Happy birthday, hubby!

Monday was hubby's birthday. We had a great weekend to celebrate, and hubby said this was the best one yet thanks to this little guy :)

On Saturday, we played Texas Hold 'Em with some of our friends, and then hubby and I had a date on Sunday while my parents watched Cooper - his first time being babysat other than while I am at work. We had a yummy steak dinner at Logan's and watched War Horse, which was a sweet & sad movie.

Back when we were Christmas shopping, hubby picked out a pair of jeans and shirt he liked at the Buckle, so I actually bought them that day. Cooper bought him the "Father and Son" Willow Tree figurine, and I filled a bag with some of hubby's favorite things - peanuts, beer, chips, M&Ms, cookies, etc., as well as bought him a new tape measure since he lost the old one!

To further honor hubby, I wanted to list the things I love most about him. (I totally stole this idea from Elizabeth, who did it for her David's birthday recently!) I managed one for each year and a few to grow on!

1. How great of a daddy he is. I always knew he would blow it out of the ballpark, but it's even more than I expected. He does so well at taking over when I need a break!
2. Not only is he the best daddy for Coop, he is for our pets, too. He loves our Hank Dog and horses with all his heart.
3. He takes pride in *everything* we own. Cars, our home, clothes - he always wants it spic and span.
4. While J doesn't love to clean (who does!) when he does, he is a superstar! Ten times better than I do things.
5. He loves to surprise me. And gets very upset when his plans don't go through.
6. On my first day back at work, he didn't send me flowers that would make me cry every time I looked at them. He took me out for lunch, giving me something to look forward to all day!
7. Sometimes I come home and he's folding laundry or doing one of the tasks that got pushed on the back burner. HUGE help.
8. He went to every.single.one of my doctors appointments while I was preggo. Not only to be there for me, but he was so excited to be a daddy he didn't want to miss a thing.
9. Whenever I'm feeling down on myself and my post-pregnancy body (I may have lost all the weight, but things are different) he is so complimentary and encouraging. When I began doing sit ups and had NO ab strength, he sat there with me and pulled me through.
10. He is SUCH a hard worker. I know he isn't necessarily in love with his job, but sadly, there probably isn't anything else around here he can do without a college education and make the same money, so he toughs it out so we can live the life we want.
11. His big brown eyes. Seriously - that's part of what made me fall in love with him EIGHT YEARS AGO.
12. His style. Cooper will always be dressed to the nines thanks to his daddy. Even if he does wear a dog collar as a belt.
13. He is a great cook - especially on the grill. Just typing this makes me crave a burger and some chicken.
14. We dislike most of the same foods. No onions or mushrooms in our house! (Poor Cooper won't even know what an onion is until Grandma tries to feed him food with them!)
15. He is Mr. Fix-It/Handyman. Pretty much any idea I have, he can make into a reality.
16. He loves to travel and see new things. If we had the money, the two of us (now three!) would see the world.
17. He is pretty much fearless. Or pretends to be :)
18. He is loyal. Even when people treat him like $hit he is still willing to give them another shot.
19. His views on parenting are mostly in line with mine. And I'm weird on some things.
20. Even when we do disagree, he respects me enough to listen to my opinion before we make a decision together.
21. He is my No. 1 fan. Whenever I've had a bad day, I know I can call or talk to him to vent.
22. He is a saver, but spends when it's important. And reminds me that it's OK to splurge every now and then.
23. He convinced me to breastfeed. I totally didn't want to but now think it's one of the best things I've done as a mom.
24. He's already talking about Baby No. 2. Although a part of me still wants Coop to be an only child. (How backwards is that? Aren't moms usually the ones with baby fever?)
25. He gets along with my friends' hubbys/boyfriends.
26. He'll spend an hour in the card aisle if that's what it takes to find the perfect one.
27. Sometimes he texts me out of the blue in the middle of the day to as how my day is going. And it's always when I need it most.
28. He is a dreamer and encourages me to sit back and think of all the things we'd do if money weren't an issue.
29. He's great at helping me solve puzzles on Wheel of Fortune. We are totally that couple that wants to be on couples week.
30. He watches dumb TV shows like Jeopardy and stuff on the History Channel. And makes me watch it with him so I can learn!
31. He loves to read. I forsee us having "Family Reading Time" when Cooper is a bit older.
32. He treats me like a princess. Most of the time :) Every now and then, I need to be smacked off the throne.  
33. He smells great ...
34. He teaches me to do "boy" things. Like build shelves. Drink whiskey. The good stuff.
35. He totally quit smoking for Cooper. And now when we find Coop with cigarettes someday, hubby can be an example and speak with authority about why Coop shouldn't smoke those nasty things.
36. He tells me when I can uncover my eyes when we are watching a scary movie.
37. When I'm sick, he buys me Sprite and makes me chicken noodle soup.
38. He cares so much about his appearance (but not in a vain way) that I find myself caring more about how I look so people don't think he's "The Settler" in the relationship.
39. He smokes me when we play pool or darts, but takes an @ss kicking when when play air hockey or Big Buck Hunter.
40. He does the grocery shopping - even when he has to ask the store employees where the items on my list are located :)

Happy birthday sweetie! I love you to the moon and back!