Kim Shares A Sweet Birthday Message For Kanye — Because She Knows She Has To

Kim Kardashian West pulled out a photo from her archives to fete husband Kanye's birthday today. While we're sure she has a photo stream that's updated more often than BuzzFeed's breaking news page (she has a book of selfies called Selfish, after all), it looks like Kim took the time to really look back. Way back.

"Happy Birthday babe I love you so much! You inspire me every day to be a better person! I'm so grateful for you," Kardashian wrote on Instagram.

In the photo, which looks to be pre-Yeezy, Kanye is wearing Justin-and-Britney-approved denim on denim with old-school Nikes, and Kim has on a pair of military-inspired high-heel boots and an all-black outfit. But what's really stealing the show isn't the outfits — it's Kanye's ever-elusive smile. The photo is a candid portrait of the love between the two, and between Kanye's break from the spotlight and Kim's robbery in Paris, it's nice to see them both sharing a smile.

In addition to the Instagram photo, Kim posted an all-caps birthday explainer on her own site. In the note, she mentions the expectation she post something on social media to celebrate Kanye's big day. Kardashian explains that if she didn't, she knows everyone would start suspecting there's trouble between the two. She knows how to play the game, but she's also sincerely offering some good vibes.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABE! I KNOW YOU'RE NOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA ANYMORE, SO YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE IT ANYWAY — AND I'M GOING TO BE WITH YOU TO TELL YOU! BUT IF I DON'T POST IT, THEN ALL THE STORIES WILL START SO…I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" We're guessing Kanye was right there with her when she wrote it. Kim doesn't let the media spin her story. With everything that happened with Taylor Swift and "Famous," Kardashian has proven that she's the one who does the spinning.

Kim and Kanye are also taking some time to relax (the couple just spent a long weekend in the Bahamas — racking up a tab of nearly half a million dollars), and the birthday boy sure has a lot on his plate. Kanye's still looking to launch a color cosmetics line, his ongoing collaboration with Adidas has branched off into a second line, Calabasas, and introduced a line of fine jewelry.

Kanye's turning 40 this year, and it seems like he's just getting started.