Oh, Christmas Tree!

Keeping with tradition, I couldn't let Black Friday get away without a trip to the Christmas tree farm!  Last year was crazy at this time since we were in the midst of moving, so it felt a little bit extra special to be going to get our tree this year.  We cut our own (per my request) at the cutest tree farm around.

We walked around a for awhile before finding "the one", and stopped to get Ellie a candy cane + hot chocolate on our way out.  She later dumped said hot chocolate all over her car seat, but that's all part of the experience, right? ;)

When we got home, I strung up the lights right away, but we waited until Saturday to decorate the tree.  Ellie was a very good helper and seemed to like picking out all the different colored ornaments the best. :)

Our Elf, Clark, also came for his first visit Friday night!  Ellie doesn't seem too sure what to think about this Elf business - she was very excited until we told her she wasn't supposed to touch him.  I do have a few surprises planned with him that I think she will love, including having him bring festive breakfasts + gingerbread house supplies!  For now, Tyler and I are having fun thinking of where we will put him next... and seeing how long it takes Ells to find him in the morning!

I feel like I blinked an eye and a year has passed from last Christmas, but I'm so excited that this time of year is back again already.  Ellie is at such a good age when it comes to really getting into all of the excitement and holiday magic, and of course baby's first Christmas is pretty special too. :)

Christmas Gifts for Babies + Toddlers

I've officially finished shopping for the girls' Christmas gifts and I'm so excited to wrap them all up for Christmas morning! :)  Since Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales are coming up so soon, I thought I'd share some gifting ideas.  These are things we have and love already, things that will be under the tree this year, and a few things I came across after I finished shopping and am putting on my future gift idea list!

blocks // stuffed narwal // bibs // deer teething bracelet // atom teether // unicorn towel // tutu onesie // car seat activity toy // quilt // book

First up, Lo's (FIRST!) Christmas.  I thought it was going to be super hard to think of gifts for Lo since she already has tons of stuff (clothes, toys, books, everything) that was Ellie's or will be things they'll share... but, once I got looking around, I kind of surprised myself.  A few new teethers were a no-brainer, a new stuffed animal to call her own, some car seat entertainment, bibs + a couple new onesies were all on Lo Lo's list this year!  I love the rubber blocks since they are easy for little hands to grip and can be chewed on too.  I got Ellie an "Ellie" book for her first Christmas, so I decided to keep the tradition going for Willow and found one with her name on it as well.  It's a bit out of her age range, but it's about a little girl who learns to speak up for herself and I have a feeling she will grow to love it, especially since she's living the little sister life. :) 

appliances // kitchen // wand // crown // candy land // sleeping bag // nail polish // puzzle // donuts // trolls book // socks // undies

Ellie got that play kitchen and those appliances last Christmas and we use them every single day, I can't recommend them enough!  The appliances all really "work" and the coffee maker even runs water through it.  She also has that puzzle, which is perfect for learning ABC's and colors.  Ellie will be getting a couple new things for her kitchen area this year, including those donuts and this ice cream counter.  Santa will be bringing Ellie some smaller gifts too like that super cute Trolls book, new nail polish, a couple dress-up accessories and bath toys since some of ours are so, so old (and getting kind of gross).  Also, I am SO excited to give her Candy Land and am hoping she loves it as much as we did as kids!

Both girls are getting unicorn sleeping bags and towels - the sleeping bag is definitely going to be more up Ellie's alley right now, but I figured Lo would want one down the road too.  The towels are technically for babies, but several reviews said their three and four year olds used them too so I figured why not?! :)  Lastly, we decided to get the girls a Radio Flyer wagon as a joint gift.  We know that we'll get tons of use out of it come spring, summer and fall, and that we (as a family!) will all probably love having it around.

I most likely won't be back on until after Thanksgiving if I'm being realistic, so I hope you all have the best Thanksgiving & long weekend with the people you love the most! :)

Cozy November Vibes

It’s beginning to feel a lot like the holidays and I am totally not complaining! Christmas decorations are flooding my Instagram feed, making me even more excited to take a peek at all the decorations at Target and see our stockings hung on our new mantle!  While we wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas, all bets are off when it comes to Christmas jammies. I was so excited to break out the girls’ matching pajamas this past weekend.  There is something so fun about having my girls be twinning at all times, but holiday jammies are my favorite thing to coordinate!! In case the jammies weren't cute enough, we paired them with our gorgeous new Sotthi hats. Emily, the shop owner over at Sotthi, is a third generation knitter who is very talented and so sweet. Our new hats are super cozy and I am a sucker for anything with a pom!  Ellie is the winter hat queen and was so excited for the three of us to all be wearing them together.  We will definitely be coordinating in them all winter long. :)

 

I like to grab a few small shop gifts each Christmas season, and think these would be so perfect for pretty much anyone on your gift list! We are giving away a Sotthi hat on our Instagram (@linleynoel), so be sure to head over and enter.  I know you will love them as much as we do! :) 

Hats provided c/o Sothhi.  As always, all thoughts, opinions and love for the products are entirely my own.

Halloween 2017

Happy Halloween!!

I decided the girls would be mermaids back in July when I found Ellie’s mermaid skirt on sale.  I know, I’m crazy, but I’ve been eyeing the skirt for such a long time and couldn’t resist! :) Ellie tends to want whatever Lo has these days (I'm sure the opposite will be true before we know it), so I knew it was in my best interest to make them dress up as the same thing and I think it turned out pretty cute!

 

This was Ellie’s very first time really going out trick-or-treating and it was the BEST.  It was so, so cute to see her go up to each house and give it her best shot at “trick-or-treat”, and she was always sure to say “thank you”, too.  I wasn’t sure if she’d be shy, but she went right up to all the houses, even the spooky ones!  We took her up to Main Street in our town and Ells was so excited to fill up her pumpkin bag with candy.  My mom gave the girls their Halloween gifts in my and my sister’s old trick-or-treat bags so that they could use them too. :)  Lo slept most of the time we were out, but I know she will have fun next year!

Also, a couple more Halloween-y photo stragglers from our pumpkin carving and the girls dressed up as kitties, of course.

Halloween has never been my most favorite holiday, but seeing how happy Ellie was out there last night makes it pretty high on my list... and makes me even more excited for CHRISTMAS this year!! Hope your night was just as magical! :)

Family Photos 2017

We took some updated family photos last weekend and I’m excited to share some of our pictures with you!! We were really looking forward to getting some professional photos taken with Lo since we hadn’t already, as well as getting some taken at our new (forever) home. Tyler and I were just saying the other day how sometimes it still doesn’t seem real that this house is ours, we really do love it here - the house, location and all of the memories that have already been made here.

It’s so fun to look back at the past two years and see how our little family has changed. Ellie looks like a such a big girl these days, it’s so crazy to think she was just the size of Lo not so long ago! :)

Our photographer, Adrienne, is the best. She’s so sweet with the girls, and gave us exactly what we were looking for with these pictures. We highly recommend her if you’re local!

Oh and P.S. Willow is wearing the same vest Ells wore for our family pictures in 2015 because I am completely crazy and did that on purpose, but I think it looks pretty cute anyway! You can find prior years’ pictures here: 2015, 2016.

Mini Style // Sweater Weather

I can't even believe that we're looking at November on the calendar next week already!  It seems like we've totally lucked out this year and have really only had to put the heat on a handful of days so far, but I know the cold weather will be here so soon and am rounding up a few of my favorite sweaters for my favorite girlies today!

1 // 2 // 3

4 // 5 // 6

7 // 8 // 9

10 // 11 // 12

Sweaters are my some of my favorite things to get for the girls, especially since layers usually come in handy in this neck of the woods.  One thing I love about them is being able to size up (one or two sizes!), making them last more than one chilly season.  Ellie is just outgrowing some of the sweaters and sweatshirts that I dressed her in during her first winter (as tunics!), the same ones Lo will be wearing this winter.

All of these seem so cozy, it almost makes me a tiny bit excited for the cool weather to hit... but not quite. ;)  I know a certain someone who would think that unicorn number was pretty cool, and the ruffles + polka dot one has been on my (Ellie) wish list for awhile!  Which ones are your favorites? :)

Our October

October is always one of those weird months for me, trying to enjoy the fall but getting so eager for the upcoming holiday season!  We've been enjoying the warmer fall temps - it makes it so nice to bring both the girls outside to play, Ells loves it and Lo loves the fresh air too!

My hands have felt a tad extra full during the day since Lo has officially two teeth popping through and her can't be put down for two second mentality is kind of hitting an all time high.  Naps are approximately 10 minutes long if I do put her down, but she's still sleeping pretty decent at night so I'm not complaining about that.  Lo is also so close to sitting up all by herself!!  I'm not trying to rush time here, but this is one of those milestones I'm feeling extra excited for since it will allow her and Ells to play even more together.

Ellie is loving her dance class, she's an expert at rolling like a "lolo" (yellow) crayon down the mats and I'm kind of obsessed with watching her learn her dance positions at the toddler sized bar they have set up for the girls.  She's also doing really well with speech, adding more words into her daily vocabulary and really finding her voice lately. :)

We've also been working on crossing some of the things off of our fall bucket list!  We picked pumpkins and I gave their girls their "boo basket" a couple weekends ago - a new book, paints for pumpkin painting, cupcake decorating supplies and a festive teether for baby Lo.

I'm looking forward to squeezing in a few more fall festivities (and as many apple ciders as I can!), but "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" dance parties are scheduled to start promptly on November 1st and I have a feeling my favorite two year old isn't going to argue with me about it! ;)