Life post senior-season...so sweet!

It's literally been pedal to the metal these many last weeks, accelerating from "wow, I'm pretty busy right now" speed in November to "geez, I might fall asleep at the wheel if I don't stop reading applications at 3am" in December. And then the magical second Saturday of the month came, and I heartily congratulated my last few straggling students on finishing their applications, packed up my backpack, walked out of the office, and rejoiced over successfully surviving another year.

Woo-hoo!

So why haven't I blogged earlier? Heck, I was having too much fun! Actually I was trying to catch up on my sleep and...to be honest, I thought I might be physically sick if I needed to spend ONE more second in front of the computer typing. I know, I know, posting is not the same as "work". But seriously, if you had any idea as to just how much time I spend staring at a monitor and looking at writing, writing, writing, WRITING, you would understand why I needed a break.

Refreshed (although, goodness look at the time - not necessarily more rested), I finally thought I would get around to sharing the latest and greatest in Lin family news. The kids, of course, grow cuter by the day. Keira has become quite the chatterbox, offering running commentary on just about everything:

"What's that, mama?"
"Umm...I'm not sure. I don't think I know."
"...but can you know what it is, mama?"

Or her current favorite, "Why?" It doesn't even matter whether or not it's a "why" type of situation; she asks anyway.

Ellie, on the other hand, is tackling the physical game, working on her crawling and struggling to pull herself up to a sitting or standing position. That girl is FOCUSED and determined, and while she can't actually move herself anywhere yet, aside from rolling, I think it'll be any day now.

The best part of this year, however, has been seeing the holiday season through Keira's eyes. She's finally old enough to understand, and the wonderous nature of Santa Claus and Christmas lights is not lost on here anymore. Felix actually took Keira to pick out the family Christmas tree, while I stayed home with a napping Ellie. When they came back, lo and behold, we had a tree that was just three feet tall...and about three feet wide! It was the shortest, squatest, craziest tree I had ever seen...yet I had never been more proud. Keira proclaimed it her own, and she decorated the entire tree singlehandedly. Amazing.

Tomorrow, we head down to Los Angeles to visit Felix's family and see "Mickey Mouse's house" (that's what I told Keira Disneyland was). I think it'll be an absolute blast, and it makes me excited to think about all of the family adventures we still have ahead of us. It's like reliving my own favorite memories, except now I'm the parent with my own children to delight in.

Finally, I'm thrilled to say that we've been busily at work posting pictures! Yes, the additional late nights have not been in vain. Some of the new photos are real gems - so cute and funny! We'll have the links up soon, but the biggest hurdles have been passed.

So Merry (belated) Christmas to everyone, and Happy (early) New Year!