Christmas Traditions + Excitement

Anyone else rocking a pickle ornament on their tree this year?  If you don't know about that tradition and think I'm a total weirdo for having a pickle front and center on our tree, you can read more about it here.

Starting a little family of your own is kind of like having a blank slate when it comes to incorporating new + exciting traditions of all kinds, but especially around the holidays.  With Ellie, there are lots of traditions we have started or will want to start, and just thinking about having these things as part of our holiday season every year makes me so excited!

I said to Tyler the other day that I wanted to get The Night Before Christmas book to read with Ellie on Christmas Eve.  To which he replied "just like Clark?"  Yes, Tyler. Just like Clark. :)  Last year, we made Santa pancakes for Christmas Eve breakfast (I know, that's normal).  They are so easy and cute, and I'm looking forward to our breakfast this year! I like the idea of having a special breakfast on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning because things tend to be a little rushed and it's just nice to do something extra fun on my favorite day of the year. :)

Of course, the three of us will be wearing our Christmas jammies to bed on Christmas Eve. This is including Tyler's Christmas Vacation shirt that I know he's so happy I surprised him with a few years ago and requested he wear it on Christmas morning every year going forward. ;)  Also, I know Ellie won't care this year, but I'm still so excited to see her in her little Christmas pjs, "opening" presents on Christmas morning!  If nothing else, she will seriously love trying to eat the wrapping paper, because eating paper is her jam lately.

I seriously feel like this month is flying by and I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for everything Christmas to go away for another year after next week.  But! We've got a fun + festive weekend ahead of us, and after this week I'm on vacation for 18 glorious days!! Getting some extra time at home with Ells is definitely the icing on the Christmas cake and I am looking forward to enjoying every minute of it.  Don't even get me started on New Year's Eve with Ellie.  I've already begun to work on our 2015 year in review post and it's making me all kinds of wishing time would stop right in its tracks (yes, I sung that to "I Go Back" in my head, too.).

I'll leave you with this little fun fact as we enter into the one week until Christmas Eve countdown: the year before we got married, I was telling Tyler that I was a little sad I was going to change my last name come August (I mean, it was my last name for 24 years after all). THEN, I came to the realization that the same time next year, I would essentially be "Linley Christmas" and it made everything better.  Fun fact number two: our last name might mean Christmas but we pronounce it "knoll" - no worries if you say it like the Christmas version though, I will respond to it either way because we get that all the time. OR, you can just call me Linley Christmas. Whatever works! ;)