Happy Birthday Tyler!

Tyler was supposed to work till midnight or so on his birthday, so we celebrated his day early on his day off instead of on his birthday. We made his favorite breakfast, opened presents in the morning, and made him his favorite dinner. The kids were SOOO excited; it was really sweet to watch the birthday excitement through children's eyes!Wii got Tyler a present he's been asking for since he got a $200 gift card from Best Buy last fall (for signing up for a credit card, buying something on it, and paying it right off). Wiis were always sold out at Best Buy whenever we'd go to shop for one, so finally I made a diligent effort to call Best Buy to see when they'd be in stock. The day I called and got a "Yes, they're in stock" answer from the sales guy, I woke Cole up from his nap, grabbed Tyler's gift card and gunned it over there. There were about a dozen consoles left from their shipment of 100! I was so excited:
1) that I was actually going to surprise Tyler with something he'd been asking for forever, and
2) that the bulk of it was paid for by a gift card!
It was so hard keeping a straight face when Tyler would ask, "Have you called Best Buy yet? It's been a month--surely they'd have a shipment come in by now..." I would usually answer, "Please don't ask me anymore. I'm trying my best, and if I can get one, I really want to surprise you and not spoil it for you." He said he had no idea that that's what he was getting. YAY!!
There are thousands of reasons why I LOVE this guy. I'll just name a few:

• His faith is strong, and he puts his family first. His greatest joy comes from his family, and that's what keeps him going on those days he wants to throw in the towel and be done with residency.
• He loves his own family tons--Mom, Dad, brothers & sister. The 5 Nelson kids are great friends and out of control.
• He's the cutest dad. He can't get enough of baby Annie... he is always holding her and snuggling her.
• He plays with Cole like boys do, and Cole eats it up... Making forts, flying him like superman or Buzz Lightyear--all of the physical stuff that mommy doesn't do well.
• He's always teaching Whitney. She loves to ask, "How was work today, Dad?" And Tyler loves to answer, "I saw a lady with LOTS of tooth bugs on her teeth. She didn't brush..." or "Today I helped a kid who ate too much junk food..." Needless to say, after hearing these stories, Whitney is intrigued with brushing her teeth well and eating healthy.
• Tyler sets a good example of exercising and the kids love to do their "exercises" with him.
• I really think that no matter how much money he makes, he'll still choose his calculator watch over any nice watch.
• He's the hardest worker I know. My sister & brother-in-law call him the Energizer Bunny because he does so much on so little sleep, and still makes time for more!
• He hardly ever gets sick. Whenever he's starting to feel a little sick, he goes for a jog... hmmm, makes sense to me?! But it works for him!
  
• He makes me laugh harder than anyone I know. He can get me out of a down mood in no time.
• He is a great listener. Our favorite dates are the ones where we just walk and talk and plan our future together.
• Whenever I'm upset about something, he listens well, then makes me laugh, and then helps me see the brighter side of things.
• He's a whiz at Spanish. (I'm sure getting his undergrad in Spanish helped him with that.) He knows how to say the most random things and remembers them. For example: "hedgehog"--who seriously learns that word in another language!? My babe, that's who!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!