Our New House

We made an offer on this house Tuesday after Dan drove down to NC to see it. It is a 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch with an extra room over the garage that is about the size of our basement now. It sits on .6 fenced acres with an above ground pool and a playground. The neighborhood is quite, and it should only take Dan about 5-10 minutes to get to work...much better than his 45 minute drive now. We close on January 2, 2009!

Lots of Love

If you haven't heard yet, we are moving to North Carolina. We close on our house Dec. 5. We won't really start looking for houses there until we move. Dan will be working for a company called Detroit Speed, and we will be living in Mooresville, where Dan's Dad also lives. We are very excited, but there is so much to do. Everyone here will be terribly missed! We expect everyone to come visit us when we find our new home.

So Good to Have Great Friends

Saturday night we got a visit from our friends Michelle and Gabriella. Mommies drank wine and ate pizza while babies whined and played. Oh so cute!

Pajama Baby

We love Grace in her pajamas. She looks so cute and cuddly. This time she was sitting all sweet on the couch trying to turn the TV station...so lovable but so guilty.

Leaf Me Alone

As Grandma and Mommy raked the leaves into piles, Grace sat and played in each one. At one point she decided to lay down and make leaf angels.

Big Shoes to Fill

Grace like to take shoes out of the closet (and off Grandma's feet) and

try to walk around the house. It usually ends in a fall.

Halloween Tricks

Grace went to every door and said "trick or treat" then tried to go in and make herself at home. She very much enjoyed chasing the flashlight beam. She got more candy that mom and Grandma ate. Grace did get to enjoy the doughnut given to her by our neighbor.

Trick or Treating at the Zoo

Grace went to the zoo Friday night for the Haunted Hayride fundraiser. She took another hayride in the dark (didn't like it as much), received treats, rode the carousel and train and ran around in her costume. Her favorite part was the swinging bridge in the rainforest habitat.

Sweet Smile, Again

Hayride!

Grace went on her first hayride at the corn maize in Wheatfield. Along the ride, she got candy (none she could eat)... Dan and I have already eaten the candy. Her favorite pat of the day was jumping on the empty pumpkin pallets. At least that was free.

Jumping Bean

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit to see baby Morgan. They got a chance to stop in a play with the jumping bean for a night.

A Long, Friendly Day

We ended our long day with ice cream at Friendly's. Grace was tired and cranky but was happy her little cousin had finally arrived. She is not the baby anymore.

Baby Morgan

Cousin Morgan was born Saturday night. She is so cute and cuddly...will she look like Uncle Dave? We think she will look more like Aunt Lindsey. Grace practiced saying "baby Morgan" and "baby cousin all day."

More Pictures

When I started taking these pictures, Grace started posing and saying "more pictures."

Wet-n-Wild

Grace rode in Papa Jim's boat on our visit to NC. Again, she loved it. But this time she tubed with Daddy. They actually went very fast for a few minutes before it got bumpy. Then Grace wasn't happy. She also got to eat at a restaurant with her pineapple (swimsuit) on. She seemed to think it was funny.

Sleepy Train Leaves the Station

After all of the playing on Sunday, Grace couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Five minutes into the car ride, even her books weren't enough to keep her from difting off. Despite her fatigue, the nap lasted only 30 minutes leaving the next 3 1/2 hours for car playtime/whinning.

A Little More Swim

The was a cool mushroom sprinkler in the kiddie pool at our hotel. Grace thought it was fun.

More Amusement

Amusement Day

We weren't sure if we could find anything to do for children Grace's age, but we found two amusement areas with rides for small kids. At one place she got to ride everything by herself. At the other, an adult had to be with her. She loved both.

Dan and Kara's 5th Anniversary

Dan, Grace, Grandpa and Grandma Whaley and I all went to Pigeon Forge Tennessee for an overnight trip. We picked a hotel with a nice pool, and that was a good idea. Grace loved the pool and wanted to swim all day. She did take a break to visit the Christmas store and eat Grandpa's chocolate ice cream.

Dan and I got to sneak off to walk around Gatlinburg after Grace went to sleep. It was a nice day.

Visiting with Great-Grandparents

Today Grace played outside again...it was in the 80's all week with no rain. Then she visited Grandmother Dooley and went to a party at my cousin Cindy's house held for her daughter Amber's birthday.