Written By: Andrew M. Wolfe

Jodel and I are proud to announce the birth of our second daughter,

Myrah Jean Wolfe, at 10:34 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
She was 20 inches long and weight 6 lbs. 15 oz.

This little one comes with quite a story!

After an uneventful day with no pre-labor, Jodel went to put Anastyn Marie (our firstborn, now 14 months old) to bed. Nursing her to sleep kicked Jodel into full-fledged labor – the contractions started at 4 minutes apart and 40 seconds long! We second-guessed it for about an hour, thinking it might still be false labor, but at 10:15 momma told me I needed to get Nana to watch Anastyn. The back pain was so bad at that point she said it was definitely time for an epidural. I called Nana and took Anastyn downstairs so she wouldn't crawl all over mommy.

Fifteen minutes later, my wife screamed, "AAANNNDDDRRREEEWWW!!!" and I ran upstairs. "Call 9-1-1!" she urged. I'd never called 9-1-1 before. "Really? Are you – are you sure?" I asked. "CALL 9-1-1!!"

Scarcely had I spit out "My wife is having a baby, like, RIGHT NOW!" and our address before Jodel called to me from across the bed in the master bathroom: "OH MY GOD! SHE'S COMING!!"


"That can't possibly mean what I think it means," I thought as I dropped the phone and dashed across the room. But it did. By the time I got there, my wife was holding our newborn baby right there above the floor of the master bathroom. That's right – Jodel delivered her own baby! I got back on the phone with the 9-1-1 operator, and (after congratulating the proud papa) they guided me through wrapping her up, wiping her off, and using a shoelace from my steel-toed work boots to tie off the umbilical cord while we waited for the paramedics.

Mommy and baby are healthy and happy and back from the hospital now. Our firstborn, Anastyn Marie (now 14 months old) is insatiably curious about the new arrival and enjoys pointing out that baby has a nose!

"Myrah" means "myrrh," an incense many know from the Christmas story as a gift from the magi, but which has been an integral part of worshiping God from the Exodus through to modern-day High Church traditions. The "MJ" initials recall my grandmother Mary Jane, who passed away shortly after Myrah was conceived, and to an extent the other Mary's in my family as well: Aunt Mary Jo, Aunt Mary Eleanor, and grandma Marilouise. (Both grandmothers Mary Jane and Marilouise were church musicians, bringing the worship and family themes full circle.) The "Jean" follows a tradition of middle names in Jodel's family: Barbara Jean, Jodel's mother; Jennifer Jean, Jodel's sister; and Courtney Jean, Jodel's niece. One last bit of significance: My pet name for Jodel from our early courtship has been meri jaan, an Urdu term of endearment meaning "my life"; it became her online screen name, and so many of her online friends know her as MJ as well.

Anastyn's First Camping Trip!

As if trips to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and LA all in one month weren't enough for our four-month-old travel editor-to-be =), we spent Labor Day weekend with Nana and Papa in the Sierras! Anastyn seemed right at home in a tent trailer surrounded by evergreen forests, 9,000-ft. mountains, clear, brisk air, and a crew of die-hard card players! I'll let the photos speak for themselves....

(Isn't she gorgeous?!)

Perspectives

Recently (in between family visits) Jodel and I went to a large formal wedding of an old Harvard friend in Southern California. It turned out I didn’t know many people there, and because Jodel and I hadn’t thoroughly reviewed the invitation and discussed our attire before packing, we ended up arriving in something between “California casual” and “business casual” among a sea of 400 suits and summer dresses. Add to that that I always feel a tad insecure in large gatherings of Harvardites because I’ve been in construction management for three years and left the academic fast-track, and you get a feel for my frame of mind walking in the door.

There was something tender and wondrous, though, about carrying our new life – Anastyn – into that setting. She didn’t know she was in a room full of PhD’s, MD’s, Hollywood moguls and world-class endodontists; she didn’t understand that Mommy and Daddy were woefully underdressed. All she knew was Mommy’s gaze, Daddy’s tender smile, loving arms holding her tight, and the kind attention of a few smiling strangers at our table.

As vulnerable as I felt socially and professionally, it was profoundly freeing to see our world through her eyes, where only what is truly important was important. Humble pride welled up as I realized that most of my peers in their residencies hadn’t been married for two and a half years, weren’t sporting a gorgeous, happy bundle of love and feistiness, didn’t know what it felt like to look your newborn that you made in the eyes and have her melt your heart with a satisfied smile. What a refreshing perspective!

I left with a renewed appreciation for the blessing my wife and daughter are to me. Thank you, God.

Generations

August was a month of new faces for Anastyn. At the beginning of the month Grandma, Great-Grandma (84 years young!), and their friend Roseanne flew out from Pennsylvania to meet the babies. It's such a special thing for generations to meet and pass the torch. 1923...1951...1979...2007. (Hey, that's the first time I've noticed we all had our babies at age 28!)



















Then at the end of the month, my cousin Julia Rose visited from DC, and my cousin Kristin visited from England. It was the first time the four Wolfe cousins had been in the same place since our grandfather passed eight years ago. Since, of the Wolfe grandkids, Benjamin and I are the first to kick off the next generation, this was the dawn of a new era of Wolfe get-togethers with kids. "Aunt Julia" (as we dubbed her) stayed in Nor-Cal for a few days and her west coast clan took turns showing her around. On our turn, we took her to San Francisco's Pier 39 and to Santa Cruz.

Highlights for Anastyn:

• watching the sea lions at Pier 39
• exploring under the table at Bubba Gump Shrimp
• seeing the pretty lights on the Fireball ride on the Santa Cruz boardwalk

Julia.... the sea lions.... peekaboo under the table at Bubba Gump Shrimp... the Fireball!

Highlights for Andrew:

• watching the sea lions at Pier 39
• enjoying a beautiful panoramic bay view from Bubba Gump Shrimp
• getting so sick on the Fireball ride that he vowed never to do something so stupid ever again

3 Months Old!

I really find it hard to believe I have a little 3 month old baby girl. I can't believe it. Oh wait - I think I mentioned that already. It feels good to get to this point, yet at the same time she'll never be a newborn again. It's hard to see the newborn stage pass, but it's exciting to anticipate what's ahead.



Yesterday she was rolling over from her back to her tummy (all but one arm). I had to give her a little push so she could get her hand out from underneath herself. She'll be rolling all around in no time.

She loves bath time. We fill our oversized tub all the way up so she can walk around. She loves kicking and splashing and licking the water. Most of all she loves fixating on the detachable shower head and the drain (which reflects as a mirror). We try to give her a bath when she gets tired at night. She gets fussy and is ready for bed around 8pm, but if we give her a bath she gets happy and energized and will play happily until her skin prunes.

Photos by: JCPenny's
10 weeks old

12 Weeks Old

Anastyn will be 12 weeks old on Wednesday!

It's amazing. It doesn't seem like it's going too fast as much as it seems like I've had her forever. I continue to be in awe of her and my love is a warm, peaceful, tender all-consuming one that wants to smother her with kisses all day long. (poor girl)

(Andi 10 weeks old - picture day)

As we approach the three-month mark she's still happy and easy. She truly is a blessing to Andrew and me. She still loves putting her hands up over her head. I call it "reach for the stars." Most days she hates being on her tummy, but the last couple of days she's been doing better. She's holding her head up and looking around for longer periods before she starts fussing. Her new favorite thing is to sit up (with help) and look around. If you lay her down she fusses until you hold her hands so she can pull herself up and sit. She's taking a liking to relaxing in her swing, but she doesn't stay asleep too long when she's in it.

Speaking of sleep: She's only waking up 1x during the night these days. We go to bed around 9:30pm and she wakes up around 4am to eat. Last week she even slept all through the night twice (waking up around 6:30-7am)!!! I'm so proud of my baby girl!

(Andi 7/22/07)

It's never too early to start them! I've been teaching Andi Texas Hold'em. Here she's playing Hand and Foot on Nana's lap. She really got into it as she loved looking at all the contrasting numbers. One of her favorite things to look at right now is our kitchen clock. She likes the bathroom one as well, but doesn't get to see it as much. Later, during cards, when she was sitting on my lap, she held her first object. Yes, folks, the very first thing she ever grabbed for, and held on to, by herself, was the 7 of spades! She's mommy's little girl!!!

(Andi and Nana Playing Cards)

Andi's 1st Big Pool!

How cute is she in her little swimsuit!!!

Today we took Andi to Pam's house where she went swimming with Daddy. It was her first time in a real pool.

8-week Well-Baby Check-Up

8 wks: 12 lbs 12.5oz, 24.5 in

(AMW: Isn't that amazing? In 8 wks her weight has increased by 64%! That's like me gaining 16 lbs per week for eight weeks. In her first four weeks she grew four inches - that's 1/8" per day! If you had one of those sped-up videos (like the ones that show flowers blooming), you could actually have seen her grow!)

She's 98% for length, 95% for weight and 90% for her head. So she's pretty big, but evenly distributed! =)

She's tall and skinny. Most people think she's a three month old when they see how big and long she is. Even the doctor said he thought she was older. I mentioned she only poops about once every three days and he said it's 'cause she's using everything I feed her . . . . "Just look at her!"

I guess that's all for now. We're feeding every three hours through the night still, but we don't get out of bed. It's not bad at all. She stirs, I roll over and feed her, we fall back to sleep. She's been kind to us. =)

-Jodel

July 4th 2007!

Our first 4th of July at the Den!

This year for the Fourth we had Benjamin, Karin, Evan and their new little one Brylie over for a BBQ. We then headed to Livermore to watch the fireworks.

Even though it was past her bedtime, Andi was awake and alert and seemed to actually be watching the fireworks! =)

Here's some Pictures of Andi (8 weeks) and her cousin Brylie (3 weeks).

Everyone thought they might look like twins, since their daddies are Identical Twins. But it turns out the look more like "Twins" with Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. =)