Donovan is so much fun to play with these days. And this is what it looks like when he invites you to play:
Favorite Activities:
Music: Laurie Berkner, especially the Dinosaur song. Loves to play instruments, sing, etc. We took a music class this year and I was amazed at how well he participated. He'd follow along with the teacher and really do the things she demonstrated, like waving the sticks and saying Ahhhhh, and then Shhhhh. He even ran to her to do tonal patterns, and would actually repeat what she'd sing. I have the impression that Donovan may actually be musical. He loves music class and all the instruments we have at home, especially the whistles. He'll sit with me at the piano playing around for long periods of time. And, he doesn't particularly want to listen to me or his Daddy sing, which makes it seem like he might have an ear for music =)
Bath Time: Bath time is usually with Daddy. He likes splashing and playing with all the toys, although as the year has gone by he has been getting a little less enthusiastic about it. He still runs for the tub when we suggest it, but he doesn't often request it.
Painting, especially Do-a-Dots: It's been fun to start introducing crafts that both kids can do recently. We did huge do-a-dot paintings to make wrapping paper for Daddy's 12/12/12 birthday, and Donovan loved it, so we get those out whenever he asks to paint. I recently set up the easel in the garage, and that's been fun too! Other than those crafts, he loves play-doh, although mostly he asks you to make balls with the play-doh which he then squishes. He also likes stickers! And he colors with markers, pencils and pens.
Balls: Balls are still a favorite. We've been playing some soccer games lately with family. He loves running around after the ball, but when he catches it he wants to hold it so he doesn't lose it again! He hits balls off the baseball tee, throws balls, and catches fairly well! He also likes balloons but thanks to Mama's paranoia he doesn't get them often. Green Car: Donovan loves the car. He's always been a good baby when it comes to riding in the car, and he still loves it. He especially likes riding in cars he doesn't get to use often, like Daddy's green car, or Aunt Jen's red car, or Grandma's BIG car. I thought for a while we'd have to get a red van of our own to get him to come home from Aunt Jen's house the other day. He looks for buses, fire trucks, and trains.
Dancing, Gymnastics. His little dances are so cute. Oh, and his bow is the cutest I've ever seen! He took a little Mommy and Me style gymnastics class, but I think he learns more from his sister. He does a lot of somersaults these days! Usually they end up sideways, but he keeps trying!
Sister: Donovan adores his sister. They play so well together right now! They often disappear into their hiding places. I can usually hear them giggling through the monitor. One of them will come up with a game, and the other is usually excited to take part. Donovan will invite sister to "pay legos meee?" with the cutest little rising sound in his voice on the me part. And he pats his chest to emphasize that he wants her to play it with him. They will race around on the pillow racers together. Sometimes they even play ball, although that's hit and miss because sometimes Donovan can't bear to let the ball out of his control. Watching them hug each other is adorable and hilarious. They always end up rolling around on the floor giggling helplessly.
Dogs: For a while Donovan was absolutely dog crazy! He'd point them out and giggle when he got to pet them. He seems to be getting a little timid around them now, but he still likes to watch from a distance!
Pretend Play: Donovan has a few games of pretend that he does all the time now. It's so adorable! I love seeing his imagination develop. He has started loving horses and cowboys. He rides his dinosaur or the ride on pony we have around the house yelling, "Whee-ha! Giddyup! and Yeehaw!" He has a cowboy hat that he waves in the air, and sometimes a pool noodle he uses as a lasso. He repeatedly watches the two backyardigans episodes about cowboys. (Horsing Around and Riding the Range) His favorite lego right now is a pony that he hardly let go of the first week we got it.
He's also pretending to be a pirate a lot. This started with a Backyardigans episode. He says "Pirate. Arrrrgh!" And he puts on the pirate hat and patch. There's another Backyardigans episode where they are bikers, and he makes muscles and says "grrrr."
Flying and Climbing on Daddy: He loves it when Eric flies him on his feet in the air. He's really good at balancing up there now!
Counting: Eric used to count Donovan to sleep, just slowly and methodically counting until he fell asleep. I think this really stuck with him, because he often counts all the way to 19! Granted, he usually starts at three or four, but he definitely knows the pattern. If you say twenty for him, he will continue to twenty-one, twenty-two, and so on. He also seems to be able to look at something and see how many he has. He asked for four crackers one day, after I'd put three crackers in each of his hands (three for him, three to take to Serenity). He transferred one cracker to the other hand, and gave Serenity two. Pretty cool! =)
Letter O: He knows all his uppercase letters now, and I believe all the basic letter sounds. He definitely preferred the letter O for a long time this year! He would point that letter out all over town. I think he knows most of the lowercase letters as well, except for the hard ones like lowercase L, which often looks like an I. It's hard to tell though because he's not that eager to answer questions. He usually prefers to speak up on his own. I have to sneak in a few questions at a time so he doesn't catch me quizzing him. =)
Cousins: Donovan adores his cousins! He asks to go see "CaseyBarrett" which he says as one word. He's starting to get pretty rough playing with the big boys, which makes them laugh. They are both so good about playing with him and watching out for him. He also loves hugging Raegan!
