Mommy & Hudson date night!

Monday night Hudson and I had a little night out, just the two of us :)

I signed us up for a "cooking class" through the Northfield ECFE program.  Such a fun night we had!

Getting ready for our "cooking class"

The first station we went to was how to make a bird feeder

Prepping with peanut butter

Rolling on the bird seed.

Hudson wanted to hang this up outside as soon as we got home.  Unfortunately it was really dark out so I told him we would do it later today.

Next up was making a hot cocoa mix, yum!

Blurry picture because he was jumping up & down ;)

From there we decorated a gingerbread man (or baby as Hudson called it)

Last stop was a gingerbread house.  I think Hudson could have stayed here for hours adding more candy to his house.

We also made a trail mix snack, yum!

Such a fun night with my little man, just the two of us :)

Snack with Santa

Sunday morning we made our annual trip to the MN Zoo for Snack with Santa!  Overall I would say it was a success.  Hudson was really excited about seeing Santa this year and to tell him what he wanted.  He even cooperated for a few pictures first :)

Notice penguin also made the trip

Best family photo we were able to get....

The Zoo holds this in their dining area and they always have an assortment of snack and drinks.  They also have pictures for the kids to color and ornaments to make.  This year we made reindeer ornaments for our tree.

Santa then comes around to each table and just prior to him keeping a volunteer asks for the children's name.  Hudson was a little unsure but he did sit on his lap and tell him that he wanted a tractor with a trailer (of course!).

Mila was not too sure about Santa.  She was not going to sit on his lap so mom had too.

Trying to figure out what's going on....

Another successful year visiting Santa.  

Growing too fast!

I can't believe another year is almost over!  Time is just flying by and it seems to go faster with two kids to keep us occupied :)  We are busy at our house getting ready for Christmas and all the festivities that go with it.  This Sunday we will be making our annual trip to the MN Zoo for Snack with Santa.  We also need to take our family pictures so I can get our holiday cards ordered and mailed.  So much to do :)

A little update on the kids......

This little man is 4 and a half already.

Hudson has been busy this year with preschool!  He is in the older preschool room at daycare with Ms. Bobbi and just loves it.  He has made some really great new friends and he loves to tell us all about his day.  He also started at Hand-in-Hand preschool, going Tuesday and Thursday each week with Ms. Angie.  It is amazing to see how much he has learned over the last 5 months.  He is recognizing letters and numbers.  He can tell you what certain words start with.  He is able to write his own name.  

He still loves his construction equipment and tractors.  He is also really into the LEGO sets, especially the City collection.  This year he wants to be outside all the time.  Whenever shoveling is needed, he is usually out there mowing the snow :)

Miss Mila is now 16 months, she is no longer my baby :(

Currently she is still in the infant room at daycare but they will slowly start transitioning her to the toddler room starting next week.  Though I am sad about this, she is definitely ready to hang out with the big kids.

She definitely keeps us on our toes.  She loves to be independent and do things by herself, which can create a bit of a mess when it comes to eating.  She is starting to talk more and she loves to make animal sounds when we sing Old McDonald has a Farm.  She still loves music and dancing.  She is a busy little girl, constantly on the move!

These two are best buds!  In general they get along really well and Hudson is such an awesome big brother.  Mila loves to follow him around and do whatever he is doing.  

Love them!

Halloween

I was so excited about Halloween this year as Hudson had such a blast trick or treating last year.  We started talking about costumes in early September and he wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.  I was hoping to find a costume at the annual kids sale as I have in year's past.  Unfortunately there were no TMNT costumes but I did find a Buzz Lightyear Costume he was really excited about.  As for Mila, we were able to borrow a little owl costume from our good friends.

Friday morning we put on our Halloween outfits with our costumes packed for daycare.  I took a few quick pictures on my phone, figuring I would be able to get some better shots on the camera later.

Off to daycare they went with their costumes in tow.  I picked them up after work and was excited to hear about their day.  Come to find out neither kid wanted to wear their costume for the Halloween party......

We then headed up to my parent's place with plans to head to the MN Zoo at 5 for trick or treating, followed by pizza for dinner before hitting the neighborhood for more trick or treating.

Well Hudson decided he didn't want to go trick or treating and he would wear his Buzz costume when he is 5......  As for Mila, every time she saw her costume she started crying.

Hoping next year we are a little more successful in celebrating Halloween :)

Pumpkin Patch

Friday we made the trip down to Byron, MN to check out Tweite's Family Farm.  They have all sorts of activities such as a Theme park, Enchanted Forest, Wagon ride, etc.  Since the weather was a little on the cooler side, we decided to just head out to the pumpkin patch.  They have a great deal where you can buy an pumpkin from the patch for only $4!!!

Both pointing at the Tractor driving by!

Of course Hudson had to stop looking at the pumpkin's to run over and check out the tractor

We were able to find some nice pumpkin's to take home

Hudson had to pick out a little pumpkin too

Had to take this picture of Mila's lovely hat hair when we were getting ready to leave

What a fun day at the pumpkin patch.  Hard to believe that last year on this same day it was 70's and sunny and Mila was sleeping away in the Moby Wrap.  What a difference a year makes!  Looking forward to carving our pumpkins!

And a few pictures of that afternoon of the kids playing together :)

Fall has arrived!

It's that time of year in MN where the leaves are turning to the beautiful golds, oranges, and reds!  It's also that time when the temperature's are dropping, brrr......  We have been outside as much as possible to enjoy these beautiful fall days before the frozen tundra arrives.  Here are some recent pictures of what we have been up to!

On our walks in Cannon Falls, we love to stop down by the river and feed the ducks!

(Mila's two main words right now are dog & ducks)

Love when I catch these two in these special moments together

Enjoying a walk around Lake Calhoun with a stop at the park

Playing at one of the many parks in Cannon Falls

Enjoying some hot chocolate on a cool morning

Hard to believe that Halloween is here in just a few weeks.  Friday we are heading to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins!  And then in a couple weeks we are off to Florida for a week long vacation, so excited for sun & sand!!!

Here we go again.......

Tomorrow Miss Mila will be having surgery for another set of ear tubes and possible removal of her adenoids.  We found out about a month ago that the right tube had already fallen out, didn't even last 3 months...... 

Since winter is approaching, our ENT is being proactive by replacing the tubes instead of waiting to see if and when she has an ear infection.  At the time of the surgery, they will also take a look at her adenoids and if they seem large they will remove them.  Mila has had a runny nose on and off most of the time and she also has some other symptoms that indicate enlarged adenoids.  Little nervous about surgery this time as Hudson took awhile to bounce back when he had his two years ago.  Hoping for a quick recovery from our little princess!