was no way on God's green Earth I was dragging two little boys to the race! John did GREAT even without our cheering him on...that man certainly has skills!

Atlanta makes for one AWESOME road trip for the Mizells!

Strange Sleeping Arrangements

These days we're finding Luke in some interesting spots for naps and night time. We've had to hunt him down a few times...and this is what we've found!





I think he may be ready to have Paden join him in the "big boy room" when we move!

Boo-Boos and an ER

We had our first ER experience as parents of 2 boys. Paden had a mishap with his feet and the edge of a McDonald's booth. Poor baby busted his upper lip pretty good! After much blood and a few tears, this kiddo was a trooper and wooed all the ladies working in the ER. Thankfully the docs opted not to put a stitch in (thankfully, I don't know how I would have handled that experience). What a big boy!

A Long Time Coming

There is a very good reason why I haven't blogged in a few months. I have had no pictures of the boys to post! Why would I blog without pictures?

And WHY haven't I had any pictures? Well, that would be due to darling Luke. I walked into the kitchen one morning after a 2-minute break from the boys to merely get dressed and what do I find...but several books floating in the kitchen sink. Yes, they were floating because Mommy was going to wash the dishes. But lo and behold! There was more! Oh wait, is that my camera AND my phone?! Why yes!

Was the young culprit able to explain WHY he felt the need to put all of those EXPENSIVE items into the kitchen sink? No.

Ahhhh...boys!







A BIG THANK YOU to my in-laws, Walt and Ferne, for the new camera! And to my wonderful husband who finagled with Sprint to get me an AWESOME new phone. ALL of which are now being stored ON TOP OF THE FRIDGE!

Hopefully some new pics of the boys will follow soon!

Look Who's 3!

Today our sweet boy Luke turns 3. So hard to imagine. I keep looking at this little boy and realize he's not so "little" anymore. He is a "big boy." My BIG BOY LUKE.

I'm not going to blog about what it was like to come home with this new baby, what being a first time mom was like, how each milestone in his life was such a new and wonderful experience...simply because I don't remember it all! We are so wrapped up in our everyday life, life with two absolutely crazy and wonderful little boys, that just thinking about the past is something that I just can't do.

So here is our precious and absolutely awesome Luke! The 3 Year Old!




This is our little boy who...
* Thankfully loves his Mommy, Daddy, Baby P, God, Jesus, all of his grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins... etc. etc.
* Makes new friends with everyone who comes his way (even our plumber!)
* Is ALL boy...loves to make noises, play with trains, trucks, puzzles (he's the "Puzzle-Man"!)
* Can run laps around the house or outdoors and still call it "walking"
* Is too busy playing to eat a meal, yet asks for snacks ALL the time
* Loves to watch Disney movies (even the princess ones)
* Is a great "helper" around the house
* Shares with his brother and others with a huge smile
* Still likes to play by himself at times, but is learning to play more with Paden
* And SO much more!

What an amazing little boy...what an amazing 3 years...