Friday

April 30

Earlier this week, Daphne looked up at me quizzically and said, "Daddy, stop sign is octagon". What a brilliant little girl! She can identify nearly all of her colors, shapes, numbers, and letters now. Before too long, she will be able to identify a dodecahedron without any difficulty.

The closing (selling our old home) was quick and painless yesterday. Jennie and I must have signed our name twenty times in the thirty minutes it took to complete the transaction with the title company. We get to do it all over again in a few weeks with our new home purchase (fingers crossed).

We are still waiting on a few upgraded kitchen appliances to arrive and an additional upgrade to the laundry room before we begin our punch list with the builder. After that is completed, we will order a home inspection and proceed to begin our closing process (assuming the lender has completed our loan).

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Thursday

April 29

It's closing day and I cannot sleep!

Cross your fingers and toes for us to have an uneventful closing appointment. We hope to show up around 11am and sign our name a zillion times, collect a sizable equity check, and go home happy. The buyer is making a final walk-through earlier in the day (is this formality or can he really come back with additional items to negotiate?). Bye bye old house!

Our new house is slowly progressing. Several appliances have arrived (we are upgrading the dishwasher) and the landscaping is in place. The appraisal should be completed by this week's end.

Daphne is still adjusting to her new *temporary* surroundings at the apartment.

New photos coming soon...

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Monday

April 26

Three days into our temporary accommodations, Daphne has already asked to return to our *old home*. She cried in her crib last night, "Mommy, I want to go back, old home". Her sobs broke our hearts. I know that she will absolutely love the new house (we are still scheduled to close on May 27th). At the old house, I have to mow the lawn one final time before this Thursday.

Jennie, her father, and I packed boxes and moved miscellaneous household junk ALL weekend long (beginning on Friday morning and wrapping up Sunday evening). I have aches and pains from lifting, but we have much more to do. This morning, a professional moving company will be delivering the final *heavy* items to our apartment and storage unit.

May 27th cannot arrive soon enough...

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

April 20

Yesterday afternoon, Jennie, Daphne, and I met with our mortgage lender to dot our I's and cross our T's while signing dozens of papers... the process has only begun! We should *hopefully* meet our closing date of May 27th with no problem. Now, let's hope the builder can complete the construction in due time as well.

Our apartment move has been delayed until Friday morning. Originally, we were supposed to start moving into our temporary residence today. But, I received an early phone call this morning from a very apologetic employee of the complex. She said that the previous tenants were "heavy smokers" and they simply could not rid the unit of the smoke. They changed the carpet, scrubbed the walls and surfaces, applied some coats of fresh paint, and ran ozone machines for several days. Unfortunately, the smoke has not dissipated yet AND it is the only 1st floor unit available. She requested that we give them until Friday to see if the ozone machines could work some magic. Our fingers are crossed, but we will probably end up in a smoke-free 2nd floor unit. Oh well, life goes on, right?

Daphne loves to sing! She serenades us with "Old McDonald had a farm" sans the "E-I-E-I-O", "You are my sunshine", and "Daisy".

Jennie & I have been staying up past midnight boxing up the small stuff in our house. I have been tasked with finding a local moving company to deliver our heavy furniture across town. The clock is ticking and we must be out very soon.

Here are some new photos of Daphne:







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

April 16

SOLD!

Our old house now has a large white sign in the front yard which reads, "SOLD". What a terrific relief! We have 13 days to go until closing. It has not even hit me yet that we only have a few days remaining under this roof...

In other news, we made an offer on a brand new house yesterday. And the offer was accepted by the builder! The house is absolutely gorgeous --- a modest 3,277 square foot castle featuring 4 bedrooms, a bonus room, 3 1/2 baths, and a 3 car garage. I will most definitely post photos soon. We are supposed to visit the new house tomorrow to pick out a color for the tile back-splash in the kitchen. The builder said the house should be finished sometime in mid-to-late May. Our closing date has been set for May 27th.

Moving, moving, moving.

Today Jennie and I had a VERY busy day. We signed a 3-month lease on an apartment a few miles away from our new house and ran many errands. Coordinating our old utilities to be shut off by April 29th, getting the apartment utilities turned on by next Tuesday, and completing the new home loan is exhausting (all done while we are having to pack and move). Luckily, we will have 4 1/2 weeks after we close on our new house to get everything moved in and situated from our apartment and storage.

Whew!

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Monday

April 12

Jennie and I spent the entire weekend touring houses with our buyer's agent. Shortly after finding our dream home on Saturday, our agent received a text message that the house had been sold (another couple was negotiating with the seller as we toured). We cannot help but compare that house to all the others and it depresses us greatly.

If we want to take advantage of the $6,500 tax credit, we need to have a contract on a home no later than April 30th and close the deal by June 30th. We do not want to settle for just any old home, but we are aware of the ticking clock, too. Oh well, if we do not get the tax credit, the world will not end...

Tomorrow, a handyman will be fixing a list of ten or eleven small items around our house for the final inspection. The inspector was very nit-picky -- caulk this, seal this, tighten this bolt, etc. As far as I know, we are still scheduled to close on April 29th and move into an apartment (temporarily) a few days before. I am going to try to locate a truck for moving smaller stuff and hire someone to move our heavier furniture.

More Daphne photos coming soon!

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

April 5

Daphne had an eventful Easter holiday weekend! On Saturday, Jennie and I took her to the Nashville Zoo for their egg hunt and festivities. Afterward, we visited a local park to let Daphne ride the slides, swing, and burn off some excess energy. She absolutely loves going to the park!

Jennie's parents graciously took Daphne to the park on Sunday afternoon (while Jennie and I began packing our computer room for our upcoming move). Daphne braved the slides once again and worked up quite an appetite. Mimi & PopPop rewarded our little 27 1/2 pound princess with a trip to Krystal for a hot dog and some bites of burger.

Last week, the buyer's realtor and a home inspector spent three hours analyzing our house. We should find our the results early this week. Barring any setbacks, I believe we are still on schedule to close this house on April 29th.

Some of Daphne's latest quotes are:

"look at your daughter, Daddy", "my so cute!", and "Daddy, how was work?"

Daphne is becoming a regular pro at using the potty seat. Anchored firmly in front of the television or with several books by her side, Daphne seems to really enjoy passing time on her throne while passing a poo or making a dainty sprinkle. We make a big fuss (praising her and littering her with kisses) whenever she produces a present.

Here are some new photos from this weekend:








Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Sunday

April 4

Happy Easter!

I will be posting new photos tonight...

More later,
Dave T.