Ringing alarms

Tonight our apartment complex was buzzing with sirens and flashing lights.  There was a fire in the apartment building adjacent to ours.  I'm so thankful the Fire Department arrived on the scene and promptly put the fire out.

Virtual art gallery

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by.  My niece is no longer in preschool!  She's now in elementary school and making beautiful artwork.

What lovely colors!

Perhaps one day she will be a famous painter like Kadinsky?  (And a chef on the side!)

(Frame borrowed from here)

Trip list

If you were to travel across the country, what would you bring?  Toothpaste?  Underwear?  Socks?  While visiting hubby at work the other day I spotted this list posted on one of the student worker's walls:

I imagine this cross-country traveler to be one active and sassy girl. :)

Items I can't live without

I am a clutter-aphobe and hate having tons of stuff lying about.

With Baby Norris's arrival, hubby and I really struggled to figure out which items to purchase.  Besides the basics (crib, car seat, stroller, etc...) we didn't know what else to get.

Although we're still figuring all this stuff out (and the amount of baby stuff that we own will surely increase as time goes on), we have found two items particularly helpful for navigating these early days of parenthood.   

(a) the ERGObaby carrier and (b) the Swaddleme blanket. 

I love the carrier because it allows me to take Baby Norris on long walks.  (Hooray for freedom and exercise!)  Plus, I love the blanket because it helps Baby to sleep better at night. (In case you didn't know, I'm a big fan of sleep.)