Rob's Birthday Tribute (22 Days Late)

I've been meaning to post a birthday tribute to Rob ever since he turned 32 on January 6th. However, as we have had issues transferring photos from our old computer to our new computer, I neglected to do so until today. I finally got the brilliant idea to email the photos to myself from the old computer and then download them onto the new one. So at long last here they are--

32 Endearing Qualities of my Robbie:

1) Rob has a little known, yet quite uncanny, resemblance to Vincent Van Gogh


2) Rob is the least vain, least pretentious person I know. He is the last person you will ever see wearing a pair of designer jeans (or even getting a haircut for that matter) and the first person to underplay every major accomplishment he has ever had in his life. Rob is one of the most accomplished, talented people around, but only those of us priviledged to know him very well (and the people we have bragged to) would ever know it.

3) Rob is incredibly loyal to his friends and family.

4) Rob quietly does what's right without any expectation of praise or attention. Though most of his good works go largely unnoticed, he doesn't realize it because his motivation for goodness is never any sort of reward. He is good because that is who he is.

5) Rob is amazing at balancing the demands of a busy job and a young family.


6)Rob LOVES having fun and laughing with his little girl.



7) Rob also loves kissing, cuddling, and taking care of our little princess.





8) Rob has an uncanny ability to flow over and around life's difficulties rather than demand the absence of them. He sees crisis in its proper perspective.

9) Rob does not get upset about life's injustices, but rather passes them off as part of living in a world of people who are not perfect.

10) Rob is the only person I know who has taken a jog through Versailles.


11)Rob has a hilarious relationship with food. When he was a child, he would ration his Halloween candy to make it last until the next Halloween. He does similar things even now when it comes to Oreos and orange cupcakes. However, when he determines it's time to eat something, he thoroughly enjoys it.



12)Behind the intelligent, successful lawyer lies a big beach bum.



13) Rob is confident in himself, yet humble and free from foolish pride.

14) Rob is kind. I can only remember one time in our marriage that he has ever said anything unkind to me and it was in the first month of our marriage and I'm pretty sure I deserved it ;)

15) When I was feeling the need to 'nest' but too "large with child" and exhausted to carry it out by myself, Rob by my side doing most of the work for me (though I'm sure he deemed most of it unneccessary).




16) Rob sees the best in everyone. In a world where most of us seem to love to bring each other down, Rob rarely has unkind things to say about anyone.

17) Vivi's a pretty good judge of character and she ADORES her daddy. She always gets really excited and puts on a big smile when he comes home from work (if she's awake!)


18) Rob's motto is "Live and Let Live"

19) I know Rob will be fabulous at stretching our children to reach their full potential (o.k. so this is a lame pun, but it was the only way to fit in this adorable picture and the statement is totally true).


20) Though Rob says it does not come naturally for him, he has put forth a lot of effort to think of some fabulously romantic ideas for anniversaries, birthdays, and the like, including...

taking me to the most romantic place on earth


making a rose pathway from my bed to the kitchen where my Valentines gift was waiting for me


and covering our apartment with tiny post-it notes stating different reasons why he married me


Is this fabulous or what???

21) Rob has a natural gift for photography. He takes some incredible pictures. In fact, last year my sister and her husband used one of the photos he took of them vacationing here in California for their Christmas card photo.

22) In the words of Grant Malquist, Rob is an amazing "sportsman." He truly is very athletic. He is fabulous at basketball, football, golfing, and he runs at super speed.



23) Vivi gets her good looks from her daddy.


24) Rob will always keep me around for my gingerbread house making and pumpkin carving skills. He has proclaimed himself the worst constructor of gingerbread houses around. Here's his gingerbread house from this last Christmas. It's not THAT bad, right?


25) Rob once let me get a kitten despite the fact that he knew it would be a disaster AND that he is allergic to cats. Funny thing was, when we gave the cat away a month later (because it was driving ME crazy and was having accidents all over the house), he was actually a little sad to see it go.


26) Rob has an inner peace that I just don't see in most people.

27) Rob is very even-tempered and slow to anger.

28) Rob is very satisfied with life. He rarely complains of anything.

29) Rob is the type of person who, when it's Saturday night and you have a Young Women's lesson to prepare for Sunday, will run to Micheal's with you, clean the house while you prepare your lesson, and stay up until 2am with you making handouts without uttering a single word of complaint. (Yes, I am ashamed to admit that this did happen)

30) Rob knows how to work very hard, put he also knows when to relax.

31) Rob is always willing to listen to me even if I am completely wrong. When I am frazzled, he has an incredible capacity to patiently listen until I calm down.

32) Rob respects and compliments intelligent, accomplished women while simultaneously celebrating the incomprehensible worth of motherhood.

Happy Birthday Rob! Here's celebrating you and the fabulous 32 years this world has been blessed by your presence here. I LOVE YOU!!