Lots of Firsts

Not long ago, Teresita celebrated her first Thanksgiving with us.  She ate her own weight in mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and she got to wear a cute skirt to match her big sister's, which she was very excited about.  It was the first time I've seen her get excited about an article of clothing.  When I put the skirt on, she kept looking at it and giggling and smiling.  We may have another little fashionista in the making...time will tell.

That night we left on our first road trip with three kids.  And Teresita's first car ride of over 30 minutes.  Turns out driving at night is not really her thing.  All three kids fell asleep right away, but then Teresita kept waking up every twenty minutes and screaming for a while until she fell asleep again...until she woke back up screaming...etc.  A bit stressful.  We made it to Kalamazoo, checked into a hotel, and transferred all three kids successfully to beds in the hotel room.  I think getting to swim in the pool the next morning made the hotel experience worth the not-so-fun drive for Teresita.  Overall, a good first hotel stay with three kids.

We drove the rest of the way to Naperville, where Teresita met her aunts, uncles and cousins on the Pennings side of the family for the first time.  She likes them.

 We stayed at Tia Jana and Tio Chad's house, and our older two especially enjoyed getting to teach their two-year-old cousin Emma fun big kid games like "pillow mountain" (make a giant pile of pillows and blankets and jump in it).

 Monday morning we made a stop in Chicago at Shedd Aquarium.  Juan Pablo had been there before, but it was a first for Ana Luisa and Teresita.  This picture pretty much sums up their reactions: Juan Pablo=mesmerized, Teresita=trying everything in her power to jump into the water and swim with the beluga whales, Ana Luisa=terrified.

First, Ana Luisa freaked out when she saw the fake submarine next to the beluga exhibit.  I whisked her off to the next exhibit (penguins) and she finally calmed down enough to be able to tell me that she thought the submarine could move and that's why she was so scared.  So we sat and watched the penguins while Juan Pablo and Teresita played in the submarine.  Or while Juan Pablo awkwardly tried to carry Teresita.  I'm not exactly sure.

 I thought the dolphin and whale show would help Ana Luisa feel better, but it was a Christmas themed show.  Apparently she is also terrified of people in Frosty the Snowman costumes, Santa costumes, Dolphin costumes, and Penguin costumes, all of which made an appearance during the show.  Teresita's greatest frustration the whole day was that she couldn't go swimming.  Water everywhere, and yet no one would let her get in.  Finally we found the pretend tide pools and she splashed and soaked herself to her heart's content.

 The kids were all exhausted after a busy day at the aquarium, and the nighttime drive home went much more smoothly than the previous one.  And to top everything off, my parents had hired someone to clean our house while we were gone, so we came home to a completely clean house, and transferred all three kids to their beds without anyone waking up.  Overall, our first Thanksgiving weekend and first trip together were a success!