The Changelog

That was me on my first birthday.

You might need to view the large version to see that yes indeed, I was very intent on that fire and probably would have loved to touch it.

Now, Jacob is about 8 months old right now.

I have every reason to believe that if I were to set a lit candle in front of him, he would not focus on it and reach one finger towards it. No, I'm sure he would focus on it and lunge for it with at least two hands. Possibly so suddenly that we'd have trouble keeping him back.

This sure does keep us on our toes.

I also have no doubt that Jacob's first birthday cake will wind up looking like mine did:

He's almost 8 months old now. Terah and I went outside today and took some pictures of him.

He was quite interested in the grass, so it was hard to keep him sitting up straight. He kept trying to lean over and pull at the grass. But I think we got a few good ones anyhow. He's wearing his grandpa's outfit in all of these.



To see more, click here to view them all.

That's a picture of Jacob in his "suit", with his soft shoes. Both came from Indiana.

He's been really growing, and is big. He's about 7 months old now, and is a lot of fun to play with.

Sunday was child dedication day at church, and Jacob was dedicated that day, wearing his suit. (Here is an explanation of Mennonite child dedication if you're curious)

We took him to the front of the church (along with another family who also had a newborn). We promised to nurture him as a child from God, said a few words, and then the pastor -- as he always does -- carried Jacob down the sanctuary aisle.

Jacob watched as the pastor introduced him to the congregation. He said "these will be your Sunday School teachers, mentors, and friends." He pointed out Jacob's grandparents. And he said, "These are the pews your Great Grandpa Alvin sat in. If he were here today, I know he'd be proud of you."

After it was over, we went back to our seats, breathed a sigh of relief that Jacob wasn't screaming during the whole thing. And promptly had to take him to the nursery because he started screaming right about then.

Well, it's been busy around here. Since Jacob was born, we moved, and the house project is keeping us busy, too.

Jacob gave out his first smile Sunday morning -- and, much to Terah's shock, it was to me. He's a lot of fun to be around when he's alert.

But he's also preparing for a promising career as an opera singer, late in the evenings. He's got a voice that projects well. So Terah and I are still not getting a whole lot of sleep.

I've posted a few new photos of him as well.

Big news over here: earlier this week, our first baby was born: Jacob Simon Goerzen! He weighed in at 8 lbs, 12 oz and is doing well.

Terah was in labor most of the day, but eventually the doctor determined he was too big, so was delivered by C-section. Terah is still sore from all that, but otherwise is doing well, too. And of course we're both trying to catch up on sleep. (Not that we really expect to be able to...)

It's already been so wonderful to have him here. He already has a personality in some ways, and just is wonderful to be around. We've had a number of visitors, but the one that was extra special was when my 91-year-old grandmother stopped by and held him for awhile. Terah managed to get a photo of Jacob, me, my mom, and grandma -- 4 generations.

We've got a lot to tell, and I'm sure you'll be seeing more from both Terah and me in the next couple of days. But to start you off, I've got the first 5 pictures online already.

Here's one of the earliest pictures of him. This one was in the operating room, just a couple of minutes after he was born. The nurses had done their inital check, and gave him to me. I took him over by Terah so she could look (the doctors were still finishing up the operation). One of the people in the OR took the camera and got this picture:



Make sure to click here for the rest of the pictures in this set.

Debian folks -- do you see anything striking about Terah's gown in the photo of her holding Jacob? Something oddly familiar, perhaps? Something that my brother recognized instantly -- and burst out laughing -- when we asked him if he "noticed anything special" about the gown? More on that later...

Sorry, Cliff, for not posting sooner. Hopefully no more bait will be necessary...