David's 9th birthday!

David had an unusual birthday celebration this year -- it was spread out over several days and he loved every minute of it!  The celebration started Sunday afternoon with his uncles and his "Florida friends."

 

 He was excited to receive a long-awaited skateboard from us...

 ...he insisted on sleeping with it that night!

On his actual birthday on Tuesday, he opened gifts throughout the day.  He got a very nice pogo stick from his grandparents Minota and The Uncles.

 

 We were all amazed when his grandma showed him how to pogo -- that woman has talent!

He loved his bag of goodies from G&G McKee -- here he is building his Lego guys.

Abigail got a big hug when he opened her gift and homemade card.

 He was thrilled with his birthday money from the Midlars....

 ...and very happy about a wished-for pottery wheel and nice shorts from his great-grandparents.

 We had his birthday dinner -- hot dogs on the grill, macaroni salad, and tortilla chips with his grandma's dip, along with root beer floats for dessert -- outside by the pool.  That was really fun!

Last but not least, the day after his birthday (he had requested it for his birthday but the grown-ups voted to push it off a day!) we went on a boat ride from Crescent Lake to Corky Bell's restaurant on the St. John's River.  We greeted the resident alligator (yes, he's real) and then went inside, where David got to order Gator Tail for lunch.

 

 The serving staff brought him chocolate cake and sang to him, which he loved!

I failed to take any pictures while we were on the boat, so I stole a couple from my mom. :)

(She chronicled our visit much more consistently then I did, so feel free to visit her blog to see more!)

 

It was a fun-filled birthday celebration for the guy who fills our life with lots of excitement and smiles!