21 months!

Since my last blog at the beginning of December a lot has been going on in such a short amount of time! I have been on many adventures, outings and am learning new things daily!

I ended up getting to celebrate Christmas 3 times, so as you can imagine each one was exciting and I of course was spoiled to no end!

Christmas #1: Frequent Flyer Once Again - NC Bound!

Once again I got to fly the friendly skies...this time my destination was North Carolina! We went around Christmas so we could spend time with my Grandma and Grandpa (my dad's parents) that live there. My Auntie Joy and Uncle Shawn joined my mom, dad and I on the trip and once again I did great on the flight there and took a nice little snooze while we flew high above the clouds to our destination!

From the moment we arrived at my Grandma and Grandpa's house I was non-stop spoiled! My Grandpa always made sure I had a cookie in my hand at all times, and my Grandma had so many toys and books for me to play with it was crazy! She even introduced me to my mom's favorite Christmas show..."The Christmas Story"! Yes, there is a picture of it...because my mom loves that show!

My Grandpa thought that I needed something besides the play kitchen my mom got me, so he decided to one-up her and got me a Black and Decker work bench! (I am not sure who enjoyed it more...Grandpa or me!) 

 

Zoo Time...NC Style!

We decided to take advantage of the warm(er) weather and spend some time outdoors...what better activity then going to the Zoo! It was a beautiful day compared to the weather back home, so we enjoyed a full day outing of seeing the Lions, Tigers and Bears...Oh My...but my favorite thing was the polar bears and the gorillas!

 

Christmas Time #2: Home for the Holidays!

On Christmas Eve dad had to work for part of the day, so mom and I went and surprised him at his office. We brought him lunch and I got to run around and say hi to everyone in his office! Once he got off of work, we hung out at home and had to watch "The Christmas Story" again...because of course that is my mom's favorite show. Dad isn't a fan, but puts up with it once a year...for the full 24 hours it is shown on TV! Yes, my mom likes to have it on for the full 24 hours...it doesn't matter if we are watching or not, she has to have it on! After the 10th time hearing "You'll shoot your eye out" my dad was about done while my mom just smiled and was happy!

On Christmas Eve we kept up with our family tradition and opened up one gift that night...our Christmas PJ's! Mine were extra special because my Auntie Joy picked them out especially for me to wear!

The next morning was Christmas Day and Santa was very good to me! Here I am with my dad's help opening up my stocking.

Once the Santa gifts were looked through, my Auntie Joy and Uncle Shawn came over for brunch and we opened up gifts! After that we spent the rest of the day relaxing and playing! While opening up presents I had to hold and hug each and every one of them!

 

 

Christmas Time #3: Australia or Bust!

The third and final Christmas was a little later than usual because my Grandma and Grandpa (my mom's parents) had just returned home from being in Australia for the close to three months. My cousin, Dominic flew home with them as he is now attending college in ND, so I get to see a lot more of him now, and of course help with with fixing things at Grandma and Grandma's house!!

 

 

Enjoying the fun things!!

Our winter wasn't a bad one this year, and when we finally got snow we took full advantage of it and put my sled that Santa brought me to good use!

I enjoy being outside and playing in the snow, so we made sure to get out and have as much fun as we could this past winter!

 

Add caption

 

While some days were down right cold here, we didn't let that stop us from having fun!

We we went to the indoor rugby games:

 

Played at the indoor playground:

 Played with toys at home too:

 

I even got my first baseball lesson for my soon to be coach (my neighbor, Jim!):

 

 

For Valentine's Day we got up early and went to the famous doughnuts place for breakfast...it was packed, so we took our goodies to go. Oh boy, did I enjoy them!! It is a very rare treat to get a doughnut for breakfast so we all enjoyed the special treat!!

And, what is more fun then simply hanging out with my family and making funny faces for the camera  with daddy (and borrowing mommy's scarf??) ha!!

 

Until next time...have a great St. Patty's Day tomorrow! (We are having corn beef!! Yummy!!)

Donovan

 

 

 

 

18 Months - Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!! I hope you are all getting in the holiday spirit and are gearing up for the big guy in the red suit to come and visit you soon.

 

Goodbye Warm Weather...Hello Mr. Winter

There has been a lot of stuff happening since my last update! Gone are the days of spending time at the lake, playing in my sandbox and splashing around in my pool. The cold weather is upon us now, so I have put away my sandals, shorts and t-shirts and switched them out for my winter coat, long pants, sweaters, and as much as I don't like them....my mittens. (Not to worry though, I am an expert at taking my mittens off and saying "No" as I throw them on the ground!) One thing I do enjoy wearing is my winter hat, and if you try to take it off me when I am not ready to let it go I get upset! So, it isn't a big deal to see me running around my house wearing it...check me out lounging at home sporting my winter hat:

 

Household Chores..when do I start getting paid for all of this?

I love to help out around the house as much as I can. You know, like taking the cooking utensils out of the drawer and putting them where I think they should go! I also love the vacuum cleaner so much that I got one of my very own to use around the house. (Mom says if my vacuum cleaner actually sucked up dirt, she would have the cleanest carpets in Minnesota!) So far my record is vacuuming for 35 minutes straight!

Here I am in all my carpet cleaning glory:

 

Besides helping mom inside the house, I am actually a big helper when it comes to yard work! I don't know what my dad would do without my help and supervision. Before the snow fell, I helped my dad with the fall yard work. I have my own lawnmower to use, but sometimes I need to use the big one, because after all....dad needs some help! (For some reason it doesn't make the loud noises when I use it though, only when dad does...I think he is using it wrong!)

 

Tick-or-Treat!

With the falling of the leaves, it can only mean one thing...Halloween!  This year I went as the Great Pumpkin, and I didn't mind having my costume on at all. I helped with handing out candy to everyone that came by our house, and I even got to go trick-or-treating to the neighbor's house. I didn't really understand it though, when they put a piece of candy in my bucket, I took it out and put it back in theirs...this happened a few times and everyone would laugh!

Ready, Set, SWIM!

I have been taking swim class and after this weekend I will officially be a graduate of the Tiny-Tots Swim Class! If you ask me, this class was too easy. I have never had a fear of the water, so jumping in, dunking my head and splashing was a piece of cake for me. Mom and dad took turns being in the water with me, and the only time I get upset is when it is time for the class to be over and I have to get out of the pool. Since I liked the class so much, I get to take another class so I can keep up with my swimming!

 

Thankful

Thanksgiving morning mom and I went to the Mall of America super early and did the 5k to End Hunger race. Since it was inside the mall before it opened, we didn't have to worry about the cold temps outside, so it was a perfect race, for a great cause! We raced for the Second Harvest Food Shelf that was able to donate close to $300,000.00 to help benefit the hunger relief efforts! That was a perfect start to the Thanksgiving holiday, because we have so much to be thankful for and helping others is always important!

Here we are after the race, enjoying the activities they had:

 

Reading Time

I still love reading...books, cards, the paper...you name it!

I love getting cards in the mail, and my Great Aunt Kathy never forgets a holiday, which I love! Here I am reading my Halloween card, which caught my attention and as you can see, I really get excited:

 

I also got one for Thanksgiving too, which I needed to read mid-meal! I kept the card on my tray the whole time and enjoyed reading it over, and over, and over!

 

Besides Cards, I love reading a good book, or two..ok or maybe three at the same time! One of my favorite books right now is this big book called "100 First Words" I have to read it almost everyday before we sit down for dinner. Also, as you can see in the picture below I have learned how to ham it up for the camera, and flash my big smile!

 

As for the paper...well I like to read the ads as much as possible, after all Christmas is coming soon and I need to get my list started! Somehow the coupons got mixed in with the toy sections, and that just can't happen! No worries though, I toss them to the side and keep looking for the biggest toy I can find. I mean, I have been a good boy all year long, so I am sure Santa will be very generous!

 Ho Ho Ho!

Speaking of Santa...I was able to spend some time with the big guy and tell him all about the gifts I would like and that I have been a very good boy this year! He and I had a long conversation as there wasn't anyone in line behind us so I got all of his attention. He was so funny and kept tickling me to make me laugh...oh, and he even let me touch his beard too! I promised I would leave him milk and cookies along with some carrots for his reindeer to have!

 

From my family to yours, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year!!

 

-Donovan

12-15 Month Update!

Excuse me, do I have cake on my face? ha-ha

Well, my first birthday came and went...and one thing is for sure, I LOVE cake! My Auntie Joy made my main birthday cake, and a special little one just for me! The little John Deere tractor on my main cake is very special, as my great-grandpa Vincent had it on his 92nd birthday cake! (He saved it and gave it to me as a special keep sake!)

The party was a great time, and everyone gathered around to sing "Happy Birthday" to me and watch me eat my cake (and get messy!!). Here are some shots of me enjoying my cake:

 

Lake Time

For the 4th of July weekend, we all packed up and headed to the lake for some much needed down time! My Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Joy, Uncle Shawn, Mommy, Daddy and I went!  We stayed for almost a week, and just relaxed, had fun and lots of laughs! While there I enjoyed shoulder rides from my dad, playing in the water, and hanging out on the boat and getting spoiled! We didn't catch any fish, but the Smores were delicious!

 

Summer time Fun

This summer has been a lot of fun and we have been enjoying out time outside. Here is some of the fun things I have done this summer:

 

Brats at the Farmers Market...daddy's "breakfast of champions" as he calls it! We like to head to the farmers market on the weekends when we can to stock up on fruits and veggies that are all locally grown. Plus, all the beautiful flowers are fun to smell, and the people watching is always fun too!

I got a sandbox from my grandpa and I love playing in it. Yes, a lot of the sand ends up on the outside of the sandbox, but I have a blast playing in it so mommy and daddy don't mind!

 

I also got a pool this summer for my Godparents, and since I love my bath so much, I of course love playing in my pool!  I think the whole neighborhood can hear me squeal with excitement and laugh when I am in my pool!

 

My mom finished up coaching her summer men's league which my dad played on. I was at every game and was considered the assistant coach. All the guys loved me and I seem to get all the attention in the tent between games! (They tell me some day I will be captain of the team!)

 

My mom and dad have been bringing me to the man-made lake near our house that has a really nice beach. I love playing in the sand there too, and splashing around in the lake. The beach has been pretty quiet this summer, which is nice for me because I get to play with all the sand I want! (But for some reason Daddy won't let me put it in my mouth to eat!)

We went on a bike ride and stopped off at a local park to play for a little while on the way back home. I am not sure who had more fun, Daddy or me?

My mom bought me a kitchen play set, that is my new favorite toy to play with right now. As soon as I get home from daycare I make a rush over to play and start cooking everyone dinner on it. Maybe some day I will be a chef!

 

 

To finish off the summer, my favorite treat is watermelon...a true summertime snack! I tend to get really messy and sticky while eating it, but I enjoy it so that is all that matters!

 

Two last pictures, one  of me enjoying spaghetti night at home! (Yes, my shirt is taken off and I get really messy and enjoy every minute of it! So does my mom and dad as they laugh and laugh and take tons of pictures of me!) The other is of me about to enjoy my favorite summer grilling food...brat with sauerkraut and grilled veggies! (The sauerkraut is my favorite part!)

Watch out...I am walking!

I just started walking, and now that is all I love to do! I have a new freedom and am able to get around the house really fast now. Mom wasn't ready for me to grow up this fast, but I sure was! I don't like to be carried around anymore, so going from place to place takes a little extra time now because I like to walk by myself!

Here is a video of my first steps!

 Click here to watch me walk for the 1st time!

 

Words, Words and More Words

My favorite word to say right now is "stop" and "ahh-huh" along with "tickle tickle" and "puppy". When you ask me what a puppy says, I will answer with "woof woof"!

I am a talking machine and if you ask me questions I will answer you back with babble, needless to say everyone likes having conversations with me!

 

Until next time,

Donovan