25. Her sense of humor. I’m still not sure I entirely understand it. When we watch TV or a movie together, she and I rarely if ever laugh at the same jokes. In fact, Karim doesn’t laugh at most jokes–she prefers to see someone fall over or wipeout. Nothing gets her laughing like a good accident.

24 and 23. Two days before Karim turned 19 (and 5 days after we’d started dating), I took her to a Utah Jazz-New Jersey Nets basketball game in Salt Lake. In an effort to impress her, I bought what I’d thought were (or what seemed to me as a relatively poor college student) quite expensive tickets; it turned out our seats were in the upper bowl of the arena (though the first row of the upper bowl!). I was a bit embarrassed by the whole episode, but Karim made me feel like it was the greatest date of her life. Her knowledge and interest in basketball and her ability to make anything we do together feel special are still two of my favorite things about her.

22. That she’s a Dallas Mavericks fan. Closely related to her basketball IQ mentioned above, this one may seem insignificant. But for those of you who know me, this is an obviously crucial point of agreement in our home. I’m sort of convinced that Dirk and Jason Terry won the championship last year at least in part to make up for the sorrow Karim experienced watching them lose 5 years earlier in the Finals during her first year cheering for the team.

21. Her love of family. Karim cares deeply about family—me and Sofía, her parents and brothers, my parents, siblings, their spouses, our ever-growing number of nieces and nephews, and extended family on all sides. When we’re with her family, I’m always amazed at her ability to spend quality time with each person, to listen and be a friend; and the same is true of my family, as well. During our time in Utah, she developed close relationships with my grandma (Granny), my aunts and uncles, and several of my cousins.

20. Her faith. Karim exemplifies all of the best aspects of Mormonism—the community, the commitment, the desire to reach out and help others, and the focus on family. She’s the type of Christian and the type of Mormon I hope someday to be.

19. Watching her spend time with Sofía. Karim and Sofía’s eyes both light up when they play together; Karim has the ability to know what each of Sofía’s cries mean; to know when she wants to be cuddled and when she wants to laugh and play. Sofía reminds me so much of Karim, from her beautiful and kind smile to her curiosity about everything and everyone around her. And that just makes me love them each even more.

18. Her desire to learn. Karim values education and has a diverse set of intellectual interests. She changed her major 3 times in college, going from Middle Eastern Studies to Latin American Studies and finally settling on Communications with an emphasis in Advertising and Marketing. That Karim has not pursued a career in that field doesn’t seem to disappoint her—she really seems to value the skills she learned along the way.

17. That she’s a teacher. For those who don’t know, Karim teaches Spanish to children (ages 4-7) here in Williamsburg. I’ve had the opportunity to observe a handful of those lessons, and not only do her students absolutely adore “Miss Karim,” they also have developed a passion and ability in speaking Spanish. While I’m sure they’re all smart and able children, I know that Karim’s abilities as a teacher deserve much credit, too.

16. Her ability to make friends. Karim has just a few “best friends”—those with whom she shares much in common and with whom she’s shared some of her most personal experiences. She keeps in close contact with those friends, no matter how far apart they now live. But she also has close friends with whom she shares little to nothing in common—from nonagenarian grandmothers to middle-aged women to infants and children. She has the rare ability to love and be a friend to people from all walks of life.

15. Her love of dance and music. While we don’t share much in common in terms of musical tastes, I do enjoy watching Karim sing along to Jack Johnson, Shakira, or Stevie Nicks. And while I know it disappoints her that she didn’t marry someone who shares her love of dance, I love that I married someone who does love to dance—even if it’s mostly in our living room or the car on road trips.

14. Her support of me. Karim has, so far as I can tell, next to no interest in academic history. But she is also, with no close competition, my biggest fan and supporter. And that means more to me than I can ever express.

13. That she constantly surprises me. In spite of what I just said above, Karim has become something of a historical researcher extraordinaire over the last several months. Hired by her employer to do some genealogical research, Karim dove in head first and has not only discovered much about a very interesting family but developed a real knack for historical research more generally.

12. Her love of travel. Karim and I have been on some pretty amazing trips—to El Salvador (several times), Korea, and Mexico. Potential trips to England, Italy, and Brazil are on our potential itinerary over the next few years, and we hope to travel to many more countries together and as a family. But we also love shorter road trips together—to historic plantations just down the road from us and to unique spots all over the East Coast.

11. Her smile. When Karim smiles—and I mean really smiles—her whole face lights up. You see it in her eyes, her cheeks, and especially in her smile. Sofía looks like she inherited that smile, too.

10. Her concern for others. Karim genuinely cares about others, and reaches out to help others in need regularly.

9. Her love of food. Thankfully, Karim and I both enjoy not only eating delicious food but learning to cook it together, too. We now have a pretty good list of recipes we do well and always are looking out for new ones.

8. Karim knows me, and knows me well. She can read me like a book, and that both helps to keep me in line and makes me love her even more.

7. Speaking of books, Karim loves to read. She’s currently making her way through some classics, as well as reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

6. Karim loves dessert. I know this is something most people love, but you don’t understand—she really, really loves dessert. Seeing her get excited about going out for frozen yogurt or just eating a popsicle or gummy bears after dinner always makes me smile.

5. I mentioned above that she supports me in my educational and professional activities, but really Karim supports me in all that I do. She always takes an interest in things that I’m interested in—or at least gives them a shot.

4. She’s a participator. This is a bit of an inside joke between us, but from day one, Karim has always consciously participated in activities, whether they be with our family, just us, or with friends. She loves trying new things.

3. She has great style—from her wardrobe (and mine!) to our home, Karim always makes sure that everything is put together fashionably.

2. She’s the yin to my yang, the macaroni to my cheese, the quesa to my dilla. For example, she doesn’t use silly sayings like I apparently do.

1. At the risk of sounding cheesy (wait, you mean this whole list is sort of cheesy?), she completes me. I cannot imagine without her, and look forward to spending the rest of forever with her.

Happy 25th, my love.

Wearing her Christmas pajamas and playing on her sherpa blanket.

Fuzzy hair. For the both of us, apparently. Hers is really starting to come in nicely.

I am uber picky about what goes on her head. Since I can rarely find headbands and bows that I like, I have resorted to making my own.

By the way…did you know that if you take fenugreek seed supplements it makes you smell like maple syrup? Like…a lot. I have to take it three times a day and let me tell you, if I’m not having waffles, I’d rather not smell syrup.

Grey and drool-y. Love my baby in boots.

My littlest friend.

Christmas was pretty great I guess. I hear I slept through all the fun stuff. Here, Mami and Daddy are making me take a picture with them on New Year’s Eve. If you think I don’t look very happy in this picture, you’re right. I like to pretend to be mad for no reason sometimes just to keep these two on their toes.  Also, Mami should know better than to wear a dry clean only shirt around me. I think I’ll teach her a lesson. Stay tuned for my account of my first Christmas break. Right now I am busy getting my beauty sleep because being cute all the time wears me out.

Height: 23 3/4 inches (25th percentile) Weight: 13 lbs. 3 oz. (34th percentile)

We were a week late, but today Sofía went in for her 4-month doctor’s appointment. She smiled and smiled at the doctor and laughed while she was being examined. She continues to be a wonderfully healthy little girl! We love our little mama. At four months, baby girl loves to reach for faces, has started to sit on her own and loves to look at herself in the mirror. She loves attention and it’s getting harder and harder to take her places. There have been a number times where we literally have had a difficult time leaving a store because people want to stop and chat and play with her and tell us how cute she is. Can’t say I blame them!

That face! Really?!

Baby girl turned three months old on Dec. 2nd. At three months, Sofía grew increasingly smiley, rolled over a few times, still hated tummy time, and mastered the art of spitting up right after her clothes were changed.

 With my baby.

This little girl loves to stand. She has had strong legs since day one. Don’t you just LOVE her rolls? I do.

More recently, she has started to want to dance when she hears music.

Her pajamas tossed to the side. By the end of the day, her clothes are covered in drool and spit-up, so I let her go au naturale for a while before her bath.

So, Thanksgiving. We went to Dallas to celebrate with Chris’s siblings and their families. We had a wonderful time introducing Sofí to her aunts, uncles and cousins. We missed Bruce and Jerri, and I am already looking forward to a big Jones Christmas this 2012.

We visited the Dallas Arboretum. I enjoyed finally walking through it. Emerson wanted to hold Sofi a lot, and I know she will be such a good cousin to our little girl.

Easton and Uncle Chris

Three new cousins this year within months of each other…and one on the way.

One afternoon we went out to lunch and then took the kids to the park. Here is little Taggy Man. Mellow and happy little guy.

Easty

Emerson

Sydney

Col Col

 Shayla, Ash and I with the kids. Our last night there, I went and saw the newest Twilight movie. So cheesy I almost couldn’t take it. Almost.

We always have a great time in Texas, and miss our family and friends there. Can’t wait to go back again.

January: Found out on Jan. 6th that I was pregnant in Target using a Dollar Tree pregnancy test I had just bought next door (so classy, I know.) Turned 24. Learned we had a 50% chance of miscarrying. Worried every minute of the day that I would lose the baby. Went on a girls trip to NYC with my amazing sister-in-laws and mother-in-law. Was hungry 26/7. Started planning for Girl’s Camp. Chris took over as Husband Extraordinaire, and did basically everything around the house until Sofia’s birth (heck, he still does everything.) Learned Chris’s parents would be serving a mission in Brooklyn, New York. Chris read…a TON!

February: Ate my weight in mandarin oranges. Chris planned our Valentine’s Date. Had our first ultrasound. Held my breath the entire time while simultaneously laughing and crying. Called our immediate family to let them know I was 12 weeks pregnant. Worried every minute of the day that I would lose the baby. Went to bed at 8. Every second of Chris’s day that was not spent studying for comps was spent taking care of my needs.

March: Planning for Girls Camp. Trip to NJ for my dad’s birthday. Finally announced pregnancy to everyone else at 17 weeks. Felt great, but still worried every minute of the day that I would lose the baby. Chris took his comprehensive exams, and passed! Hallelujah!!

April: Went to a Braves games in Washington D.C, as well as went to the Cherry Blossom Festival. Started to show…kind of. Took a trip with my family to El Salvador. Chris read…for pleasure! Had my belly poked, rubbed and hugged. I thought for sure we would be having a boy, and was calling our baby Joaquin. Abuelito assured me that it would be a girl….and on the 21st, we learned he was right! I asked the ultrasound tech if she was sure and she said yes. (Lady, did you really go to ultrasound-tech school?) We cried. I secretly was hoping for a girl. I worried several times a week that I would lose the baby. Started buying girl clothes. Felt baby kick. I exploded and became huge. Felt okay to finally park in the “expecting mothers” spot at the grocery store. Decided it was high time for me to use this pregnancy as a pass to get away with stuff.

May: Chris turned 28, and became more handsome in my eyes. Celebrated four years of marriage. Had our big yard sale fundraiser for girls camp. Was probably too cranky (it was hot and I felt huge, okay?) Chris went to the Mormon History Association Conference and began research for his dissertation. One of my best friends, Shayla, came to visit me so I wouldn’t be alone and we compared pregnancy stories and ate a lot because we could. Celebrated Mother’s Day with both our mothers. The thought that I, too, would be a mother started to sink in. Started to believe that our little baby was here to stay.

June: Welcomed our nephew Maverik Hawthorne Jones to our family. Chris researched for his dissertation. When I wasn’t thinking about our baby, I was too busy thinking about Girls Camp. Went to girls camp while seven months pregnant. Everyone that I was pretty much a hero for doing that. Began to waddle. People smiled at me a lot and held open my door. Felt like time was going too slow. Kept having the same thoughts: “Please baby, don’t go away. Please be okay. Please, please make it.”

July: Welcomed another nephew into our family: Taggart Jones Hatch (aka Taggy Man.) Watched Harry Potter in the movie theater. (Hm..what’s a movie theater?) Friends in my ward threw me a baby shower. Did a whole lot of laying on the couch with my feet up. It was hot.

August: Began nesting. Started to wear ugly flip flops because of my feet swelling. Had our second “book themed” baby shower. Didn’t like having my picture taken. Started having weekly doctor’s visits (“Is she ready yet??”) Didn’t leave outside 1-hour radius from our house. Experienced my first earthquake. Hurricane Irene hit a week later (labor symptoms started kicking in night after it hit) and we lost power for several days. Wanted to deliver my baby because I was worried I’d lose her somehow the last few weeks.

September: Labor. (Totally not as bad as I thought it would be.) Welcomed our precious baby. Had our lives turned upside down. Became a firm believer in love at first sight. Recovery. Hurt….a lot. (Totally more painful than I thought it would be.) Chris began teaching his first college course at William and Mary and passed his dissertation prospectus colloquium. Learned how to function on little sleep. Traded in my Escada for Eau de Vomit. I hear it’s all the rage in Europe.

October: Had a fabulous day in NYC with Chris’s parents and the Hatches. Blessed our beautiful baby girl. Had my first of two breakdowns. (So tired! Must sleep!)  Sofí got her ears pierced. Snuggled and kissed her a lot. Learned how to attend to her needs. Got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but missed being pregnant.

November: Took family pictures. Flew to Texas for Thanksgiving. Sofía made it through without any meltdowns. Everyone got sick except baby girl. Sofía turned into a little ham.

December: Sofia’s first Christmas. Celebrated holidays with both our families. Way, way too many new clothes for a 4-month old. Baby girl found her singing voice, and realized how fun it is to babble. The louder the better. Couldn’t believe our luck this year.

We have so many, many things to be grateful for this past year. And it looks like 2012 will be pretty fantastic as well. So glad to have my wonderful husband and sweet little girl to share another year with.

Siena and I lived on the same floor our freshman year at BYU. I used to go to her room and tell her about this cute guy I liked. Good thing I married him!

 Group shot. Sofía was not very happy.

Doing much better.

 So sweet!