Three and one...

This is how Jacob likes to celebrate his birthday: Being bombarded with balloons by his son, Gus in the morning...

...followed by a nap and a light snack, before deciding to climb up into our big backyard tree to cut down some dead limbs all by himself, armed with nothing but a rope, a ladder and a chainsaw...yup, I know, he is pretty buff for a 31-year-old...I got the chair out to enjoy the view...and provide backup and be ready to dial 911...

...it's a big tree, but Jacob wouldn't have it any other way...the man enjoys a good challenge...if it wasn't a little bit scary, he wouldn't have any fun...

Finally a good dinner and one/two chocolate cakes (thank you, Cindy, you are a good mom)...and some help blowing out the blaze of candles...what more can a man of 31 want?

It's come to my attention that all bloggers are happily married...at least all the ones I visit. Everyone gushes over how great their respective spouse is, so I'm just adding fuel to the fire of blogging-induced adoration, but I can't help it...because my husband - birthday or not - is pretty much the coolest, smartes, funniest, goodliest, handsomest (is that a word?), handiest (word?) and so-on guy on the planet....I think the key emphasis is that he is all these things for me...he may not be that to others, but to me he is.

The most telling story I know that explains who Jacob is, comes from his sister, Leah. I wasn't even in the picture yet, and I love every nuance of it. The gist of it is that Jacob was only mildly interested in the prospect of driving out into the forest and cutting down a tree for Christmas. What gets other REI-outfitted yuppies frothing at the mouth with wholesomeness, can't get his heart to miss a beat, but when their old Jeep got stuck in the mud a good ways from any civilization on the way to find said Christmas tree, Jacob's day improved markedly. "That's when Jacob started having fun," is how his sister most often words it when she tells the story...and, after knowing the man for four years, I have no doubt that this is true. They got a tree and decorated it, but Jacob's favorite memory of that Christmas was likely a mud-encrusted moment.

He loves to rig and he is good at it. Give him a wire hanger, some duct tape and his two hands, and he finds a way out of the most hopeless and inconvenient situation. He is a connaisseur of sweet spots, knowing just how to tilt something heavy to make it spin like a feather, and he can picture solutions where others throw their hands up in defeat. He is incredibly smart and thoughtful in a modest way that makes me want to shout from the roof tops.

Did I mention (shout) that this guy is amazing? Happy birthday to my awesome husband, Jacob.