Eleven!

G-man's big day:

1. Getting up at 5am to open presents before his dad left for work. :)

A water balloon pumper from his younger brother

A movie and a game from his sis

Lego Camper Van and candy from his older bro

A garbage truck Lego set from us

I wish I could've captured this expression better...

A Kindle Fire 7 from us

After present time, we went out to Dunkin' Donuts.

His favorite donut place

And then it was off to the zoo (thanks to Grammy & Papa's gift of a zoo pass)

The very first thing he wanted to see was the alligator (located three squares to the left of his eyes) ;)

This bird perched on my head and proceeded to peck at it and bite my hair.  I was a bit eager to get him off.  He wasn't eager to leave. ha!

Another exhibit that he wanted to see was the reptile exhibit.

And then off to the large turtle

Obligatory elephant pic

And a new addition to the zoo, the dinosaur

Lastly we went on the train ride

After the zoo, we went to his favorite restaurant: Baha Burger.

He LOVES this place, and they have fairly healthy food for a burger joint.

The cashier overheard me say "birthday boy" and later came over to the table giving him a chocolate shake.

Baha Burger in Hoover...We highly recommend this place.  Always excellent service.

Following Baha Burger, we went home, and I began to make the cake, while the kids played.

It's just not a birthday if the electric beaters and (the non electric ;) spatula are not being licked.

When he was one, he loved sitting in laundry baskets.  Ten years later is no different. :)

For dinner he chose: Honey mustard chicken, asparagus, and loaded baked potato.

And the birthday cake... A decision that he finally made the night before his birthday.  Don't judge, I was pressed for time. ;)

This cake kept me up the night before.  I couldn't imagine how I was going to make a chess cake.  Then I remembered an old mini set that we had. For me, the cake was a disaster: It was crumbly and falling apart so I had to keep it in the pan.  It was a bear to ice it, and the cake wanted to ball up in the frosting.  And as always, I forgot that Gavin's birthday falls in a warmer season, so the gel writing melted and ran down the cake.  He didn't care though!!