"Honey, I'm old."

On November 15 Robert celebrated his 27th birthday. It was a Saturday so we got to sleep in a bit more than usual. I whispered to him, "Happy Birthday" and then he looked at me in all seriousness and said, "Honey, I'm old." I just started laughing. I hope he's not old at 27. I am anticipating many more years with him.

We celebrated by getting a babysitter (thanks Cheri and Brett) and going to the afternoon showing of the new James Bond movie. It was pretty good. Kinda weak as far as plot is concerned, but still entertaining. We invited my sister, Liz, and her husband, Jason, to come to the movie with us. It was fun to go somewhere with no kids and act like kids ourselves.
After the movie we invited Liz and Jason back to our apartment for cake.
Robert's favorite birthday cake is the Rainbow Chip cake with the Rainbow Chip frosting. Will he let me make him a homemade cake? No, it has to be from the box. He's very specific with his cakes and this is the only kind he's ever let me make him on his birthday.

He had a little help blowing out the candles (Nate thought it was his birthday again) and then we all had some cake. If you've never had this kind of cake before I'll give you fair warning. A small piece is more than enough. It's so sweet you can feel the cavities forming.
I always let Robert request what he'd like for dinner on his birthdays. This year he chose homemade gnocchi with a vodka cream sauce. Yum! Let me tell you, gnocchi is messy to make! It was fun for me to learn some new cooking techniques, though, and experiment with a new recipe.

Since things are a bit tight right now, as they are for everyone, I wasn't able to get Robert anything too special for his birthday so I thought I would embarrass him a little and list 27 wonderful things that I love about him (listed in no particular order).

1. His laugh. It's very distinct and very infectious.
2. His smile, also infectious.
3. I love his big blue eyes and I hope someday a child of ours inherits them.
4. How hard he works for us.
5. His ambitious nature.
6. His constant wish to learn.
7. His passion for what he loves.
8. How he has to goof around with everything electronic and know all gizmos backwards and forwards before he can just let them be.
9. How he approaches things with optimism.
10. How he always admits he's wrong or that he made a mistake or that he's sorry even though it should be me who's doing it most of the time.
11. How we have to get to movies 30 minutes early, no matter what the movie, for good seats and the previews.
12. How he gives me the time I need almost everyday to take care of myself. He's always worried about my well-being.
13. How he gets along with his siblings so well and keeps in good contact with them.
14. How he respects his parents and still seeks their advice.
15. How he's completely committed to me and Nate.
16. How I see him trying to improve as a father and teacher for our son.
17. He loves the Gospel and his Father and Heaven and Savior and he's constantly teaching me things and surprising me with his intuitiveness.
18. How he loves to travel just like me.
19. How he watches me during mushy moments of shows and movies out of the corner of his eye with a big grin to see if I'm smiling and/or tearing up.
20. How he does dishes for me once a week.
21. How he introduced me to 711 slushies and pop-rocks.
22. How he loves to dress up in suits and ties. (He looks so good!)
23. How he volunteers to watch Nate so I can go out with girlfriends for as long as I'd like.
24. How he holds my hand when he's driving.
25. How he tells me I look nice every time I try to dress up for him.
26. His hair. I tease him about having "McDreamy" hair. It's true though, very thick and wavy. Some of his students even told him his hair was distracting...what's he teaching, anyway? :)
27. How he can still make my heart skip a beat by just giving me a quick call between classes or flashing me his smile.

I know, really sappy, but I love this man! He is everything to me and, at the risk of sounding over-dramatic, I don't think I'd survive with out him. I love him more everyday (I know, cliche) and I am so thankful everyday that I was the one he chose to share his life with.

I love you, Robert, forever.