Happy Birthday, John!

Happy 31st Birthday!

We will happily cheer for your finish of Dam to Dam today, but not the Emmenecker Challenge at Jethro's BBQ after the race :) In honor of Daddy's 31st birthday, Jack and I would made the following list of 31 reasons we love you.

1. Your determination to run your 3rd Dam to Dam with very little training :)
2. How you can turn anything into song. Even pooping on the potty.
3. Jazz Hands. See #2 above.
4. Athletic shorts, white undershirt, black socks and Adidas sandals. Enough said.
5. Your love of sports.
6. Your love of Broadway.
7. Your love of pizza and popcorn.
8. How your mind works. If you could, I think you would turn our monthly refrigerator calendar into a year calendar (or even a decade calendar?) to make sure we are all aware of your next softball game or weekend work day.
   
9. How much research you complete before making a purchase. A polar opposite approach to my impulse buying.
10. Your love for shopping as a family :) Someday we will choose your "conquer and divide" approach, but for now, it's fun to see you squirm and pout at the store.
    
11. Your competitive nature (i.e. tennis match against my parents, circa 2005, and my firm's sand volleyball tournament last night) You really like to win, Mills.
12. Your ever evolving grilling style.
    
13. How much our boys look and act like you.
14. Your love of your family. We can always count on you.
15. How easily riled you can become with very little antagonizing.
    
16. Your curiosity.
17. The monitoring of our family's finances. It's amazing and frightening :)
18. Your love of Palm and despise for Apple.
19. You smell like cabbage.
20. The eternal coach inside you.
21. Your smile.
22. Your laugh.
23. Your reaction to my shopping choices, especially when we shop as a family (#10 above).
24. Amazing speed in googling or wiki-ing anything on your phone.
25. Knowledge of random facts.
26. Amazing memory when it comes to names and stories.
27. Sweet, yet stubborn debating style.
28. The way the boys both melt in your arms.
29. Surprisingly (overly?) cautious parenting style.
30. Your drive for the best deal.
    
31. And, as Jack said, "you are my best friend"
    

And, I promise, by your 40th birthday, I will get your birthday gift right. My creative gifting ideas have a disaster so far. A sports-themed gift one year, including a women's regulation basketball.

Another year, I was thrilled to give you a Blu-ray player in a movie-themed surprise, until you kindly educated me on the benefits of Play Station 3 over a basic Blu-ray player before making the exchange at Best Buy.

And, in similar fashion, thinking my purchase of Madden 2011 for your Play Station this year would be great and seeing your familiar birthday response at midnight last night as you pointed to the game's label "for Play Station 2" That explains why I got such a great deal :)