to my birthday boy

Today is David's birthday. Sometimes I think back to the kinds of guys I dated before him. Many of them were wonderful and had some great qualities but none of them compare to David. When I imagine my life with anyone but him . . . it just seems wrong. Here are some little known facts about my guy:

I love this picture of him.

- he loves to eat healthy. I feel so grateful that I have a husband who enjoys vegetables and isn't picky (though he won't eat raw onions). On any given day, if I ask David what he wants for dinner, he will say, "Just steam up some veggies."

- he read the last Twilight book one weekend when we were at the cabin a few years ago. There was nothing else to do (we don't have TV or internet up there) and someone had left the book there. I thought it was funny and about halfway through he asked, "Wait, so who's the Volturi?" Head desk.

- whenever he feels tension in the air, he will hum. Sometimes it drives me nuts when I'm mad but I can't help but appreciate that he's consistently cheerful and works hard to ease contention in our home.

- he is incredibly athletic. I don't just mean that he's good at sports. I mean that if there is any sort of activity that involves using your body, David will win. He's really strong, competitive and has incredible physical discipline.

- he speaks Tagalog after serving a mission in the Philippines for two years. When we first started dating, I asked him to teach me something to say in Tagalog. The phrase he taught me was "halikan mo ako" but he didn't tell me what it meant for a while and every time I would say it, he would smile but still wouldn't tell me the meaning. One day I said it and he kissed me. Then he told me that the phrase meant "kiss me" and I pretended to be shocked but I secretly thought it was romantic.

- when we had William, he knew next to nothing about having a baby. His first time changing a diaper was in the hospital and the nurses taught him how to do it. It seemed so foreign to me to have to be taught that as a adult since, in my family, there were babies all over the place. All my brothers knew how to change diapers since they were practically babies themselves. David hadn't been around babies most of his life but he never made a big deal about his lack of experience. He just quietly and quickly learned how to be a dad and he's doing a great job.

I'm really grateful to have a dedicated husband and partner by my side. He treats me with love and respect every day and works really hard to provide for our family, keep us safe and still sacrifice what little time he has to himself to spend with me and the boys. I feel so blessed to have been given a man who perfectly compliments me and that I compliment him too. It's a wonderful thing to be with someone who I am happy to spend eternity with. Happy Birthday, my love.