Thirty-Three is the Way To Be

Today is Eric's 33rd birthday! We have some Christmas-y fun planned for tonight after work (plus cake and that sort of thing, naturally), but otherwise it's a pretty laid back birthday for him. As for me, I opted to keep with tradition and am spending my day thinking of all the reasons why I love my husband!

In addition to all the reasons previously listed (see: 32, 30, 29, 28, 27, and 26), here are 33 bright, shiny, new reasons why I love Eric!

33 Things I Love About My 33-Year-Old-Husband

(in no particular order)

1. I love that whenever he sees E.J. looking at/playing with a Mickey Mouse, Eric says "Oh, boy! It's Mickey Mouse!" in full-out Mickey voice.
2. I love that he always makes the phone calls that I don't want to make.
3. I love that he is willing to push the jogging stroller for me so that we can all go for family runs together, and I can just focus on running (I'm a newbie!).
4. I also love that he praises my "fast" running pace even though we all know it's far slower than he would run on his own. I appreciate him slowing down for me.
5. I love that he is SO EXCITED about the new Star Wars movie.
6. I love how "Clark Kent" he looks in his new glasses.
7. I love that he is the type of person that is willing to change his opinion on important topics. He actively seeks out convincing arguments on both sides and when presented with information that contradicts his current stance, he will amend his position according to what he now recognizes as truth.
8. I love that in his math classes every day, he writes the date as a math equation. So nerdy, but so adorable.
9. I love that he cares so much about exposing his students to the full range of options before them for college and life after high school.
10. I love how hard he works in search of the perfect next step for him, his career and our family.
11. I love the way he calls E.J. "the big guy." (Ellie must love it too, because she has adopted it herself!)
12. I love that he will always read books to Ellie. Always. I complain about it sometimes, when bedtime has long passed and I'm ready to get her tucked in and get on with our night, but he insists it's important and I know that he's right. I'm glad he doesn't allow that to be brushed aside.
13. I love that when he reads to the kids he creates different voices for all the characters. And, if there are other people around, instead of toning it down (as I would likely do), he embraces it and asks them to read the part of the narrator so he can better focus on his characters.
14. I love the way he stirs pasta.
15. I love the way he stepped up and took care of things when his mother and his grandmother passed away.
16. I love the beautiful words he wrote and spoke about his mother and his grandmother at their memorial services.
17. I love that he always sleeps on the couch without complaint when I am sick, so I can cough and sneeze all night without worrying about disturbing him (and still having the comfortable bed).
18. I love that he is always willing to crack or massage my back at my request.
19. I love that he always tells me I'm beautiful even when I don't feel it. And by the way he looks at me, I know he's not just saying it; he really means it.
20. I love that he is constantly in pursuit of knowledge. He is always reading, studying and learning, and enjoying it.
21. I love that he always drives when we ride in the car together.
22. I love that he texts me a nice little "good morning, have a good day" message every morning when he leaves for work.
23. I love that he takes our cars for oil changes for us.
24. I love that he doesn't think twice about donning a tiara and sitting down for a princess tea party with Ellie.
25. I love the way he eats Kit-Kats (even though it's wrong).
26. I love that as soon as he saw I was feeling sad about my sister leaving for another six months (at least) in Japan, he started talking about ways to get me over there for a visit, even if he can't come with me (and of the two of us, he has always been the one who wants to visit Asia). He can really be very selfless like that.
27. I love that he is always willing to give the kids use of the entire house for their play, while I usually try to contain them (read: contain the mess) to the main living area. He wants them to explore!
28. I love that he is so amused when our kids do something clever to get their way, that he will likely give in.
29. I love that he takes Achilles to the vet for his shots for me.
30. I love that he is willing to give up his holidays in our home this year in favor of being in St. Petersburg while my sister is home this Christmas.
31. I love that he points out when it has been a while since we've hugged (by "a while" I mean roughly a day) and makes sure to remedy the situation.
32. I love that he did Japanese cosmetic face masks with Heather and me over Thanksgiving.
33. I love how much he values our marriage and how steadfastly committed he is to sharing a long, happy life together with me.

Happy birthday to a truly great man!