A Visit from Dad/Papa

Last week my dad came to visit us for a couple of days. It was his first visit to see us in Jacksonville, so I was excited to show him our new place and Ellie was just excited to see her Papa. He arrived on Tuesday afternoon, just as Ellie and I were getting back from her doctor's appointment. Perfect timing!

We didn't do a whole lot on Tuesday. We gave him the grand tour of our apartment, of course, and then he and I chatted while Ellie napped. When she woke up, we took him on our usual afternoon walk to visit the neighborhood cat and see the turtles in the lake.

Happy girl in her Papa's arms

Kisses from Papa

Checking out some lake wildlife! We have these critters that I'm told are called nutrias, but I call them lake rats, and some crazies across the lake feed them from their hand so now they come right up to you. Keep your distance, lake rat. No food for you! 

Eric left work early that night so we could all have dinner together, and that was pretty much our Tuesday excitement.

On Wednesday, however, Ellie and I decided my dad needed to see more of the city. We drove him out to Eric's school so he could see that, then we went downtown to walk along the riverfront and around The Landing for a bit. It was a lovely morning, and we had a very pleasant walk. We even saw dolphins in the river!

Downtown with my Dad

Ellie and her Papa checking out the river

Dolphin sighting! One of many.

Ellie watching the birds

Giant sundial

Hanging out riverside

We also spent a good amount of time in a toy shop, which Ellie loved. Then we made our way back home for lunch and another nap for Ellie.

When Ellie woke up, she was asking for Papa, just as she had been when she woke up from her nap the previous day and again that morning. She loves her Papa!

"Papa? Where'd Papa go? Paaaaaapaaaaa! Where are you?"

VIDEO: Ellie asking for Papa

My dad left shortly after Ellie woke up, so we said our goodbyes and I took Ellie to visit the neighborhood cat to distract her from Papa's absence. She asked for him a bit more as the night went on, but I assured her we'll see him again soon.

Thanks for coming to visit, Dad!

Florida Fall

I would be lying if I said I wasn't fantasizing at least a little bit about how beautiful our former hometown must be right now, with the leaves changing and the crisp feeling of fall in the air. Of course, then I remind myself that soon those lovely leaves will fall and those trees will sit bare for months upon months thanks to the oppression of seemingly endless winter. Hey, I'm an optimist.

But really, I find myself missing northern fall more than I expected this year. Given the sense of dread fall used to always bring me, this development really surprised me. You may have noticed that we have been throwing ourselves whole-heartedly into the autumn season as best as we can, trying to capture a bit of those fun fall feelings here in the south. Thanks to pumpkin patches, corn mazes and some good ol' seasonal beer, we're not doing too bad of a job.

But we also can't overlook the advantages of a Florida fall. No, streets are not lined with colorful trees and you won't feel the crunch of fallen leaves beneath your feet as you walk. No, there's nary a crisp, cool breeze to be found. Jackets? Who needs 'em. My boots still sit lonely and dusty on a shelf and my scarves remain untouched in the closet. BUT. But. The weather is warm and the sun is shining, so much so that last week, after all our pumpkin patch and Oktoberfest fun, Ellie and I spent the morning strolling on the beach. We watched surfers waiting for just the right wave. We chatted with fisherman relaxing in the sun as we strolled down a long pier extended over the ocean. We chased birds on the beach, felt the sea wind in our faces and the sand between our toes. And it's October. That, my friends, is not the worst thing that has ever happened.

Desperate for a fall wardrobe, I put Ellie in her denim jacket for all of two minutes before I realized she was probably going to overheat. Alas.

Gorgeous day

Out on the fishing pier

Ellie on her way to befriend some fisherman

Checking out the view

Surfers in action

Enjoying the ocean breeze in her hair

Channeling her inner Marilyn

Happy Florida girl

"Enough of the pier, Mama. Let's hit the beach!"

Looking for seashells

Keeping the birds of Jacksonville Beach on their toes

It is hard to believe that soon we will have completed a full cycle of seasons in Florida. Thinking back to a year ago at this time, our last fall in New York, it feels like it was both just yesterday and a lifetime ago. A year ago we were preparing for Ellie's first Halloween, taking pictures of the beautiful fall foliage in Central Park, and were about to get hit by Hurricane Sandy. Our last fall in the city was a wonderful one (with the exception of Sandy, although even parts of that were incredible, too) and I look back on it fondly.

Now we're still trying to find our new normal and adjust to Florida life, but beach days in October certainly don't hurt the cause. Meanwhile, to my northern friends, enjoy some lovely foliage for me.

Jaxtoberfest

This past Saturday, we went to Jaxtoberfest downtown. Just like with the corn maze/farm/pumpkin patch from the previous weekend, I saw tickets for Jaxtoberfest on Living Social and jumped on them. Little did we know, admission was free before 1:00 p.m. anyway, so we didn't even need tickets. Money-saving fail! Ah, well. A good time was had by all, so what can you do.

We arrived just an hour after opening (comfortably before 1:00 p.m., of course), and it was not yet very crowded. Eric and I also chuckled at our lingering New York mindset, having opted to bring the umbrella stroller instead of our City Mini, because the City Mini is bulkier and thus the umbrella is easier to maneuver through tightly crowded places. However, our idea of "crowded" is still "New York-crowded," in which you can barely take a breath without invading someone's personal space. In Florida, you have a little more breathing room and the City Mini would've been fine (in fact, even better for navigating the grassy field). We'll adjust eventually, I'm sure! And then someday we'll go back to NYC for a visit and be all, "OMG, how do people live here, so crowded, I wouldn't be able to stand it!" Oh, future self - you're such a tourist!

Anyway. We arrived. It wasn't super crowded.

Welcome to Jaxtoberfest!

General scene, including an oversized beer pong field in front

Also, I have to stop for a second to show off Ellie's adorable lederhosen, handcrafted by her mother (or her mutter, if you will!):

Is she not the sweetest little fräulein you ever did see?

Can I work some magic with felt or what? I just wanted my little part-German girl to be authentic! (Well, aside from the fact that she should have been wearing a dirndl instead of lederhosen, but we'll just overlook that little tidbit and once again marvel at how cute and German she looks.)

We spent some time wandering around, checking out the games and the kids' area. Eric did a little tossing of the football (expertly, of course, as a quarterback coach should). Ellie loved all the (plastic) pumpkin-throwing games they had set up for kids, including pumpkin bowling and sort of pumpkin-toss/cornhole game. She was all about that. We also decorated pumpkins and listened to some live music.

Coach Eric showing us how it's done

Pumpkin bowling

Pumpkin decorating

Finished product! (I helped; her hearts aren't quite that well-formed yet)

"Touchdown, Ellie!"

"You're right, Dad! I nailed it! Touchdown!"

"Can't do any better than that. I'm out of here!"

Just running around Jaxtoberfest, being generally adorable

There were also people handing out paper hats in support of a local naval museum, which Ellie (and Eric) enjoyed, and we caught the start of the many games of the day: keg-rolling races.

Sailor Ellie

It's a nice look for Eric.

Watching the keg rolling

Oopsies!

By that time, Ellie was starting to wind down and we were getting on towards lunch and nap time, so we called it a day. But it was a gorgeous morning (as evidenced by all that clear blue sky in the above pictures) at a fun event, so overall, we really had a great time. Thanks, Jaxtoberfest!

Smiles on the way out!

Yay, fun!

Pretty Pumpkin

Yesterday, we hit up another pumpkin patch. There were some photo ops and climbing structures for the kiddos, but mostly, it was just pumpkins. Ellie has decided she really enjoys a nice pumpkin, so this worked out just fine. And, we were able to snap this picture of our pretty little pumpkin:

Just seeing how much more "into" everything Ellie is this fall as compared to last year is making me really excited for the upcoming holiday season. It will be so cool to watch her be an active participant in all the fun things we do, rather than just an adorable, observant-yet-fairly-helpless little shrimp. Of course, this may bite me when it comes time to dress her in a Halloween costume and/or a Christmas dress, because apparently my kid has opinions. Say what? You mean she's NOT just a precious little doll for me to dress up at will? Madness.

Stay tuned to see how all that works out!

Connor's A-Maize-Ing Acres

A few weeks ago, a Living Social deal for Connor's A-Maize-Ing Acres showed up in my email, and Eric and I decided to snatch it up. After all the fun we had at Queens County Farm a few years ago, and the adorableness that was Ellie in the Hoboken Harvest Festival pumpkin patch last year, we knew we wanted to seek out some sort of fall farm fun this year, and that deal seemed like just the right opportunity.

This past Saturday was Fall Fun Day, so off we went to the farm, which is just under an hour's drive from us. The farm was quite welcoming and we were feeling the fall spirit.

Howdy to you, too, farm!

Welcome!

First things first, we stuck Ellie in a tub of corn. Because, obviously.

She did not love it.

We decided we should get something for lunch before really checking things out, so Eric waited in line for some food while Ellie and I hit the swings, played with buckets at the dirt pile, and generally just ran around.

On the move!

This kid loves buckets.

Running to Dada

It was a pretty hot day (and I actually miss fall weather because I am a sick, sick individual), so by the time we reached the front of the food line, we were parched. It was there that Ellie sampled her first sweet tea, which she quite enjoyed. Congratulations, kid. You're officially a southerner now.

She's hooked.

With food in hand, we found a spot under some trees to sit and picnic. Ellie most enjoyed stealing our fries and dipping them in ketchup. And when the fries ran out, not to worry, she'll just dip her banana in ketchup instead.

Ellie and her Daddy eating fries

Banana in ketchup

After lunch, Ellie and Eric went for a ride on the cow train.

Cow train!

How much does that kid in the front hate his life right now?

We then did a little wandering before ending up on the hay ride. I thought Ellie would be quite excited because as soon as the ride got started, they stopped in the cow pasture to let the cows come eat the very hay on which we were sitting. Ellie is huge into animals these days, so I figured she'd be excitedly moo-ing up a storm. But I suppose the heat and lack of nap were taking their toll, and she just wanted to cuddle up with her Daddy while the cows did their thing.

On the hay ride

Here comes a hungry cow

Cows having a snack

Ellie and Eric hanging out while the cows eat

The hayride took us to the corn maze, so naturally we hopped off and got started on that. Eric did a great job as our leader and Ellie navigated the whole thing quite well, too, especially considering it was her first corn maze experience.

Sign at the entrance to the maze

In the maze!

Follow the leader

Ellie in corn

Hitching a ride

Family photo

When we completed the maze we hopped back on the hay ride and returned to the main farm. There we had fun with photo ops...

Smuggling contraband to the prisoners

Rule Breaker Ellie is ready for the stocks!

A new take on "American Gothic"

Atop a tractor made of hay

...and then Ellie and I took a little break in the grass.

All this fall fun is quite tiring!

Then we went to check out some animals...

Feeding a horse

A lady brought a bunny over to Ellie so she could pet it, and she was just all, "sure, I'll take a bunny" and tried to hold it. That's just so very Ellie.

...and then we hit the pumpkin patch to close things out.

Pumpkin Patch!

My pretty pumpkin

My most favorite picture of the day! Love this kid.

And that was our day of fun at the farm! Naturally, Ellie passed out on the drive home and we put her to bed early that night. Even still, she slept in late the next morning - an unexpected weekend treat for her parents! I guess farm life is really quite exhausting for a sweet toddler girl.

So now that we're officially in the fall spirit, it's time to focus on Halloween! Let the costume brainstorming commence!