Eight things on your eighth

You, Tobias, are a treasure.  What we see on top is sparkly good, but what we find when we dig down deep is rich and precious.

1.  You have a mind that holds a barely-believable number of memories.  You remember foods I made years ago, you recall experiences from what seems far too early in your existence, and you file away details about people so that you can love on them later.

2.  You are your own man.  You decided to love chickens because you like birds and no one else you know had chosen chickens as a favorite.  And while you aren't into attention for your achievements, you like to stand out for who you are.

3.  You love to thank people.  I never have enough thank you card ideas to satisfy your desires to get to work.

4.  You are generous.  You will spend all of your money on someone else, and you will give up your time to help when someone is frustrated.

5.  You are loyal to your family.  Even on a day when we have annoyed you or seemed to offer only the opposites of what you in your independent, stubborn side want, when push comes to shove you choose us every time.

6.  You are diligent.  You set goals and then get to work on them, and it pays off.  This year's baseball season taught me that about you, as does each day I hear you practice the piano.  You wake up early every morning to get some reading time in, and you are working toward school goals that are set by yourself and unaffected by pressure others might put on you.

7.  You don't have a fake smile.  While in photo situations that can make me a little crazy, I love that you project real emotions.  I will give up my picture-perfect hopes for always knowing how you are feeling.

8.  You love to celebrate.  You typed out your birthday invitations, wrote me a long list of party foods (6 meals worth!), thought through ways to give your guests a fun time.  You are the first to remind me of a family tradition coming up, the first to have a countdown in mind, and even the first to write a birthday wish list for someone else.  Today, we are so happy to celebrate you, our valuable Toby Joel.  Here's to many more years of getting to know the treasure that is YOU.