Happy Birthday, Honey!!

I should have written this yesterday, but between meetings, a family dinner to celebrate, and phone calls, I didn't have time to blog.
So sorry, Steve, but your birthday blog is a day late. Just think of it as an extended celebration!
Because my husband is now (gulp) 28 years old, I'm listing 28 reasons why I love this man...or why I'm happy to be married to him...or why I'm grateful for him. It all pretty much means the same thing--I am one lucky woman.
Here goes!!
1. He is just so cute. I still get butterflies when I see him.
2. He's an amazing daddy. Watching how Jack's face lights up when Steve walks into a room just makes my heart melt.
3. I love how he walks up behind me when I'm working in the kitchen and wraps his arms around my (rapidly expanding) middle, then pulls me in to lean towards him.
4. He's hilarious. Not a day goes by that he doesn't make me laugh--which is important to me!
5. His testimony. Hearing him bear it in class (he's our ward's new Gospel Doctrines teacher) is one of my favorite things in the world.
6. He's talented--getting to see him perform in Beauty and the Beast was pretty awesome--especially when I got to tell people, "Yeah--you know Lumiere? I'm married to that guy. I know, I know. I'm pretty lucky."
7. He's good at figuring things out--he's assembled probably 80% of our furniture--with only my help (which is probably worse than doing it by himself).
8. He's creative.
9. He's thoughtful and considerate.
10. He thinks I'm beautiful, and tells me so when I need to hear it most--even now, when I generally resemble a beached whale.
11. He didn't kiss me till I was 21 years old, just because he knew it was a goal I had set (loooong story).
12. He waited for me when I went gallavanting off to Taiwan for a year and a half to serve a mission.
13. He loves our son and plays with him any time he has a spare minute.
14. He is a hard worker--he puts everything he can into his job to make sure he is successful.
15. He provides for our family.
16. He's a very good cook--and likes to do it when he has the time. He's especially good at desserts.
17. He loves his family. One of the first things that attracted me to him was how he talked about his mom.
18. He loves my family, and (despite what my teenage sisters may say) my family loves him. It's amazing to me how easily and how quickly he fit in with my crazy family...but I guess the fact that he's just as (if not more) crazy than they are helped a lot, too. :)
19. He's committed to the Gospel.
20. He's considerate of others, whether he knows them well or not.
21. He has always treated me like a queen. A big reason why I fell in love with him in the first place was that I never had to feel second-rate...he acted as though I was incredible, and because he treated me that way, I felt incredible.
22. His love of all things Halloween and Disney. It's just so endearing.
23. He watches chick flicks with me...and doesn't complain!
24. He is so easy to talk to--from the first date we went on, I've been comfortable talking with him about anything.
25. The fact that he loves living in Snowflake. When I first started dating him, I never thought we would end up living in a small town--yet here we are! And we love it!
26. His intelligence. He is so darn smart.
27. The way he snuggles with me at night before he falls asleep--even though I know it's not his favorite sleeping position.
28. His goodness. He is a genuinely good person, and I am always impressed by things he says or does to show his integrity, charity, and kindness.

I could go on and on and on--but because he's only 28, that's all the reasons you get this year. Thanks for marrying me, Steve!!