Not so lucky week...

As you may of read Saturday night, going into Sunday our poor Hudson got another double ear infection.  The good news these were his first ear infections since May - can you believe it!  Since he still wasn't feeling the best Hudson stayed home with Daddy on Monday and even had a little fun.  Here's Daddy & Hudson's "drive in library!"  Hudson just loves books - with his glasses we call him our little professor:

By Tuesday, Sept. 24th Hudson returned to daycare and once he woke up from nap it appeared his left eye held a lot of matter.  So Mom took him to the doctor & confirmed, yep, now pink eye & bronchitis.  More drops, more meds and now neb treatments!  The good news, we now know all that is ailing our poor little Huddy Buddy and with additional meds he should be right as rain soon.

 

The other good news, Hudson completed his first fall paint project before he left - painting a picture using leafs as his paint brush.  We were all pretty excited he even used Cyclone colors - way to go Hud!  His teachers also told Mom that Hudson loves to play trucks & tractors, placing them on top of a shelf or window sill to drive them just like his big brother did!  Apparently a little alike!  

I had a great week at daycare too and on Wed., Sept. 25th I had my 3rd day of pre-school.  This week our theme was Fall Fun, we learned the letter "X, x", read When the Leaf Blew, looked at leafs under a magnifying glass and even did a leaf rubbing which I thought was really fun.  Here's my orange & green leaf rubbing:

I also really enjoyed spreading peanut butter on my crackers with a knife and liked our boost up exercise, the balance beam!  I was finally able to take home my golf ball painting from last week, yep, we painted with golf balls!

We should mention our unlucky week continued with our water heater dying (*thanks Grandma & Grandpa Prestegard for sharing your hot water!) and on Thurs., Sept. 26th, right after Mom dropped us off at daycare she was heading into Blue Earth with the right a way & someone ran a stop sign right in front of her intersection & she hit him head on.  Air bags & all.  The good news we weren't in the car and both drivers could walk away.  Mom had lots of cuts & bruises and has been pretty sore - no rough housing with her - but will be good as new soon.  While Mom was at the doctor on Friday we got to go to work with Dad & Grandpa and we had a blast.  Working on combines and trucks as on Thurs., Sept. 26th we started picking beans.  So much to do!

 

Mom has taken it easy the past couple of days & so have we. Today, Sat., Sept. 28th we did get to run some errands & even go out to dinner Saturday night as a whole family at Applebee's in Albert Lea.  Daddy & Mommy were so impressed as we were very well behaved (*people around us even said so)!  Afterwards we got to do some grocery shopping to pick out stuff for Daddy's lunches as harvest has officially started!  We can't wait to ride in a combine and help!

"HOOT"...

Hayden's Mom here and had to report a very awesome event today.  Hayden woke up really early on Saturday, even earlier than normal, and we worked on this take home airport unit from pre-school.  Then he wanted to work on some of the take home letter books he got including working on the letters "X", "O" & "T" - yes, he actually wrote them out!  I was in per amazement!

 

Today, Sun., Sept. 22nd he picked out an animal story for nap time and when we came to a page about owls there was a header at the top of the page which said, "HOOT".  Before I could read or do anything Hayden goes, "look Mama, a "H" like me!"  Then he said "and a "O", "O", "T"!"  He was so excited because here was this simple word, "hoot" in which our proud boy knew & recognized all the letters!  Totally shocked and almost teary-eyed we had to call Daddy in for him to repeat his awesome feat and we all celebrated.  So proud of you kid!  Just 3 weeks in pre-school and you're recognizing & matching letters.  Wow; so grown up! 

 

We should also mention what a little helper Mr. Hayden has been recently; he's really starting to look out for Hudson and also offers to help do things around the house/outside, with our without being asked.  Hayden, you're so quick to "help" and just participate in whatever we're doing and we love that if you see something that needs to be done or fixed you jump right in; no hesitation.  You amaze us each & every day - we feel so blessed to have you; you're a "hoot"!  Yeah, poor pun!  We love you Hayden!  XOXO, Mom & Dad

A Wonderful Weekend...

What a wonderful weekend...on Friday, Sept. 20th we got to stop by the shop on our way home to see Daddy getting ready for harvest, including hooking-up corn heads & driving combines.  Here's us helping Daddy out: 

Close-up of the Prestegard farm men!

Once we got home Mommy, Hudson & I worked on this look & find sticker poster and colored it (*yep, all of us laying on the floor to complete it) and once finished Mommy asked me who I wanted to give it to...I immediately said, "Luke!"  Luke is one of the guys that works for us so back in the van we went to deliver the picture to Luke.  Luke loved it, turned slightly red and texted Daddy a picture of it on his fridge once he got home.  Which was very cool!

 

Once we got back the Hansen's came over for a fall play date & dinner.  We had a great time and played really well together.  Here's Addison & playing race cars on the race ramp: 

We thought we'd show you a picture with Hudson too as he was there but was playing trucks on the sofa!  He loves driving trucks now and really likes to load up the dump trucks and then "dump" them all over & start again!  He also loves the service truck & taking our farmer's or Mickey Mouse figures and putting them in the driver's seat.  He's a little operator just like me!

On Sat., Sept. 21st we had a wonderful day of playing at home & outside and then Saturday night we had our first ever babysitter!  Ms. Brittany came over just before dinner to watch us for the evening as Daddy & Mommy headed over to the Oswald's for an adults only Lebanese dinner night!  Anna shared her heritage via food to everyone and it was fantastic.  Daddy's favorite were the grape leave rolls & the Tabouleh (*amazing summer'ish type salad); Mommy's favorite were the Kibbeh (*think Lebanese meatloaf), the Lebanese chicken kabobs which we put with awesome sauce & the salad on pita bread & made our own type of Lebanese Shawarma's!  They had a fun evening & ours went really well (*we even did craft time making personalized door knob hangers!) until bedtime when Hudson didn't want to sleep.  By the next morning he had a temp & sure enough double ear infection!  Poor guy...with some meds, he'll be back to normal soon; we hope!  What a wonderful weekend & special thank you to the Oswald's for a special dinner night, sharing something very special & getting our parent's out of our hair! ;)

Let Fall Fun Begin...

We wrapped up last week at daycare/school with more learning on the color yellow and I got to help cut out and paint my own bus!  Here's my awesome masterpiece thought you'd enjoy seeing:

Hudson learned more about acorns and even made a shaker out of them and even painted an acorn with brown paint!

 

We started our weekend off Friday night, the 13th, with picking up Hudson's new glasses.  Similar frames but definitely a stronger prescription.  The funny or maybe scary part is Daddy can actually see out of Hudson's glasses as right now their prescriptions aren't that far off!  Hudson liked his new glasses right away as soon as he put them on started pointing stuff out that was far away!  So happy they help him.  On our way home we got the special treat of seeing Daddy at the shop & take him dinner.

 

On Sat., Sept. 14th we had a big day!  Hudson & Daddy got to have a special trip to the local John Deere Implement to pick out his very first tractor!  When I was Hudson's age and went I picked out my front loader; Hudson picked out a huge four wheel drive, a 8330 (*a tractor Daddy use to own!).  He was so proud of his tractor he held the entire way home:

As soon as he got home and we got all the wrapping off Hudson was ready to play; what a little farmer! 

Someone was/is definitely happy!  I must say I was a tad jealous, but who wouldn't be it's a very nice tractor!  After they got back I got a special trip with Dad too as I went with him to pick out new work boots.  We had a blast looking at all the farm stuff & farm toys; fun to have one-on-one Daddy time doing man stuff!

Just before lunch Uncle Jared stopped by to drop off his puppy, Bane, who we watched while he went to the ISU vs. IA football game.  We may have lost the game but had a wonderful time with Bane!  After nap Mom, Hudson and I headed to the Center Creek Orchard in Fairmont.  Here's our first official fall picture: 

It was a perfect afternoon, not hot & the orchard wasn't crowded!  They even had Cinderella's carriage there which we got to ride.  The horses that pulled us were Dolly & Dixie and we had a blast!

They had so many thing to do including a tractor hay ride and barrel rides pulled by a lawn mower.  This was the first time Hudson could ride in one and he did great!  He held on tight and smiled the entire time:

Here's our whole train; I picked out the rabbit and Hudson the frog!

Of course had to do our annual how tall are we; again Hudson's first time!  I'm around 3 1/2 feet and Hudson is almost at 3 feet...what growing boys!

We loved that the orchard had bells to ring all over including on our barrel ride, trike path and even here at the train!

We also enjoyed the slide, feeding the goats, checking out the cat tail trail, climbing the hay pile and digging in the corn pile!  Here we are in heaven, playing with corn & surrounded by tons of tractors & trucks!

I also showed Hudson how the trike path worked and we did lap after lap...very hard to leave at the end of the day!  Love the orchard and look forward to our next trip!

 We woke up Sunday to find Uncle Jared at our house!  He stayed after the game and what a treat we got to have breakfast with him and then church!  After church we went to the Fly-in/Drive-In Lunch at the Blue Earth Municipal Airport's Grand Re-Opening.  They had excellent food but I was most excited about all the airplanes (*like Dusty in the movie Planes!)  Note I even brought my little Dusty with me which Dad/Mom thought was cute.  They had some fun planes we got to check out in addition to seeing the hanger where they sleep.  We even saw a plane land while we were walking around!  Here's us with Daddy and one of my favorite planes because it had my favorite color orange on it!

Fun side note was we knew the gentlemen working the gate so they let me use the taller than me guiding staffs and guide cars in & point where to park.  I thought I was pretty big stuff!

 

After such a fun weekend it was hard to return to daycare this week.  Should note Hudson is doing better at sitting during circle time and really enjoys the secret story time surprise bag.  On Monday the 16th there were 3 apples insides, red, green & yellow, which he got to taste and even paint with. 

 

Today I returned to Discovery Preschool for my second day and was a little bummed I wasn't the Star this week but went right in & started playing upon arrival.  This week our theme was sports and we read the book, Me & My Dad by Eric Carle, and even did golf ball painting!  I also enjoyed learning about the letter Oo for Ozzie Octopus and doing pencil/hot dog rolls for our boost up exercise.  When Mom picked me up I was most excited to share not our learning activities but that our snack was popcorn!   Can't wait 'til next week!

1st Day of Discovery Preschool!

On Wed., Sept. 11, 2013, I had my first day of Discovery Preschool!  I attend Blue Earth Elementary and Ms. Bogan is my teacher and she's great!  Here I am all ready to go!  Notice I have my new shoes on which I call my "fast shoes" as supposedly they help me go faster.

My favorite part so far was picking out my new back pack; it's the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Blue Camo Small Backpack (*matches my travel bag from Aunt Jenni & Uncle Kyle!) and getting my name on it.  I feel like pretty big stuff!

Here we are waiting to go inside at drop off...let's do this already!

 Found my name with ease and hanging up my stuff!

Our theme for the day was "Butterflies, Bugs & Spiders" and we read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle and Bugs, Bugs, Bugs by Bob Barner.  We even got to examine butterflies, cicadas, dragon flies and spider webs under magnifying glasses which was really cool.  My favorite part of the day though was I was the Super Star and got to bring a toy to share with the letter of the day, which was "T"!  Of course I brought my biggest & best John Deere tractor, a front loader (just barely fit in my back pack) to share.  I enjoyed learning about Tiggy Tiger's Tt and am working on finding t's when we read stories or are out & about.  We also painted our own butterflies and even got to make our own snack using a knife to spread cheese on crackers.  I felt like such a big boy!  I had a great day and on the way back to daycare told mom we should go back tomorrow!   She was so proud of me.

 

My fun didn't stop there at daycare I got to make a jellyfish which I was really proud of; you can see my jellyfish and butterfly below: 

In addition to our unit on sea creatures this week this month we're learning about the color yellow and the shape the triangle.  I'm having fun finding yellow triangles, especially while driving; there are a lot of yellow triangle signs!  My teachers this fall are Ms. Betsy, Ms. Kerri, Ms. Lynn, Ms. Mandie and Ms. Audrey.  Having so much fun at my awesome schools!

 

On our way home Wednesday night we got to stop by the shop to see the men and more importantly our new combine & new foldable corn head (*which we got to drive & hook-up) with Grandpa!  Daddy also took us for a ride on the forklift and Mommy took us on a walk around the yard & rides on the tire swing.  Hudson rode the swing by himself for the first time, holding on tight & doing a great job!  Love being at the shop!

Little Sprouts & Fall Session Begins...

On Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, Hudson started full time in the Little Sprouts room!  Little Sprouts has children in the older toddler stage of development & provides lots of exploration!  They focus on their curiosity with cause & effect experiments; become introduced to short, interactive group activities like story time, music time, crafts, etc.; small & large muscle activities; and enhance cognitive, language and social skills through sensory experiences.  So many new & exciting things for our Hudson to learn & do!

 

Moving to the Sprout's room Hudson has a new locker with a new name tag & everything!

Up close shot of his name tag; what a face!

Here's what his classroom looks like when you walk in; so much to look at & fun things to do!

The Little Sprouts room is where we begin to potty train and here what will be Hudson's first thrones!  Although, he most likely won't begin until next spring, I'm sure something very much Mommy & Daddy are looking forward to!

I will be back in the Explorer's Room this fall & what an awesome welcoming door sign my teachers made.  My name & tag is underneath the top, left school bus (the second green with yellow striped shirt down).

Here's our room all re-decorated for the fall & again, what an awesome welcome sign up on the back wall!  For my the Explorer's Room is the Preschool Room where we increase our abilities to listen & follow directions, feel successful of our accomplishments; and we focus social, cognitive, communication, fine/large motor skills, self help & cooperative play development skills. 

As you can see there are so many things to do in our room including different stations such as crafts, reading, art, computers, etc.  So excited for another fall session to start!

Hudson completed his first Little Sprouts artwork this week learning his name & getting to help cut out a giant circle...thought we'd show you a picture of him holding his masterpiece since it's as big as him!  Getting better with those crayons! 

Hudson sat for the first time during circle time on Monday the 9th as he really enjoyed learning about the 3 lil' squirrels & their bushy tails!

 

Also, on Monday the 9th Mom was traveling for work so Daddy picked us up and before dinner we go to slip and slide again!  Notice with Daddy we do it a little differently and props are involved...can you say make shift car wash!  We had a blast!

Up next my first day of Discovery Preschool!

Slip & Slide Fun!

After work on Friday, Sept. 6th we helped Mommy set-up the Slip & Slide!  Even though September it's been 80-90 degrees and perfect for some water filled fun.  Although Hudson wasn't up for sliding and I'd only do my knees it was still a blast!

Hudson figured out first that if you step on certain parts of the slide water would shoot up higher and you or someone close to you could get sprayed...yep, he got me a few times.  Lots of giggles! 

Hudson wasn't so sure if he wanted to dive in or not!  In his defense the water was cold!

After we got cleaned up, early bath time, Mom snapped a quick pic of Hudson's beautiful curls because on Sat., Sept. 7th poor guy was scheduled for a haircut.  All his pretty curls will be gone!  Daddy won't be able to call him "Curl Top" which has been his nickname of late. 

Mommy couldn't resist snapping a picture of this...Hudson thinks he can work the remote so always picks it up & tries to do stuff with it.  Here he actually got the TV turned on & to cartoons no less! 

As Mom was finishing plating dinner we got to watch a few minutes of TV and of course we had to sit right next to each other.  So cute!  Brotherly love! 

On Saturday, Sept. 7th we decided to expand our family with fish!  Yep, after Hudson's haircut we splurged and invested in all the equipment to set-up a salt water tank.  It takes a couple of months to regulate but soon we'll be heading back to the pet store to pick-up Nemo & Dori and many others.  Can't wait to introduce you to our new family members.  We concluded our day with a fun dinner with the Hansen's although I could barely keep my eyes open with a no nap.  Yep, instead of napping I tried no nap by helping Daddy plant trees & at the shop.  At dinner I asked if I could take a nap because I was tired.  Too cute; early bed time it was.

 

Today, Sept. 8th, after church Grandpa Allen came over and all us men headed to Kiester, MN for the 30th Annual Threshing Festival - Farming of Yesteryear and for lunch.  We got to see a whole bunch of antique tractors, machinery, horses, mulemen, tractor pedal pull, tractor parade, sawmill, pumpkin launcher and of course threshing.  We had a great time getting to walk around and see all the ag related items as well as the old church & school house and general entertainment.  We had a big day & came home to take a big nap!  What a wonderful day to spend Grandparent's Day.  On that note, we want to wish all of our very special grandparents and any out there a very happy & blessed day.  We love you & miss each of you!  After dinner we got to play outside and even do the last of our fireworks & sparklers which was awesome.  Wrapped up the evening with Disney Dominoes and Halloween books...yep, decorated and ready to roll! 

XOXO - Hayden & Hudson

 

PS - Up next...this week Hudson starts his first full week in the Little Sprouts room, I start Preschool & am the Star of the Week, and Center Creek Orchard Cinderella Carriage Rides...so much to do!

Discovery Place Preschool

After daycare today Discovery Place Preschool at Blue Earth Elementary hosted their open house and parent/child meetings.  It was fun to see all the changes from the school renovation over the summer (*including air conditioning!) and even more fun to see where I'll be going for one-day a week 3 year old preschool.  When I entered the classroom I was so excited for all the fun toys including the water table but most excited when I found (*all on my own) my name tag/locker!

Soon after I got to meet my teacher, Ms. Kay Bogan, who I've luckily had before for ECFE classes and found out that on my first day I'll be one of the 3 Stars of the Day!  So on my first day I will get to bring in one thing to share with my classmates during Circle Time that relates to the alphabet letter of the day.  Mom was worried thinking I'd get the letter "A" first and trying to figure out what toy I'd bring that works with "A" but guess what?!  My letter is "T" (*yep, out of order)...do you think I can find a toy that starts with a "T"!  Right away I told Mom tractor or truck or...oh the "t'ransportation options are endless.  I can't wait!  Here's our chore board and the first star on the left is my name.  I'll get to take a turn with the other chores though like milk, snack, napkins, etc.  Can't wait to be a big helper. 

After our informational meeting Mom & I had a hot date getting Mexican food at El Tio's with the Hansen's who were also in town for the open house.  I loved the chips & spice salsa!  Then we did a little shopping and then headed home.  Can't wait until next week and my first day!

The Blank Park Zoo & Home Again...

On Sun., Sept. 1st as we were getting ready to go to the zoo we heard a knock on the door...I went to answer it and guess who?  Grandma & Grandpa Sergeant!  They surprised us and decided to stay in Des Moines Saturday night after the ISU game so they could see us & go to the zoo with us - how fun!  I was a little confused at first as I thought maybe we were going with them and leaving Mommy & Daddy but felt much better after learned we were all going to the zoo together.  Note I still stayed close by just in case they were trying to trick us!

 

We got to the zoo shortly after it opened and apparently I did the funniest thing as I told Mommy I had to go potty so Mommy said ok we'll go in just a minute (*she thinking once we get inside & I thinking right now) so I began to pull my pants down in the parking lot!  Everyone thought this was very funny but all I cared about was going potty!  No worries Mommy ran me inside and everything worked out just fine.  Apparently you have to be more specific with 3 1/3 year olds!

 

First stop at the zoo was the Discovery Center were we got to interact with some exhibits (*indoor stream or like a water table below) and see sea life & birds up close.  Hudson really enjoyed the fish as many of them at his height and he could get up close to see them. 

As mentioned in day 1 of our trip I began to strike a pose for pictures and for those Zoolander, the movie, fans...here's my "Blue Steel!"

Next a quick train ride through the park which was really cool because 1) it is a train and 2) we got to see the big cats, tigers & lions, up close!  I got to ride with Grandma & Grandpa...

Hudson got to ride with Mommy & Daddy; he loved the train too and we taught him to say, "choo, choo"!

In the Australia Adventure we got to paint our very own boomerangs and were right next to the wallaby's!  We even saw some baby wallaby's and they were really cute.  Hudson thought they were dogs and kept going up to them to say, "ruff, ruff".  Here's us pretending to be little joey's:

My favorite part of the day and what we've been talking about all week is feeding the giraffe's!  Giraffe's have been my favorite animals forever so I could barely contain myself when it was finally our turn.  I was a little nervous once his giant, black tongue reached out to grab the lettuce I was holding so I dropped a few pieces but finally got it on the last try.  They were soo gentle & patient!

We tried having Hudson feed them too but he couldn't quite reach so Mommy held it out for him but he did try to reach out & pet them!  He giggled the whole time and really liked them too.

I guess we didn't feed him enough as once we left he was back at trying to eat from the near by trees!  What beautiful creatures; too bad I couldn't take one home!

We continued to enjoy our safari adventure but soon were hungry so stopped for lunch.  Afterwards we stopped by the big cats, unfortunately the snow leopards are under construction so missed them, but did find the jeep near by to "drive"!  Of course, out of the entire zoo to explore we found the transportation exhibit!

Second favorite part of the day was our camel ride, Hudson's first time!  Since I got to ride one at the Sioux Falls Zoo I showed Hudson how it was done and helped him hang on.  I know, I know, such a good big brother!  Here we are striking a pose for the camera:

The entire trip Hudson giggled & smiled and so did I.  It was a lot of fun and she was really gentle too.  It was a smooth ride and Hudson did great holding on; what big boys we are!

We also really enjoyed Kid's Kingdom that had all the farm animals and loved feeding the coats & baby cows.  Hudson enjoyed petting them the most and I enjoyed feeding them the most but didn't so much like their tongues tickling me!

I had a blast running through the hippo & elephant sprinklers!

Family picture by the seal aquarium and giant seal statue.

The vultures did the weirdest thing while we were walking by...stretching their wings out & holding it.  Really cool yet creepy.

Here's our little monkey!

By the end of the day we were tired and when we left there were more than a few tears...so much for getting a "happy" pic with Grandma Anne & Grandpa Scott!  They enjoyed our tears though as they & Mom & Dad kept laughing!  What a wonderful day we really appreciate Grandma & Grandpa meeting up with us - what a great surprise!

After a nap filled ride home we quickly unpacked & got ready for a fun Labor Day feast with some of our good friends at the Bruellman's.  Enjoyed playing with all the kids and being able to run around outside.  What a beautiful day we had being outside at the zoo & being outside all night with a camp fire.  We were one tired family by the time we got home!

 

On Mon., Sept.2nd it was a nice treat to sleep in and enjoy a labor free day at home.  We had a fun in the morning when Brittany came over to babysat while Mom assisted Grandma Judy.  Brittany was well prepared with craft time and I even made a sign for my bedroom door!

Hudson wasn't too interested so I got to make a second sign for Mom's office: 

The rest of the day we played outside, a little cooler, and just hung out.  Unfortunately back to daycare & work tomorrow. What a blessed & very fun filled weekend!

 

On Tues., Sept. 3rd we returned to daycare and got to bring home all our of stuff we made in August.  Hudson was a busy bee and got to do a lot of paintings.  He was learning about circles and got to do a circle stamping project (Vikings' colors - nice little bro!): 

He also started learning about fall and got to paint some apples on his apple tree below.  He must have some rotten apples too since he used red and brown!

Today Hudson was too busy trucking to stop & trace his hand and do a new project, oh, well!  Sounds like his big brother don't you think?  I also got to bring some items home but mine were pictures!  Here I am in July 2013 feeding a baby calf; it was so much fun and the calf although gentle was really hungry & quite strong!

Today, Sept. 4th Mommy & I had a very interesting ride to daycare discussing how Daddy and Grandpa were my "sons", which actually I learned I was their son or grandson.  I impressed Mommy by remembering my Great Grandpa's name, Omar, and all my other grandparents' names & Daddy's.  When Mommy asked what her name was I replied, "Princess Sophia" and smiled.  Although I think Mommy liked the Princess part I learned her name is Brooke.

 

Hudson constantly wakes up happy so we snapped a picture this morning when getting him dressed and thought we'd share with you.  Here's our happy little man!  We should note that Hudson won't leave his crib unless he takes blanky & Tigger with him (*as in hand here)!  He can barely hold everything but he's one determined & happy little man.

Up next my pre-school open house...can't wait to meet my new teacher!