The Dallas House

Thought I would share some pictures that are on the listing. I think this may be the cleanest and most picked-up the house has ever been!

Front

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Claire's Room

Guest Room

Guest Bathroom

Back of House

I will have lived here exactly six years when we move out. It's been the perfect house for me as a single girl, for Robert and I as newlyweds, and for Claire's first few months, but I am excited to move into our new, big house in SA. One month to go!

On the Market!

Sorry it's been a week since the last update, but we have been frantically working on the house to get it ready to list. Cleaning, clearing out clutter, putting on new kitchen countertops, fixing drywall and mortar cracks, touching up paint, planting shrubs and flowers...whew! Mom and Dad spent most of last week here helping me with all of the projects - I couldn't have done it without them. As of yesterday afternoon, the house is officially on the market. We're having the realtor change some of the pictures and some of the wording on the listing, but that should be done by this afternoon. Hopefully we'll get some good traffic this weekend - please keep us in your prayers! We had one showing at lunch today - I was excited that we already had someone want to see it. Our biggest concern is that we have a contract before we move at the end of the month - empty houses are harder to sell.

Sweet baby girl is 16 weeks old as of Tuesday. Hard to believe that she will be 4 months old in a week.


She's still sleeping so good for us. She's (almost) always so happy when she wakes up in the morning or from a nap. This is what I usually find when I go in to get her - a smiley face and legs kicked up in the air.

She's still having fun sticking her hands in her mouth and trying to grab her feet. It's funny watching her curl herself up - what a cutie!

As I've mentioned before, we started swaddling her for her afternoon naps. Last night she really needed a short nap before her last feeding and bed, and she got overtired and was having a really difficult time going down. Jiggling, holding, swaddling, swing...none of it was working. I finally ended up putting her in her swing, swaddled, and sang to her for a few minutes. Finally, a combo that worked! She looked so peaceful and cute all swaddled up in her Miracle Blanket.

She looks kind of like a Gloworm when she's swaddled like that.

7/22/08 - 15 Weeks

Baby girl is 3 1/2 months old! She's sitting up so well now - pictures with Elephant are getting much easier.


She's trying to put everything in her mouth already. She started trying a couple of weeks ago, but her success rate has gone way up recently (as shown). Most often it's her hand, her index finger, a bib, or a burp cloth.

Claire is also beginning to become more aware of her feet. It's so funny watching her curl up into a little ball, kicking and grabbing at her toes! I'm anxiously awaiting her first laugh. According to her "Week by Week" book, it could be any day now!

A Tour of the New House, a.k.a Longest. Post. Ever.

I flew down to SA yesterday for the inspection of the new house, and I'm pleased to report that it went very well. Most of the things to repair are either minor or will increase the efficiency of the home, so it was a great report. Going down also gave me a chance to take more pictures of the house - hopefully Blogger will let me post 30+ pictures, edited down from the ~75 that I took!

Walking up to the front door

Entry (behind the wall is the living room)

To the left is the study, with pocket doors that allow you to shut off the room. There are built-in cabinets on both sides of the windows, and the closet is full of shelves, perfect for all of my books.

Opposite the study is the dining room.

The short hall past the dining room leads to the guest room.

Outside the guest room is the guest bath.

Shower in guest bath.

On the opposite end of the hall from the guest bath is the entry to the master suite.

Master bedroom

Master bedroom and entry to bath

The whirlpool tub. Not pictured is the second vanity (opposite the one shown), shower, powder room, and master closet. I'm so excited to have all of my clothes and shoes in one closet!

Out of the master suite and to the left is the living room.

And the kitchen.

Definitely the heart of the house. I can't wait to use that counter space and a kitchen sink with good water pressure!

The entry from the garage is around the corner, and there is a built-in desk. Opposite the desk is a good-sized storage closet, perfect for holding your purse, bags, etc. when you come in the house.

As you go down the hall past the kitchen, you pass the stairs, and on your left is a bedroom. This will probably be another guest room for now, but in a few years could be good for Kid #2.

Closet and bathroom in guest room #2.

Across the hall is the utility room. On the other wall, there is room for an extra refrigerator or deep freeze, and there is a countertop perfect for folding laundry.

The bedroom at the end of the hall will be Claire's room - already painted a shade of green that matches her crib bedding.

This will be Claire's bathroom - it's very girly with the pink walls, crystal knobs, and white tile with floral accents.

Upstairs and to the left is the craft room. The yellow linoleum will be replaced at some point.

Through the doorway is a small media room with a wet bar.

And through the media room is the game room.

There is also a full bathroom upstairs. Back downstairs and past the breakfast room is the patio. The door on the other side is to the master bedroom.

One of the best things about this house is the big backyard.



In the back corner is a sport court - this will be great for Claire when she starts learning to ride a tricycle or for chalk drawings.


Then from the yard is the back of the house!

This concludes the tour. :) We are scheduled to close mid-August and move in right before Labor Day weekend. It's going to be an adjustment going from our tiny, 1950's ranch house to a big new house, but we are so blessed to have found a house that we envision raising a family in that was in a good neighborhood, in our price range, and close to Robert's office. We're looking forward to sharing this place with our close friends and family. Like we promised, there is plenty of room for visitors!