Guest Blog: Jeremiah's First Digit

Jeremiah, our son, hit his first digit today. And since this is (at least to us) a momentous occasion, we thought that I (Evan, Jessica's husband) would have the honor of blogging his day.

The actual birthday party won't be until this Saturday, the 8th of March. Still, there are still some pretty exciting things that occurred today:

• The first thing didn't actually happen today, but one year ago on this day. One year ago at 12:35 pm in the Birthing Center of the Silverton Hospital, my son took his first breath of fresh air. At that point he was already 9 months and 2 days old (he was 2 days late) and was ready to continue his growing, but this time on the outside of mommy. And so with much joy our son went from his mother's belly to her chest. He's remained there many days since. I suppose, since he was already alive 9 months and 2 days when he was born, that means he has been alive for 21 months and 2 days. He's already an old timer.

• The second exciting thing about today again wasn't today, but a year ago. You see, our beautiful baby boy was born on a special day. A math day. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a history teacher through and through, but a little math distinction is kind of cool in my book. Jeremiah was born March 3, 2007 or 03/05/07... which are three consecutive prime numbers. And, he was born at 12:35 in the afternoon. If you divide 12 by the number of fingers (not including the thumb) on Jeremiah's left hand (four), you get 3. Then if you divide 35 by 5, you get 7. Or in other words, our son was born at 3, 5, 7 on 03/05/07.

• The third thing that I would like to share about today actually happened today. For some reason, as though his mind and body knew that today he was one years breathing, Jeremiah has made leaps and bounds in his development. Its all in the little things too. One example is that normally in the bathtub he is very docile. Not tonight! Tonight he started splashing and splashing and splashing. And when I would tap my hand on the side of the tub, he started doing it right next to mine keeping perfect time. Also, when I told him to put his toys into the tub at the beginning and to take them out at the end, he did so with such understanding and seemingly happiness. He seemed pleased to follow directions.

These are not the only things that I've noticed about my son today, but they are a few of the cute things that have just warmed my heart. It is a great privilege to be a father. Tonight, watching my son play in the bathtub, it was almost as though I were watching myself. It was surreal but very pleasant. I have the joy of raising my son. In a sense, I am raising myself. That's one digit down. Let's make it to two.

Many mouths to feed

The other day we saw another show with the Duggars a Christian family with 17 children. The show we were watching was an earlier one called "Raising 16 Children." Every time we watch one of these shows we get fascinated with the family and Evan does all the Google research he can to find out more about them.

There are a lot of people who disagree with the fact that they have so many children, but really what right do you have to say that they should or shouldn't? It is their life. Their children seem happy, well mannered, and well provided for. They live debt free for goodness sake! Shows like this make me think of our possible future of who knows how many children. Our philosophy on birth control and how children are a blessing is very similar to the Duggars. To us they are an inspiration.

One of the things people like to point out is that having so many children is bad for the kids because they don't get enough attention or one-on-one time with their parents. I don't like that reasoning at all. In America, even families with only two children are not guaranteed time and attention. There are many families where both parents work and the kid is in daycare. I think that whether you have 17 kids or two it all depends on how you raise them.

I only have one sister and growing up I was lonely. I don't have a huge bond to either of my parents and my sister and I are very different. As a young adult I don't remember my mom ever coming into my room and having deep meaningful conversations with me. My parents were always there for me in the ways that they should be, but to this day my parents still miss out on a huge chunk of my life because we don't have the relational part of our relationship down. So despite the fact that we only have two kids in my family there are still many things missing.

Anyway, I think I kind of got off topic and opened my heart a bit much. That is all for now. I just really appreciate these families who stand unafraid against a society that does not agree with their lifestyle. Plus all 17 kids have names that start with "J" crazy huh?