He can't be serious...can he?

[Ama]

I've been dating my bf for eight really great months and knew him for about a year before that. He is seriously the best. We want the same sorts of things out of life, we enjoy doing the same activities, and we have the same priorities. Oh, and he fights fair, which is so important to me because any arguments we have get resolved quickly. He treats me better than I could ever have expected, and is so supportive. He's been really good for me in a personal aspect - I feel so much more mellow around him, and I don't sweat the small stuff. He, in turn, tells me his friends say he's more fun to be around since he's started dating me. Basically, we're head over heels for one another.

 

We spend every night and weekend at either his place or mine. He talks like we live together - his place or my place is known as "home" - and we each do some cleanup duty at both places.

 

He's started making marriage comments, and I'm caught between being pleased and spooked. He's said "Will you marry me?" when he thought I was sleeping, and has said it a couple times while we were both awake (he has a tendency to blurt things out), and I tried to save him any embarrassment by simply not replying. Last night he joked about proposing to me on myspace, to which I told him "Don't. That's as bad as breaking up with someone via email." He told me he was doing it "right now"...did I mention he was a wee bit intoxicated during this exchange?

 

Do I reply to this if he does it or just let it slide? We've talked, and neither of us believe in getting engaged until a minimum year of dating. Also, personal preference, but I'd like to live with him, for real, for a bit before making that committment. Besides, who wants a proposal like that?

 

I'm 99.9% sure I will marry this guy eventually, but I do believe in at least a year of dating before engagement (and so does he, coincidentally). I've spent an awful lot of time with him (once 24/7 for two weeks, bathroom breaks excluded!), but I think caution is always prudent.

 

Thanks!