Jenna Bush Hager’s son Hal is already up to no good this school year.
On the Thursday, Sept. 5 episode of Today, co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb were discussing their kids’ first days of school when Bush Hager revealed that her 5-year-old son Hal pulled a prank on his mom following his first day of pre-K.
“I picked Hal up and Mila was with me,” she began, referring to her 11-year-old daughter. “And I said, ‘Hal, how was school?’ And he said, ‘Pretty good, but I went to the principal’s office.'”
She looked over at Kotb, adding, “Day one! I mean, the school day was like 12 minutes.”
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The mom of three then asked Hal, ‘Okay, so why did you go to the principal’s office?’ ” to which he replied, “I squirted apple sauce.”
Bush Hager was, of course, confused by his explanation, telling Kotb, “It sounded like it was an accident… and Mila looked at me like, ‘He’s lying,’” she recalled.
The mom of three then told Hal that she would ask his teacher about the incident on back-to-school night. “He knew he was busted,” Bush Hager said.
“JK (just kidding)! I had the best day ever!” Hal finally confessed.
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Kotb laughed at Hal’s impressive pranking skills before saying, “Your son is already messing with you!”
Kotb continued to share a trick she used on her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, to motivate them to tell the truth. “I used to tell the kids that we had cameras in the house,” she admitted.
“Oh, we do that,” said Bush Hager, adding that she tells Hal that the smoke detector in his bedroom is the camera. “Are we the same people?” she joked.
While Kotb said she revealed the truth to her daughters, “Hal doesn’t know, so let’s not show him,” Bush Hager said with a laugh.
Bush Hager shares daughters Poppy, 9, and Mila, as well as son Hal, with husband Henry Hager.