Getting Bigger Every Day

Oh, man, last week got away from me. I kept thinking, oh, I'll just blog tomorrow, but then tomorrow would be gone and I don't know. The past few weeks have flown by and I don't know how they went so fast.

So, anyway, there was the trip to Kansas City, which went very, very well, and was very, very fun. Gabbie was a champ and did better in the car than I did even. I was ready to get the heck out. She just wanted to play some more. Here she is watching a movie, holding the iPad all by herself:

Everything on the way there went swimmingly until we offered her some licorice and then about 40 minutes later, and with approximately 40 minutes left on our drive she got car sick. It was, well, a less than pleasant experience. She would retch and then cry, "Yucky!" and then repeat the cycle. We got her all cleaned up at a gas station but she threw up a couple more times during the remainder of the drive. I have to say, nothing cements the fact that you are a parent quite like catching vomit in your hands and not flinching. Not to say that I didn't pull a Lady Macbeth the rest of the night, feeling like I just couldn't get my hands clean enough.

Anyway, sorry about that grossness.

We all had a great time at the parties (there were two) and Gabbie had a blast playing with my aunt's small dog. Gabbie put her on the leash and walked her around the house, and also gave her lots of hugs. Gabbie was a much bigger fan of the dog than the dog was of her, but the dog is also very patient and deserves a medal for putting up with a toddler for two days straight.

Since we've been home Gabbie has been a major daddy's girl. Aaron didn't go with us and she obviously missed him a lot. She started calling him Dad instead of Dada this weekend (she's been calling me Mommy instead of Mama for a while now). It's adorable and incredibly sad all at the same time. My baby is getting so big! She'll be two years old in just over three weeks? How did this happen?!?

Just to illustrate how big she's getting, look what she helped me make yesterday:

They're mint chocolate cupcakes, and she helped me count out the cups, pour liquids into the bowl, and stir the batter together. She also put all the liners into the cupcake pan all by herself. I'm really in disbelief of how big she is getting these days. My baby isn't so much of a baby any more!
This week she goes on her first airplane trip. We're headed to Florida to visit my inlaws. I'm even more nervous for this (including for my own issues with regards to air travel) than I was for our long car trip. It should be interesting to say the least. We bought her a seat and are taking her carseat with us, so hopefully that will make her more comfortable. Now we just have to figure out how to keep her awake until flight time so she naps the whole way there. It will be a challenge, that's for sure!