Cool Jim.. Congrats on grandchild.. as far as IE
Rather than upgrade IE, you should consider downloading the Firefox web browser. My wife has a facebook account and it would not load using IE. Works fine with Firefox, though. You can get a free copy at below link. Works similar to IE. This site is run by Cnet, who checks all programs to make sure they are clear of viruses and spyware.
http://www.download.com/mozilla-firefox/?tag=mncol
I'm not on facebook, yet.. one of these days.. maybe.
Good luck.
Greg