Happy Birthday Nate!

Yesterday was Nate’s birthday. Now that he is almost 40, he says he doesn’t really care about birthdays. I’m glad. If not, the day might have been a little disappointing. Since it was Fast Sunday, he didn’t get the usual breakfast in bed for his birthday. He still got to teach Primary and help Emily with her talk. It wasn’t exactly a holiday. The Super Bowl saved the day from being a complete flop. Football is fun. Maybe we will have to start watching more than one game every ten years.

In celebration of my favorite list maker’s 36th birthday, I made a list of 36 things that I love about him.

1. He is a fun, patient, and devoted Dad.
2. He makes perfect crepes for breakfast almost every Sunday.
3. He has mad ping-pong skills.
4. He will watch chick-flicks with me and sometimes likes them more than I do.
5. He is a smart boy and has an amazing memory for random facts.
6. He did so much research on home theater equipment that he could have written a book by the time he was ready to buy a system.
7. He wakes up REALLY early and goes to work every day so that he can be home early to hang out with us.
8. He can reach things on the top shelf at Wal-Mart.
9. He takes his church callings seriously and does a great job at anything he is asked to do.
10. He makes all of the phone calls that I don't want to make.
11. He is competitive when it comes to board games and doesn’t mind schooling me (when he can).
12. He laughs at the same parts as I do when we are watching TV together. He can crack me up with one movie quote or one line from Seinfeld that no one else in the world would laugh at.
13. He hugs me first thing when he gets home from work every day.
14. He makes dinner as often as I do and does the dishes more often than I do.
15. He keeps us up to date on technology. He knows how to hook everything up and use all of the special functions on our remotes, cameras, DVR, etc.
16. He indulges my excitement about holidays even though he doesn’t share it.
17. He is strong and can move heavy things.
18. He does cool voices when he reads stories to the kids.
19. He is handy around the house. He has saved us tons of money by learning how to do everything from hanging drywall to replacing the dryer motor.
20. Whenever I am stressed out, he tells me that “every little thing is going to be alright.”
21. He is the one person in the world that loves our kids as much as I do.
22. He can fall asleep in 4 seconds flat after his head hits the pillow. I envy that ability!
23. He changes the oil in our cars.
24. He can sing better than me. (So can most everyone else, but I love that I can sing in sacrament meeting and his nice, loud voice will cover mine up.)
25. He has soft hands.
26. He loves corn on the cob and can easily put away 6 or 8 pieces in one sitting.
27. He makes really good sound effects (lightsabers, jets, wookies, etc.)
28. He has integrity and a strong desire to do what is right.
29. He knows my spoon rules (big spoon for cereal, small spoon for ice-cream, etc.)
30. He fills up my water mug, turns on my electric blanket, and puts toothpaste on my toothbrush every night before bed.
31. He uses our postage scale to measure ingredients when he is cooking.
32. He gets out of bed to help the kids when they wake up in the middle of the night.
33. He emails me from work several times every day.
34. He can still speak fluent Spanish 15 years after his mission (which scores us an extra box of chips from Javier’s every time he orders salsa).
35. He has seen me at my very worst – physically, mentally, and emotionally – and still loves me.
36. He is my perfect match. Our friends and family always say that we were made for each other (usually while they are mocking one of our anal retentive quirks), and it is completely true. I love him with all of my heart! Happy Birthday Nate!