{25 things cont.}

I said I would share all the things that Pierce's family members put for why they love Pierce. I wanted to share them on here so that we have it for our records & to remind you all of how amazing my husband really is!

Liz (Mom):
1. He is hysterically funny.
2. He married well. Really well.
3. He makes beautiful children.
4. He is a great coach, but a better friend.
5. As good a friend as he is, he is an even better son.
6. His eyes are of an indefineable color.
7. He is mischievous.
8. He is known to be the President of the TMC, but this in only an allegation.
9. Locke calles him 'Papa Pierce' and he likes it.
10. He is a snuggler.
11. He has my twin pinkie.
12. He is a great athlete, but an even greater fan. (Ask D Wade)
13. He is a dedicated teacher.
14. He has rhythm. 
15. He gets up way early on a Saturday morning to help wrestle Louie to the groomers.
16. He is kind and thoughtful. Like bringing me a Jamba when I am ill.
17. He cares about his family.
18. He cares about his wife's family too.
19. He is a patient and tolerant cousin. One word; Corbin. 
20. He has great taste in music. One word; Buble
21. He loves animals with abandon. Not even married one week before Jack joined his family.
22. He loves and tolerates Granny. Hepburn that is.
23. He loves and tolerates me.
24. He has a strong desire to be better everyday and makes commitments to that goal.
25. He made it easy to come up with the previous 24 thoughts in a heartbeat!

Helen

1. P is a good guy. A great dad & a great husband to one of my favorite girls & takes really good care of his family
2. He is a good boss & coworker
3. He is a good listener
4. Also a good talker. A good balance of both!
5. He is funny
6. He is smart
7. He is a hard worker
8. He loves his nieces & nephews
9. He is trustworthy
10. He knows who he is
11. He genuinely cares about people
12. He is honest
13. He's a good brother
14. He acts tough, but I think he's really a softy (this is an endearing quality!)
15. He's tough too though
16. He is spiritual
17. He is charitable
18. He loves his family
19. He loves K's family too and is a great big brother to her siblings
20. He loves Greece!
21. He is kind
22. He is a good cousin & nephew
23. He is a jokester
24. Hes a prankster and gets people good!
25. He thought we were the same age for a long time only to find out I'm a year younger than him! Haha thanks for making me feel young, P! :P Happy birthday!!!!

Chelsea

1. Pierce knows what to say to get you to spew any drink out of your mouth.
2. He is so on top of things with work and I can always count on him getting back to me ASAP.
3. He is a really fun uncle and seems to actually enjoy playing with his nieces and nephews.
4. He has a great hair color, one of which my own son seems to be blessed with.
5. He has always had such a passion for caring for animals, and he is the first person I call when I feel concerned about anything with Spud.
6. He is a great spouse to Karissa.
7. He loves sports and it makes me love the teams he roots for.
8. He is a smart financial person who always knows where his money is going.
9. He has always been a huge cheerleader for me and my family and we really appreciate it.
10. Pierce is always a great person to chat with on the phone.
11. He is always so generous with his service. I am pretty sure he will drop anything he was doing to help someone in our family or Karissa's.
12. He is a movie guru and we always watch what he recommends because he has great taste.
13. He is a great coach and I know players still go to him for advice even when he isn't their coach anymore.
14. He is a real thoughtful gift giver.
15. He is one heck of a lacrosse player.
16. He is such a good Dad to Emmett and I love seeing E light up when Pierce is around.
17. He is a very thoughtful brother and he is always someone who calls to check in on me or calls to just say hi. Especially when he is driving :)
18. He knows his church history and loves it.
19. He is someone who will stand by you til the end of time defending you.
20. He is one heck of a prankster even if he wont admit it.
21. He is the type of person (and so is his wife) who fly across country to help us pack up and move into a new place without complaint. And made the whole transition so much fun.
22. He is very creative.
23. Pierce is incredibly loyal. Not just to family, but also to friends and acquaintances. Anyone who has him by their side is very lucky.
24. Ava wanted to say this one- Uncle Pierce is SO funny, is he moving to Utah with us? Hahaha
25. Pierce is just an overall great guy and I am blessed and honored to be his sister. 

Cade

1. Pierce is a player of percussion
2. Pierce is a perky performer of pleasantries
3. Pierce is perpetually poised for playing
4. Pierce is pragmatically precocious
5. Pierce can procreate
6. Pierce produces periodic periods of peace
7. Pierce pees.
8. Pierce’s personality is planetary
9. Pierce is pointedly (im)proper
10. Pierce’s perception is propheti
11. Pierce is prompt.
12. Pierce is pretty pragmatic
13. Pierce is purposeful
14. Pierce is publically principled
15. Pierce is pastorally patient
16. Pierce is pale
17. Pierce is passable in pretend Prussian
18. Pierce is patriarchal
19. Pierce perfidiously persuasive
20. Pierce is passionate for pets
21. Pierce is patriotic
22. Pierce plays paltry piano
23. Pierce is philanthropic
24. Pierce is poised for penultimate posturing
25. Pierce is sexy. 

Travis

1. Pierce is a good problem-solver.
2. He loves his family, both immediate and extended.
3. He knows how to get the job done.
4. He is creative.
5. He can be both the maker of a joke and the butt of it.
6. He is thoughtful.
7. Pierce is hilariously inappropriate.
8. He gives great advice.
9. He is ambitious.
10. He is dependable.
11. He is trustworthy.
12. He is competitive and pushes others to do their best.
13. He is a magnificent husband and father.
14. His testimony is strong.
15. He is nonjudgmental.
16. He knows what he wants and knows how to get it (in a good way).
17. He is not a fair-weather fan.
18. He brings out the best in people.
19. He drives a nice car.
20. He has the same hair color as my son: Sexy.
21. He is selfless.
22. He is a good friend, the kind that you list as an emergency contact.
23. Pierce is an example of the believers.
24. He is multitalented.
25. Pierce is as strong as an ox, but soft enough to cry at the end of Old Yeller.

Chase

1. Without question, Pierce is the funniest guy I know.
2. Pierce is the master of the tease.
3. Despite being the master of the tease, Pierce can be really tender-hearted.
4. Pierce is driven.
5. Pierce is thoughtful and considerate.
6. Pierce is a really loyal friend, fan, and family member.
7. Pierce knows how to break the ice and cut the cheese.
8. Pierce is someone who you can count on.
9. He is also someone really fun to travel with.
10. Pierce has an opinion- which I like.
11. Pierce knows everything about the Heat, sports, and stuff like that (Clearly so do I...)
12. Growing up, Pierce was always someone who would play imaginary games or write and preform plays with us.
13. Pierce has a testimony, and chooses when to share it.
14. So many people look up to Pierce.
15. Pierce is a good, fun, and considerate father.
16. Pierce knows how to have a good time (that didn't mean to sound percy).
17. Pierce is super smart- and knows how to work/study hard.
18. Pierce is the closest thing we have to someone black in the family because he's tall and plays basketball and has swag.
19. Pierce has good style.
20. Pierce basically got Corbin, Gleason, and soon to be Nate on a mission.
21. Pierce has a great way of making everyone feel comfortable- even when he doesn't even know the people he's making feel comfortable.
22. Pierce is inappropriate- but in a really good way- most of the time. :D
23. Pierce is a good coach, and not just for lacrosse.
24. Pierce is a good husband to Karissa- from what I've seen... i like to watch...
25. Pierce is one of my best friends. Period. 

Jeff {Dad}

1. Pierce is one fun guy to work with, so long as you don’t count Kelly.
2. Pierce loves Church history, independent of any outside influences.
3. Pierce is a favorite uncle, making all of us wish we were his nieces and nephews.
4. Pierce is a true Heat fan period.
5. Pierce understands both boys and girls lacrosse, yup boys and girls.
6. Pierce loves Greek history, its just Greek to the rest of us.
7. Pierce loves gardening, especially cutting down trees.
8. Pierce looks like the tallest in the family.
9. Pierce is great with animals, and dogs too.
10. Pierce speaks multiple languages and will take summer term classes to prove it.
11. Pierce is a true believer and God loves him.
12. Pierce is indeed a handyman to the delight of his landlord.
13. Pierce loves to organize – almost anything, almost anytime, almost anywhere.
14. Pierce is wise and not just for his age.
15. Pierce has a dependable jump shot and I understand can take a mean charge.
16. Pierce can balance a checkbook, and not just his own.
17. Pierce has a pretty amazing collection of bobble-heads.
18. Pierce is an unusually good drummer, not so much on the cornet.
19. Pierce is ambitious in all the right ways.
20. Pierce’s hair is holding surprisingly strong.
21. Pierce has his own distinctive sense of style.
22. Pierce loves his family most of the time more than we desire.
23. Pierce loves being Emmitt’s dad making Emmitt one very luck son.
24. Pierce loves Karissa and luckily it appears that Karissa loves Pierce too.
25. Pierce is loved by his dad more than he could possibly fully know.

{Anniversary: 3 Years!!}

Wow, I can't believe that we've truly been married for 3 years! Life has a way of going so quickly, quicker than I would like. I guess officially we aren't newlyweds and that makes me a little sad but at the same time, I do feel like we've grown so much and learned and can give a sliver of advice to others? Probably not, but we'll pretend:)

We spent our day just working-- Pierce stopped by for lunch with a Jamba Juice and some flowers. He is extremely thoughtful. That night, we wanted to go to Mt. Fuji but the wait was going to be too long, so we ventured over to Olive Garden. We enjoyed their little doughnut dessert things- I don't know the Italian name for them but they are SO good. We then went to see Now You See Me, which was REALLY good. I highly recommend it! My mom watched Emmett for us, and while we've been really busy lately and dropping him off with people, this was the first date night we've had just us two in a while. So great.

Pierce,
You know I love you. Thank you for being my rock and my best friend. Thank you for making me laugh til I cry (or pee) and for reminding me to be a better person. 3 years has been a joy and blessing. Eternity could never be enough but I guess it will have to do:)

Love,
KK

{25th birthday videos!}

Thanks to my SIL Helen, she filmed the surprise and us singing to Pierce for his birthday!!
Thanks for filming, taking pictures & showing up y'all!

{Pierce's 25th}

Well it seemed to be a week full of celebrating my favorite person. I am so glad that he has family and friends who love & care about him just as much as I do! Wednesday night, we went out to Mt. Fuji- Pierce's favorite place with his family! It never disappoints! Then we went back to Jeff and Liz's for cake (which was DIVINE) and presents. Pierce was spoiled with a grill from his parents & some Rainbow flip flops he has wanted for about 2+ years now. He also got a great quote in a frame for his office-- of course it is a Miami Heat LeBron quote P.E.R.F.E.C.T. for my husband!

Thursday morning, I got up & made him some breakfast, he took his parents to the airport. He cleaned his car (this is a treat not chore for him) & got his hair cut! He worked a little bit and then came home & we hung out!

Thursday night was the surprise I've been working on.... To try and pull a fast one on Pierce is HARD and I am not someone who can lie very easily anyway so I really had to prep myself for multiple scenarios & questions I might get throughout the day. My sister Bree came over to "babysit" Emmett while we were just going to go get some dinner. We went to TGIF and then over to Macy's to get a new tie and some hankies for Pierce for church. While we were out and about, people came over for a dessert party for Pierce. I had a Miami Heat cake made & ordered with help from my SIL Helen a cool Miami Heat cake topper. 

Pierce had NO idea & wanted to go look around some other stores but I said that I was tired and just wanted to go home. We passed multiple people's cars including my mom's and he didn't even notice! Whew! When we walked in, everyone was hiding behind the barrier-wall and jumped out and shouted surprise! He was speechless!

Thank you to all that came and to his family for making 25 easy on the old fart :)

Happy 25th Pierce, love you babe! 

Ben, Alex & Jackson

Kelsey & Ty

The desserts.

The Cake!

Anthony, Cheri & Bree

Carly & her fiancé Teal

Pierce's best buddy-- Cam

Tennille!

Chase & Helen

My silly boy! 

Surprise!

Emmett got upset when everyone yelled!

Candles

25 Things

In honor of my sweet hubby's 25th birthday this Thursday, his family all posted 25 things that they love about Pierce. I will share those all sometime this week, so we have them for our record but here are mine:

1. He is romantic and cheesy. Always thoughtfully so. 
2. He is smart. Best semesters ever these past two and they've been his hardest!
3. He is the type of daddy that makes a boy sad to see him leave- every.single.day.
4. He honors his priesthood. Always offering to give blessings.
5. He is loyal. 
6. He is protective.
7. He betters me as a wife, mother & as a person.
8. He is spiritual and obedient.
9. He is funny. He promised me that I would laugh every day if I married him, so far, that's been fulfilled.
10. He entertains me and pretends I'm funny sometimes too.
11. He is a good boyfriend. Always keeps the tradition of date night.
12. He is clean & organized. We always get lots done Saturday when I have his help!
13. He can be obsessive. Lacrosse & Miami Heat, however, he always makes himself most obsessive with his family.
14. He is a great communicator. He never has yelled in our marriage.
15. He is honest.
16. He is adventurous. 
17. He loves to snuggle.
18. He gives the best hugs.
19. He is a hottie. 
20. He loves with no hesitation.
21. He is the most non-judgmental person I know.
22. He is a mentor.
23. He is grateful & gracious.
24. He is full of surprises.
25. He is a cheerleader of those he loves & is true in his support. 
26. I'm probably the only one that can say this- He is sexy!

{Emmett: 11 Months}

Emmett is now 11 months and 3 days... Time is flying by and this little man gets more hilarious and grows every day. 

Emmett in the last month:

- got his first ear infection :(

- crouches down instead of falling to sit

- stands constantly & tries to use anything to pull himself up

- can stand a few seconds by himself, until he realizes and freaks out

- turns on and off the light switch

-points
-cruises around the ottoman, couch & his play table

- now does the "devil" look which we find so funny- probably will come to bite us in the butt

- can clap, just won't do it all the time

- loves pulling the books off of shelves

- loves turning pages & flap books

-bangs all his toys together to make noise

-loves water babies

-loves to swing outside & go down the slide at the park

Love you E man!

{Emmett Jeffrey} 10 months

Here is our little stink! I cannot believe he is in the double digits! Less than 2 months until his 1st birthday! I've already started brainstorming ideas for the party of course-- Sock Monkey! 

Things Emmett has done in the past month:

- He crawls! Everywhere! It's crazy. I have a baby gate that should be arriving tomorrow to help restrain the boy!

- He stands up on furniture & kinda cruises, he doesn't purposely do it yet but will take steps without realizing it.

- He now has his two front teeth coming in at full-speed.

- He actually is biting now... I need to stop that habit, like yesterday! Ouch!

- He chases the dogs around.

- He talks more and more and blows raspberries constantly!

- He loves our swings in the backyard, loves walks and putting things in his mouth like a dog and crawling around.

Such a funny little dude. We love him more each.and.every.day!

{got bored & made some fun things}

{Emmett: 9 months}

I really wish I was better at blogging things other than Emmett's month-to-month, but the reality is, I feel like there's not a whole lot to blog about and let's be honest, there is not much alone time to blog with a baby around the house!

Emmett at 9 months:

We haven't had his 9 month check-up yet but I'll add those stats when we do!

Emmett now:

-rolls around crazily! 

- scoots backward on tummy with his arms

- loves TV still

- eating more and more baby foods, trying some puffs and a couple solids

- still sleeping like a champ although he has been having little nightmares lately, breaks my heart

- makes noises with his mouth and then bats his hand back and forth on his lips to make more sounds

- gives long hugs (such a sweet boy we have!)

{Emmett: 8 months}

Emmett at 8 months:

- has two full teeth on the bottom

- rolls around everywhere!

- picks up puffs and puts them in his own mouth

-loves to drink water

- is having a bit of stranger danger

- tries to poke his head past his car seat to see out the window

- loves any electronics, the phone, remote, laptop, TV anything! 

My little man is so smiley, giggly, funny, more curious & his personality shows through more and more! 

{New Year, New Me}

My sister in law Melisa does a word every year that she wants to make her year about. I love this idea. Instead of my list of things I want to do, don't want to do and things I know won't be "resolved", I think this year I am going to do a word as well. I want the year of twenty-thirteen to mean "Growth".

I want growth as an individual. I have many things I would like to grow in personally. My relationship with the Savior, scripture studying, personal prayers. I would like to grow physically and mentally. Working out, getting dressed (some days that seems like an accomplishment), learning new hair styles, painting my toes. Things I would like to do more often for myself but don't. I think I need to learn to take care of me as well as taking care of my family and friends!

I would like my relationship as a wife grow. I want more growth in my bond with Pierce, as parents and as best friends. 2012 was a great year, I felt closer and more united with Pierce than ever. We "discussed" less and "argued" even lesser. We are becoming great at communicating and exploring what works for our relationship and I want 2013 to continue that growth.

I want growth as a mother and as a family of 3. I want Emmett to always see progress in his parents, that we are always working to achieve something as a family unit and individually. Whether it be schooling, working, playing, saving $, etc. Emmett will quickly be on the move and growing too quickly. I would like to grow in priorities. To slow down, to savor the moment, to take more pictures, to have more meaningful memories. I want growth in Emmett, not only physically or milestones but to know that we are proud of any exploring and chasing we have to do this year with him.

To 2013. To growth. To my family and my love. And to me.

{Christmas Card 2012}

 I sent out some Christmas cards this year with our family photos. It's so fun to send them out now that we have a baby to show off! I only really sent them to family members so if you didn't get a chance to see it, here it is!

{Emmett: 6 & 7 Months}

Emmett has grown by leaps and bounds these last two months! I love this little boy so much, such a good baby and fun personality. I thought I would have to learn a ton of patience being a mom, but with Emmett, it's not tested very often! 

6 months stats:

- 18 lbs 1 oz (75%)

- 27.5 inches (90%)

- 90% for head circum.

(Emmett 6 months)

In 6 & 7 months, Emmett:

-started solids; loves everything we've tried

- moved into his highchair!

- practiced sitting up

-wears 9 month clothing for length

- still naps 2-3 times a day

-mastered sitting up
-got his two front bottom teeth & more coming

-loves toys and throwing them from his highchair

- cuddles his sock monkey

- uses the stroller forward facing now!

- rolls over constantly

-celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's!

(Emmett 7 months -sitting up all by himself!)

{thanksgiving 2012}

Emmett's first Thanksgiving was really fun! We got 2 yummy dinners. While I missed my mom, sister and brother who were in CA, we got to see Pierce's brother Cade, his wife Melisa and our nephew Locke! We don't get to see them very often since they are way up in WA but we were glad they were here!

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving:

 Locke being teased by Papa, Uncle Chase and his dad. Poor kid. Emmett will be there in a few years I am sure :)

And then that weekend, we got to go out to dinner & see Breaking Dawn with my MIL and Sister-in-Laws! It was actually really good so if you haven't seen it, you should!

We also set up Christmas and it is so fun to now have 3 stockings and I wrapped all of Emmett's gifts from us too! So exciting!!

{family pics 2012}

So we got our family pictures the other day and I think we got a few good ones!! I'm super excited that I get to start doing family pictures and Christmas cards every year now that we officially have Emmett. My family wasn't ever really big on family pictures but I sure hope to be, because it's so important to document how everyone changes-- even adults!