She isn't just cute, she's big, too!

It's been one busy week for Zienna, what with her first portraits on Sunday and then yesterday, her four-month physical. She braved three shots without so much as a peep, even "helping" her new pediatrician, Dr. Braemer, push the plunger on the syringe (accidentally, of course). This was quite a change from our experience with the first two Zs and their shots, believe me! Sounds of their hysterical, shot-induced cries still haunt me from time to time.

Dr. B said everything about Zienna looks great and that she is progressing wonderfully. And no surprise, she is following in her siblings' footsteps, hovering near the pinnacles of the CDC growth charts in height and weight (26-1/2 inches and 17 lbs., 9 oz., respectively--both well above the 95th percentiles). No wonder my arms are tired all the time. Daddy's girl isn't just cute, she's big, too!

Meanwhile, Zienna's big week isn't over yet, as she'll venture a few hours south of here with Kelly and Zoë to attend a camping 40th birthday party for Uncle Greg (Kelly's sister Shannon's husband) while Zach, Zane and I have a "boy weekend" of quiet unpacking at home. To celebrate, I've posted the complete set of pictures from Zienna's portrait sitting for your viewing pleasure, available directly here, or as part of the Hamiltonzone photo gallery here.

Enjoy!

The truth is out there: Zienna is NOT a space alien!

As my sister, Cindy, was so kind to point out in response to one of my more recent blog entries, Zienna is, in the flesh, not the space-alien baby you'd think she was after looking at the sad excuses for pictures Kelly and (mostly) I have shot and posted of her. Still, if you've not seen her in person, especially lately (because she has cuted up quite a bit--honest!), you were probably skeptical. Fortunately, I've got real proof in hand, ready for your inspection.

A bit later than we'd hoped or planned, given that Zienna turned 17 weeks old on Friday, we finally got around to doing her first portraits today. Never mind that the mall where they were done lost all power just moments after the sitting was completed, leaving us with a disk of proofs, no way to order prints or pay, and the only customers to get their sitting before the mall was vacated for the day. Who cares? The pictures came out much better than we'd expected, as you can see from the samples below, any of which you can click on to see the full-sized image.






Not that I'm unbiased or anything, but it just goes to show that with good lighting, a decent camera, and a bit of photographic skill--all things Dad and Mom could use more of--our little girl is pretty darned cute and far from alien, even if the Gene Simmons tongue is in full effect, as always.

Yep, when I wait nearly a month to post an entry, I make sure it's a really good one...