Z has always been a “fan” of the camera, but she was working hard to get close in this time. :)

It’s been a few weeks since the last post, again. Lots and lots of happenings!

First: I’m starting a new job in a couple of weeks. After seven years at the old place, it’s time for a change. I probably should have found a new job a couple of years ago but I was working on a project that held my interest for a while. But I’m done with that stuff now. I’ll be doing pretty much the same sort of thing at the new place, but for several different clients, as it is a consultancy. Anyhow, I’m looking forward to the new commute: it’s a ten minute walk from home!

Second: Everything is great with Z. I’ve got a bunch of new pictures to post and I’ll do so very soon. She seems to be working on pre-crawling: every once in a while, she’ll just sort of…launch herself, I guess. One minute she’s on your lap and the next she’s half-way to one of the cats. :) She may also be on the verge of cutting a tooth. Her biting and drooling indexes seem to be heading for an all-time high.

Third: We’re going to take Z on a plane for the first time next week. We’re winging away to see K’s parents. They haven’t seen Z for a few months, so I’m sure they’ll be amazed at how much she’s changed.

With the new job and the other stuff that’s going on I’m sure that I’ll continue my sporadic updating here. But I will really will try to be more diligent.

When Z was born, we received a form asking if we would consider allowing her to participate in experimental research. Nothing gruesome, just the “cognitive” sort of stuff, so we said “sure!”

Check out the results.

Z is sixth months old today. It’s hard to believe; sometimes, I cannot figure out how she got here. The past six months have been some the best and strangest of my life. Watching Z grow up is an amazing thing. It’s cliche to say it, but she changes every day, always doing something new and doing yesterday’s thing better.

Here’s a recent (yesterday, in fact) picture of the baby girl. Ain’t she cute? (click the image for a high-res version).

K asked me to come up and take some pictures of Z while she was napping. This is the first time in weeks that I’ve really taken the time to get some non-snapshot images of Z. I really like the results. I’m going to have to spend more time with the camera (and less time working!).

Once again, it’s been a while since I last posted. Life has been hectic lately: too much work and not enough rest. I’ve got some exciting things coming up soon. More on that in a later post, which I promise will come in a timely fashion.

I haven’t been spending a lot of time behind the lens of late and I need to take more pics of Z.  She’s about to be six months old already! Time is flying by.

Z is getting so big so fast. Maybe too fast; we’ve got some serious baby-proofing to do before she starts moving under her own steam, which seems like it could be any moment now. She’s showing improvement in eating “real” food and in fact most of what goes on the spoon ends up in her tummy. She’s also eating Mums, which are sort of rice crackers (thanks, Laurel!).

I’ll try to get some new shots up this weekend. G-ma will be here on Sunday, so that should be a good reason to haul out all the cameras.

The kiddo has been eating (I use the term loosely) solid food for a few days now. K started her out on some rice cereal and breast milk, which looked as good as it sounds and from what we’ve been told tastes that way, too.

But recently Z has switched to the good ole yam*. And she’s joined us at the table!

This is momentous for two reasons. 1. Z was in her nifty high chair, a Tripp Trapp and 2. we ate at the table. We never eat at the table. But with the bambina, we’re trying to do the “right thing”, so eating on the couch is gonna have to go.

Z seemed to get into the sweet potato. I think most of what went in her mouth actually made it to her stomach.

The baby girl doesn’t really know what to do with the spoon, and sometimes the fingers get in the mouth, too.

Overall, I think we all had a good time. Momma and me got steak, Z got some mushy brown stuff and went after it like she hadn’t had real food in mouths. Oh, wait…

• Yes, I know sweet potato is NOT yam. Yam is a huge tuber from Africa, sweet potato is a cute little American original.

It’s been two weeks since I last posted; life has been hectic of late. I’ve had way too much work to do and I’ve just been too exhausted to put anything up. I’m also need to get a new system in place for gathering photos. Perhaps it’s time to by a MacBook and Aperture? :)

It’s hard to believe that I’m going to be 35 in a short while. On the one hand, my life is not what I imagined it would to be at 17: after all this is the 21st century and still no jetpacks, rayguns, or flying cars (at least not affordable ones). On the other hand, I’ve come farther than I ever imagined possible. I have a wonderful family and great friends. Whenever I stop to think about it, I am bowled over by how lucky I’ve been in my life.

It’s also weird to think that I’m further from 18 than I am from 50. Time is a funny thing.

K and I get asked one question quite often, “What do the cats think of the baby?”

Here’s the answer.

Zoe is changing so quickly and growing up so fast these days you can almost see it happening in real-time. Last Friday, she could barely sit up on her own; today, she’s not only able to sit up without support for 10 or 15 minutes, she’s able to pull herself upright (with a little help).

It’s amazing to watch her straining as she lays on her gym mat, working her baby-abs to lift her head. It’s just a matter of days (maybe hours) before she sits up on her own.

The Boppy is there to prevent another bonking incident; Zoe is doing all of the sitting work on her own. On other thing: this kiddo loves the camera. She can’t look away!

Here’s a little video I snagged of Zoe sitting up on her own (mostly). She’s been doing lots of “stomach crunches” and she’s gotten pretty good at supporting herself. But as this video shows, she’s still got a way to go. And apparently, so do I.

The kid bonked her head a little and there was some crying, but she’s A-OK. But man, did I feel awful. Karen thought the whole thing was sort of funny [after we figured out Zoe was OK], especially the classic “Oh, $#!*” camera work.

This video is an experiment; I need to find a better way to embed videos. But this will do for now.