To my husband, on his twenty-fith birthday

100 Reasons Why I Love You (let me count the ways. . .)

1. Your mouth
2.Your eyes
3.Your nose
4.Your smattering of freckles
5.Your wavy mess of curly curls
6.Your laugh
7.Your sense of humour
8.Your paternal instincts
9. Your massages
10.Your smile
11.Your empathy
12.Your lack of judgment for others
13.The fact that you let me buy any camera equipment that we can afford
14. The fact that you searched Ebay tirelessly for a month before Christmas until you found my new DSLR for under $200
15. Your willingness to help me keep Baboo still while I torture him by taking 100 photos
16. Your loyalty
17. Your respect for others
18. How much you love your son
19. Your playful nature
20. Your concern for the earth
21. Your passionate pursuit of knowledge
22. How much you value education
23. How far you've come in your self-confidence since we met
24. Your love of dogs
25. Your love for the mountains
26. Your willingness to tolerate beach vacations for me
27. Your inherent sense of direction
28. Your confidence in me
29. Always giving others the benefit of the doubt
30. Not minding if the neighbours are loud as long as they're having fun
31. Your willingness to take bathroom breaks for me every half an hour because I pee like a racehorse
32. The fact that you don't complain too much when I want to spend all day at the mall
33. Your aspirations
34. Your willingness to change diapers
35. The way that you make Baboo laugh like no one else can
36. Your fascination with squirrels
37. Your physical strength
38. Your emotional strength
39. Your open mind
40. Your passionate consumption of slurpees and Oreos
41. Your faith
42. The way you think before you speak
43. How carefully you drive
44. Your politeness to strangers
45. Your generosity
46. Your hugs
47. Your kisses
48. Your artistic talent
49. Your talent as a writer
50. Your attention to detail
51. The fact that you think I'm beautiful with no make-up and grubby clothes
52. How supportive you were when I was woefully overdue
53.The fact that you gave me daily massages when I was pregnant
54. The fact that you cried when you saw our son on the ultrasound machine for the first time
55. The fact that you want to adopt our next child and give someone a home who would otherwise not have one
56. The fact that you think I look good with my hair natural (and afro-like)
57. Your punctuality
58. Your love of art
59. Your friendship
60. Your lack of superficiality
61. Your willingness to wear Our Sweet Baboo when we're out and challenge stereotypes
62. The fact that you want to celebrate International Women's Day instead of Valentines Day
63.  The fact that you are taking a Women's Studies Class
64. The fact that you like angry feminist music
65. How good you've become financially
66. Your intelligence
67. Your creativity
68. Your willingness to watch bad tv with me
69. Your willingness to buy me bad tv on DVD because we don't have cable
70. The fact that you watch Our Sweet Baboo every morning for a couple hours so I can sleep in
71. How affectionate you are
72. How proud you are of our kid
73. Your desire to see the world
74. Your passion for human rights
75. How much you help out around the house
76. The fact that you're the first to notice if we're almost out of diapers
77. The fact that you make most of the bottles
78. How supportive you are of my breastfeeding, especially in those early days when it was really tough
79. The fact that you don't mind me breastfeeding in public and don't care if I don't cover up
80. Your consideration for the feelings of others
81. Your willingness to try exotic foods
82. How quick you are to apologize
83. The fact that you appreciate literature
84. The fact that you realize that our son is his own a person with a personality and feelings of his own, and that you want to nurture, not stifle that (even when he makes us want to scream)
85. Your self-sacrificing nature
86. You're a good cook
87. You're romantic
88. How much our sweet Baboo loves you
89. Your friendliness despite your shyness
90. The way you put others at ease
91. The fact that you support my compulsive need to buy every childrens' book that's on sale for our baby
92. The fact that you watch Baboo several times a week so I can take a bubble bath and read
93. How excited you get when the new episode of LOST is posted
94. How excited you get when watching trailers of a videogame you're excited about
95. Your work-ethic
96. The fact that you'd rather walk than drive
97. The fact that you are a technical wizard
98. How handy you are around the house
99. The fact that you are not afraid to cry.
100. The fact that you are the best husband I could ask for, and best possible father to our son.

Thanks for being you. We love you. Happy Twenty-Fifth!