Daphne is starting to learn to mimic the things that we do. My sister taught her how to wave over Thanksgiving. I managed to get it on video, and here it is.

I love to spend time with my Nephew, Eli. He is so adorable, and every time I see him, he has more new things to show me. The panhandle part is old, but the faces he makes are new. My sister has an adorable little face.

During Thanksgiving, we went to my grandma’s house to celebrate. We had so much fun out there. While we were there, Eli got his new pony, Rosita. She came with a cart, which she is very familiar with using. This is a video that my sister took of our family in the cart with Rosita. We had so much fun. It was just a dream. One day, Jared and I want a little more land that we can use to maybe have a pony for our kids. Until then, we will enjoy Rosita at my grandma’s house.

Daphne has been working on her walking at lot recently. I have tried to get it on tape, but I am failing miserably. Here is one of the attempts to get it on tape, which I failed at!

We did Daphne’s naming ceremony on December 1. We had so much fun. We had friends around, and the ceremony that we wrote was so beautiful. Here is a video of the ceremony for anyone that was unable to make it. Please watch it and feel free to send Daphne any good wishes. They will go in her scrapbook.

Hello! Merry Christmas. Our Christmas card and Christmas letter are posted below. I hope that your Christmas is as merry as they come.

Christmas 2007

Hello All!

In retrospect, the year seems to have flown by so quickly, yet it was so full and rich that when it was the present we had plenty to enjoy.

February was filled with lots of waiting for when the baby was going to come because Chris was 9 months pregnant. Playing the “when will the baby come” game is a very interesting one indeed. Jared had his cell phone on at all times in wait and Chris did lots of walking.

After 3 days of early labor, 2 days of active labor and 5 hours of pushing, Daphne was born on March 5, 2007 at 10:36 a.m. via C-Section. The major surgery was a surprise to us all, but the best part was the fact that we finally got to enjoy our baby, Daphne Elle Anderson!

Chris spent 2 months recovering doing all the things a new mommy does and Jared spent the same 2 months by her side working away.

Chris started her wedding season on May 5 and didn’t stop shooting until November 4. She shot as few as 1 and as many as 3 weddings every weekend for the entire season. She is so thankful to have so many wonderful clients. The season went very well and she is excited to start getting ready to set up shooting for next year after the holiday season is over.

We outgrew our condo this year and moved into a wonderful house. The condo was proving to be too small for two offices and a baby. We found an adorable little house in Carlton, Oregon. Carlton is a quaint little wine town that is peaceful and wonderful. Our house is serving us well. We couldn’t have chosen better.

As Daphne got older, Chris and she connected up with some play groups, so they have been out on adventures from berry picking to sewing and photo shooting to exploring the latest new park. Daphne likes to get out and see new things.

Jared is working away expanding his company. He has had some major breakthroughs recently, which will allow him to service even more people at one time. We are excited about the expansion.

Jared has also been working very hard with the medical community to help get his body back into top shape. Through a stroke of luck, he was able to get in to see the top dog at OHSU (for GI stuff), and they are now working on a program that seems to be doing a world of good!

We had a nice little Naming Ceremony for Daphne on December 1. We have put the video on YouTube so that anyone that wasn’t able to make it can participate that way.

Chris and Daphne made a trip to the east coast with a tour through Boston and New York for the first two weeks of December. They had a blast and will be writing more about it on the blog in the coming days.

The most important thing about the past year is how much we have gotten to enjoy our little darling angel. We appreciate every second we get to spend with her, and we have so much fun seeing her progression from rolling over to crawling and now to walking. Chris takes tons of pictures of her because we know how fleeting this stage is. Chris has been keeping a blog since Daphne was born that has videos, pictures and little story tidbits on it. The address of the blog is http://ycplife.blogspot.com/ if you would like to follow along. It has the entire progression of Daphne’s life so far, and it gets updated on average more than one time per day! We would love to have you join us!

Our first Christmas as a family will be spent at home together opening presents, making gingerbread houses and cooking. Lobster is on the dinner menu prepared by Jared with several yummy side dishes Chris has in mind. We are so excited to spend this time together.

Happy Holidays!

Jared, Christine and Daphne Anderson

First place in the youth division of the annual downtown Christmas parade on Dec. 8 went to a horse and buggy entry driven by Melissa Ward, far right, her son, Eli Ward, center, and her nephew, Jermain Johnson. The entry was a family affair as Melissa Ward’s great aunt, Morgan Strang, is also pictured, far left. The Harney County Fair Board presented the parade with the theme, “Christmas at Our House.”

http://www.burnstimesherald.info/

When my sister was here with her husband Josh, we had a lot of fun. Josh was so very helpful, and he was always very tidy about cooking and messes in general.

One day, I woke up to find that he had made breakfast and had even done the dishes. The dishwasher was running, and I thought that it was very nice of him. About 10 minutes later, my sister came running in and made me go look at the dishwasher. Apparently, dish soap was accidentally put in instead of the regular soap.

The kitchen was slowly filling up with bubbles and water, and my sister and I giggled and giggled while we cleaned it all up!

I didn’t mind one bit, and I think my kitchen floor got a much-needed cleaning.

It was more funny than anything. I just wish I had taken photos of it!

When I was in New York, I was staying with a long-time friend of mine, George. He took Daphne to visit his mother, and she was wearing nothing but a diaper. Her response, “Daphne, you are just beef to the knees!”

She is a chubby baby. A very pretty chubby baby. Breastfed babies are so lucky to be so adorable.

I am now a huge food junkie. Way too many hours of watching the Food Network after my c-section has led me into a life where I feel like I can cook anything. It is kind of crazy really! The other night, I made mussels in a reduced wine and cream sauce with brussel sprouts as a side. The night after that, I made portobello mushroom lasagna. It was very good until it turned out that I was actually allergic to the mushrooms, so Jared is going to have to finish it off. It tasted great though.

Last night, I made crab bisque soup. I had never even seen a recipe for it, and I just made it up as I went along. It was super, super good.

Some people find cooking a chore, but I really enjoy it. It comes easy to me, and making great meals is my passion.

I’ve got a lot of other meals to make soon too. Christmas is a cooking time for me.

The menu includes:

• Fudge
• Egg Nog
• Mushroom Rissoto
• Lobster (or as they say in Boston (L AH b stuh)
• Broccli Au Gratin

Etc….

Daphne and I are enjoying cooking together. We plan to make gingerbread houses on Christmas eve!!!