Happy Birthday, Carson

Carson's birthday is today. He's twenty-seven and this is the fifth birthday of his that I get to celebrate (23, 24, 25, 26, 27). Being so close to Christmas, his birthday is rarely as special for him as I'd like to make it, but to him that's not so big of a deal. We both work today, but it's a bit later in the day, so we get to have a slow start to our day, a birthday lunch, and perhaps even a little birthday shopping (we decided that black dress shoes are his big birthday present so we have to pick them out. His current ones look like pilgrim shoes, and not in a good way if there is one.). 

In honor of his birthday, here are 27 things about Carson, in no particular order and very random.

1. He works really hard. Whether it's a job or it's school or something he's volunteering to do (like nursery at church) he wants to do it WELL. When I was looking for a job a year or so ago, he kept telling me "You have to treat looking for a job like your full-time job."  He's the only person I know who actually likes looking for jobs and loves what he does, no matter what it is.

2. He loves animals, particularly cats. He's also entertained by watching the squirrels in our backyard and will tell me about their antics.

3. He has strange taste in movies and music. It's not off-beat as much as it is really random. He loves movies by John Wayne and music by Taylor Swift. And everything in between.

4. When he likes something, Carson will call it "phenomenal". Every baby he sees is "THE cutest baby I have EVER seen", but he means it. He appreciates anything in life. When I make meals, he proclaims them the BEST thing ever.

5. He walks to work (over a mile) so that I can drive (it takes me 8 minutes if I do walk so...). He says it's because he likes the walk, but it's also because he's very giving like that.

6. Carson likes pretty much all foods, but only tolerates mushrooms for me (I found out this year that he doesn't love them but has never said anything) and doesn't like olives.

7. He LOVES games and probably more than that, loves smack-talking during games. I think it makes the experience better for him.

8. He is a learner. You likely knew that, but even when he's on break or not taking a class in a subject, he'll read books to learn more and teach himself a language.

9. He loves whitewater kayaking and misses it so much. If the opportunity presents itself, we will move back to the Northwest to accommodate that hobby.

10. He loves kids, particularly babies. He's good (and a million times better than I am) at crowd control and playing outside and games and fun things with older kids - I like babysitting with him.

11. He likes obscure and funny things. His favorite PJs are his Cookie Monster ones and he loves the bacon ones his mom sent this year.

12. He can quote a movie almost fully after seeing it once (and I can't even remember the plot when I've seen it five times, so he makes up for me there) and sing or hum lyrics to the song that was in the background in a movie. I guess that makes him observant. I think it's just amazing.

13. He does the dishes 98% of the time, and is a huge help around the house. He more than pulls his weight around here. Thanks to him, I more than don't pull my weight around here.

14. He would be content doing almost anything career-wise. Nothing is below him or off-limits. If God were to stop the track he's on right now, I know that he would make an amazing plumber or firefighter or Arby's manager ;) Seriously, he's good at it all and I'm impressed by how he owns whatever it is that he's pursuing.

15. He cooperates for pictures. He used to refuse pictures, and when I'm being particularly pushy, he does still, but nine times out of ten, Carson smiles for pictures or takes them when asked. Considering the number of pictures I take, this is astonishing. He often takes better pictures than I do, too. 

16. He loves sweets. Candy is a love of his, but pastries, pies and baked goods are his first love, treat-wise.

17. He looks really great in glasses. They also seem to add to his IQ, I think.

18. Carson loves Christian rap music and sings it at the top of his lungs when cleaning. I think it's so strange (this goes with #3).

19. He has had pneumonia a large amount of times for a person his age. He had it the first Christmas we were married, which also fell on his birthday, while we were on a mini-vacation. He acted fine, just a little sick, so when I finally made him go to the doctor, his temperature was 106.9. So now I know that I need to really watch him suspiciously when he's not feeling well.

20. He's up for anything. Some (most) date nights, we have a plan to go out, but then we decide that we really just want to wear ugly sweatpants and watch a Redbox. And those end up being great times. And then when I randomly suggest building a snowman at 9pm, he's game for that. 

21. He is the first to apologize most of the time. If we have a disagreement, he will definitely turn around and say "You know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." And now we can all pray that this rubs off on his mean old wife (me). 

22. He thinks I'm pretty even when I'm not. I've yet to see the real person who wakes up and looks fabulous. And while Carson wakes up with smushed hair and a funny face and I laugh, he says "Oh, you look beautiful today". Then again, perhaps that was because he needed those glasses? ;)

23. He has a heart for people. In groups, Carson is always looking for the loner, the new person, the quiet one, the person he hasn't met. He seeks people out and tries to draw them out, introduce them to other people and hang out with them as much as he's able. 

24. He is never lazy. Ever. If we have so much as five minutes of downtime, Carson is grabbing a book, or language flash cards, or his computer to answer emails. His days off are full of productivity. He doesn't get enough sleep because of this, so when he has rare sleep-in days and gets those full 6-8 hours of sleep, he feels like his time is wasted. 

25. He loves surprises. He enjoys leaving flowers randomly and trying to build up the suspense for Christmas. He goes about these things in a sensitive way though because while those things are fun, he knows that it would not be good to, say, have a surprise party on my birthday or have the server sing to us at a restaurant. 

26. He loves sports but isn't obsessive about them. He plays racquetball sometimes, loves watching football when he can (his favorite NFL team is the 49ers), loves baseball, wants to take up a number of sports, but isn't a crazy fanatic. Since my dad isn't either, I don't think that this is crazy or weird, but it is nice that I get Carson to myself instead of sacrificing him to a TV on Sunday afternoons.

27. He is a good leader. He's an over thinker, so he doesn't always feel this as strongly as I do, but he encourages me and prays for us and and reminds me of the gospel every day. 

Happy Birthday Carson!