D is for Donovan

So We Remember

2011-09-15T04:19:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't posted in over a year, but these recent drawings Donovan created inspired me to blog again. I really feel like these needed to be shared. All of the descriptions are in his words.

This is the story of the World Trade Center, as told by Donovan O'Neal, age 5 1/2.

These are the Twin Towers. See the elevators and the windows.

This is when the planes flew into the towers 10 years ago.

This is right after the planes hit. The red is the fire and the black is the smoke.

The pink swirling around is the ash.

This is after the buildings fell down and they had to clean them up with cranes and trucks.

This is the starting of Tower 1 being built.

This is when Tower 1 is 30 feet tall.

This is when Tower 1 is 100 inches tall. (I think he meant feet.)

This a truck bringing in the steel to the cranes.

This is the where the Twin Towers used to be and the holes are still there with water fountains in them and this is the museum underground.

This is what Tower 1 will look like when it's finished (left) and this is all the steel in it and what it looks like now (right).

This is a close-up of the steel in Tower 1.

"I want these pictures to be in the musuem so we always remember and never forget."

Uncle David's Graduation

2010-06-16T11:00:00.003-04:00

May 14, 2010, my brother David Armstrong Obergfell graduated with his Master's degree in Social Work from Arizona State University. We were fortunate enough to attend his graduation and all the festivities that followed.

The graduate!!

Sada and David

David and Mom

David and sis

David and René

The after party at Hula's.

Quite the party.

BBQ at David and Sada's house the next day.

Sada just chilling

Donovan just chilling

Emmilou

Tembo

Was that cookie good?

David, David, Ben and Donovan

Playing in the pool with his uncle.

It was a wonderful and quite relaxing visit. Donovan had such a good time with his Aunt Sada and Uncle David, he still talks of going back to AZ all the time to visit. He even misses Emmi and Tembo. Thanks for having us guys.

Panama City

2010-06-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of April, we had the chance to visit some dear friends of ours who are on temporary duty in Panama City Beach.

We spent our time at the park - digging in the sand...

Mary and Donovan playing side by side and not even noticing each other.

Audrey swinging.

I can do it!!

and at the beach - digging in the sand.

Me and Erin

Ben "helping" Donovan and Mary dig.

Look Mom, I'm in a hole!

Adorable Audrey.

And adorable Mary.

Erin and Audrey.

Before we left PC, we were also able to have brunch with a dear friend of mine from high school.

Me, Marilyn and her son Ole.

It was such a nice trip and definitely should be repeated. Too bad Ben and Erin won't be in PC much longer.

My Best Girls!

2010-06-13T10:22:00.002-04:00

Quite some time ago, Donovan and I were walking when he stopped and said, "Mom, I have a best girl and her name is Sara. I have another best girl and her name is Meghan."

So here is Donovan with his Best Girls.

Best Friends!

(Sara, Meghan, and Donovan with Miss Mary - Meghan's Grandma in the back)

Donovan is 4!!

2010-03-07T14:00:00.010-05:00

February 26, 2010: Donovan is officially FOUR!!

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Donovan's birthday.

We started by baking a triple chocolate cake (Donovan's choice, of course.)

Then, dinner of chocolate chip pancakes at IHOP. (Another choice made by Donovan.)

He absolutely loved the pancakes.

Then home for birthday cake.

Dan decorated the cake.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Donovan. Happy Birthday to you."

He still needed a little help blowing out the candles. At least our neighbor, Alex, was glad to provide assistance.

He wanted to eat the whole wheel. Enjoying it and showing off his fish lips.

Then, onto presents.

Look Mom, I got monster trucks!

Then next day, we went to a very special, very intimate event called...

MONSTER JAM!!!

I don' think Donovan realized just how big these trucks were until he got up close and personal with them. We got to see them all before the show in the Pit Party. It was really fun.

Checking out Maximum Destruction.

He's rooting for Max D.

Mom likes Gravedigger.

His favorite truck: Blue Thunder.

Then, onto the show.

Superman.

An Escalade.

TAZ - the freestyle champ of the night.

Gravedigger on the school bus.

and he lost a wheel for the second time that night.

Maximum Destruction getting big air.

It really was a fun show, but proved to run just a little too late for Donovan.

We had such a good time and can't believe our little man is now 4!

The Holidays...

2010-01-12T15:08:00.015-05:00

So I realized I haven't posted anything from the holidays yet and it is now almost halfway through January. So here is the quick rundown…

THANKSGIVING

(Seeing turkeys at the fair in November. They don't realize what they're in for.)

We were privileged to host a nice Thanksgiving dinner at our house. My sister Karen and niece Beth drove up from Lake City to join us. The food was wonderful and the company even better.

Family

Beth, Me, Karen (definitely family).

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went downtown to enjoy the Annual Jacksonville Light Parade and fireworks on the river. First was the parade of lights on the river.

Santa

Donovan's favorite - Mater from Cars

The dragons were my favorite.

Then came the fireworks set off simultaneously from 3 barges on the river and two bridges. The most spectacular was the firework waterfall they created down from the bridges.

We had one of these on each side of us. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was beautiful!

The first week of December, we made one last trip to Orlando for the year and celebrate the magical season in the Magic Kingdom.

It was a cold rainy day, but we had tons of fun anyway.

Donovan loved driving on the speedway, although I was tossed around a bit.

A special person makes visits to Disney...

Donovan is positive he met the real Santa.

Santa sharing a candy cane with Donovan.

Do I spy a 8th dwarf?

We were sure glad we had raincoats and umbrellas. It was a nice day at Disney.

The next day we went to Sea World.

Still cold, but not nearly as much rain.

First we met this Shamu.

Then we met this Shamu up close an personal.

We enjoyed the Dine With Shamu lunch and backstage at the whale show.

We rode on the Polar Express and then watched Sesame Street Live.

When we got home, we had the first of the Christmas parties.

Donovan decorating his cookie,

and then carefully eating the cookie.

The rest of December was filled with parties and fun.

Donovan was such a big helper with wrapping presents.

Helping Dad write the tag.

Soon came the best day of December..

CHRISTMAS!!

Santa brought Donovan a bike. I think he was a little stunned and not quite awake yet. (He went to sleep at 11:00pm the night before and was awake at 6:30am.)

The loot.

Wow, I got a new train set and tools!

Christmas dinner.

(Donovan really didn't want his picture taken, the lack of sleep was catching up with him.)

Trying his new bike out a few days later.

Donovan singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, as he did and still does about everyday.

(Dan didn't know I was filming.)

The week after Christmas we we lucky again to get a wonderful visit from my dear friend Amber and her boyfriend Andrew. We had such a great time the few days they were here.

Donovan thought they came just to see him.

It was great spending time with friends and family this holiday season. We had a good 2009 and 2010 looks great so far.

Look Mom, a Wish

2009-12-17T07:49:00.002-05:00

As we were leaving the grocery store, Donovan said, "Look Mom, a wish."

This was what he was looking at. I asked him if he knew that was coming from a jet and he said, "Yes, and it's a wish." Oh to see the world again through the eyes of a 3 year old.

Conversations I never thought I would have with my 3 year old.

2009-12-11T11:49:00.022-05:00

This picture was taken on Thanksgiving.

He was wearing his cousin Beth's boots and being quite the show-off.

Recently I have had several conversations with Donovan that I never expected to have as a mother. So I share some of the best with you...

The scene:

Donovan was changing into his pajamas and ran to use the toilet before getting dressed. While washing his hands, he looked in the mirror.

Donovan, "I am all shiny and white. My lips are (pause to look) red. Mom, what color are you?"

Me, "What do you think?"

Donovan looked me over thoroughly and said, "You are red, maybe pink."

(A side note, when I took Donovan to the doctor's office recently, I was asked, "Is he always this pale?")

The scene:

Me trying to take a short nap on the couch.

Donovan, "You aren't allowed to take a nap. It's not Thanksgiving!"

Me, "Actually, I can take a nap during the day any time I am tired, even if it is only Wednesday and so can you and Dad. (mumbled) Of course, that is if you will let me."

The great part about this was that Donovan climbed on top of me and fell asleep. It was amazing!

(Dan's personal favorite of late) The scene:

Donovan had just emerged from the bath and was sitting on his towel.

Donovan, "Mom, what is this?"

Me, "What is what?"

D, "What is this down there?"

M, "Down where?"

D, "Down there, below my penis."

M (after a small pause to collect my thoughts), "Those are your testis."

D, "What are testis?"

M, "Testis are the small balls in the sack of skin."

D, "What are they for?"

M, "They make you a boy."

And this was the end of the conversation. He was actually satisfied with my answer and no further discussion was necessary.

Now onto the new running joke in the family.

The Scene:

Reading books on the couch before bedtime. Donovan had chosen a book called Music is Everywhere. This book says things like, "Music is everywhere. I hear music in the Ocean" and "I hear music in the trees", etc.

I was beginning the first page and read, "Music is everywhere. I hear music in the rain." At that very moment I had a small release of gas. (Okay, I have a 3 year old, I'll admit it. I farted.) Only fitting to the book I said, "I hear music from my bottom."

Donovan thought this was the funniest thing he had ever heard. He was laughing hysterically and kept repeating, "I hear mu (laughing) sic (laughing harder) from my (and even harder) bottom." Of course all three of us were laughing quite hard at this point.

Eventually we were able to finish the book and get the boy to bed, but while he was hugging me goodnight, he was still repeating, "I hear music (laughing) from my (laughing) bottom." Then he produced a burp and said, "I hear music in my throat!" accompanied by even more laughter.

When I thought he could handle no more, Donovan farted and barely managed to say, "I hear music from my bottom" amongst all the laughter.

Ever since that night, Donovan will randomly bring up, "I hear music from my bottom" and start spontaneously laughing. I wonder how long this will be around our house.

HALLOWEEN (and the week preceeding it).

2009-11-05T13:45:00.012-05:00

Halloween was last Saturday and we had a blast, but the entire week before was incredibly busy and fun filled. So I am sharing a Week of Halloween..

A week before Halloween, Donovan wanted to get dressed up, but I wasn't quite ready to get out the actual Halloween costumes, so we came up with the train engineer.

Here he is at his percussion class all dressed up.

With his friend Meghan.

That night we went to the Jacksonville Zoo's Spooktacular.

The train engineer got to go trick or treating a whole week before Halloween. He was in heaven.

Donovan and his dad are looking in the pirate cove for something...

Ah, they found the gator.

The zoo was quite fun, especially for the little kids. Donovan got to see the giraffes, the gators, and he loved seeing the bats. They were really cool.

That Monday, Dan and I got an opportunity to see President Obama speak at the air station. (I know it doesn't have anything to do with Halloween, but it helped make the week even more busy.)

Here we are with some of Dan's co-workers.

Air Force 1

Yes, that really is President Obama. We decided to sit instead of stand, but that meant we were quite far away. We could still hear everything and see his speak, but my camera doesn't zoom very good.

Here is proof he really was here.

Later that week, we carved pumpkins. We had a good time, but Donovan really was not impressed with the goo inside the pumpkins. After barely touching it once, he wouldn't put his bare hand back inside any of them. He helped with the scraper a tiny bit, but every time he touched anything slimy, he retreated out of the pumpkin. Dan thought this was too funny and decided to torture our child. He told Donovan, "Stick out your hand." Donovan grudgingly obeyed. Dan proceeded to take a large gob of the pumpkin guts and place them on Donovan's hand. I wish my hands weren't slimy and I could have taken a picture. His face was hilarious! It was absolutely terror stricken. After a bit of cleaning his hands, Donovan did help decorate his Mrs. Pumpkin Head.

While carving, I did come across a really good way to grow new pumpkins...

Let the pumpkin mold and the seeds start sprouting.

Needless to say, that pumpkin did not get carved. It was really gross.

On the Friday before Halloween, I was truly brave. I hosted a Cookie Party for Donovan and his friends - ages 3-4.

Meghan and her cookies.

Abby and her cookies.

Sara could have cared less about the cookies and went straight for the frosting.

Donovan used about half of the sugar sprinkles on one cookie and of course made the biggest mess.

The group (left to right):

Bonnie and Abby, Dave (Sara's dad), Donovan, Mary and Meghan, Jennifer and Abby, and Sara.

The kids had such a good time and the house really wasn't that big of mess. I might actually consider doing this again.

Finally, it was HALLOWEEN!!!

Our pumpkins barely made it, but we got them lit.

They were all moldy and bug invested; got to love the humidity.

Donovan went as Dash Incredible.

And of course, we have Mr. and Mrs. Incredible along with Dash.

(For those who know this is a repeat of last year, well tough. No one around here had seen them and they really were good costumes. Plus Donovan's still fit him.)

Donovan loved trick or treating around our neighborhood. I think he loved handing out candy when we got home just as much. Every time the doorbell would ring, he would scream with glee and run to go give out the candy.

This really was and absolutely marvelous Halloween. I can't wait until next year.

Pumkin Patch

2009-10-24T12:00:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we went to one of the many pumpkin patches around. We went through a maze, picked out 3 perfect pumpkins and were even there when a new pumpkin delivery was made.

Can you see the smile on his face? He was looking at the most pumpkins he had ever seen in his life - a semi trailer was over half filled with PUMPKINS!

This picture just doesn't do it justice. It really was cool to see that many pumpkins piled up inside the truck.

Since it was also my 30th birthday last Sunday, I figured I would include a few of those pictures here as well.

The mushroom candle was all Donovan's idea. He just had to put it on my cake. I was also pleasantly surprised by a serenade from both my boys of the birthday song.

So who's birthday is it anyway?

I think Donovan was more excited than me to open the presents.

All in all, it was a very nice birthday and so what if I am 30, it feels pretty good to me.

Another Song

2009-10-22T15:46:00.004-04:00

After my last post, Donovan reminded me of another song he really, really likes to sing... the "Move It" song from Madagascar.

I really do have one cute little performer.

He Loves to Sing...

2009-10-22T14:58:00.008-04:00

Anywhere, anytime, Donovan can be found singing. He sometimes calls himself a radio. He does know quite a few songs he has heard on the radio (not exactly all the words, but most and the tunes) and he even inserts the call letters, "W Q I K" in between his songs. Some of his favorites are, "Life is a Highway", "The Big Green Tractor", "Summer Nights" (these are country songs for those who don't know them), and "Everybody Dance Now".

He also has been know to make up his own songs from time to time. This one is the Firetruck Song. Enjoy.

Who Needs a TV?

2009-10-02T14:03:00.003-04:00

We have no need for other entertainment in our house anymore. All I need to do is put some tater tots in the oven and turn on the light.

(I just couldn't resist posting this picture. We all got such a good laugh out of it.)

Disney World Adventures

2009-09-17T15:54:00.018-04:00

Now that we live in Florida, it has been an absolute must to visit Disney World. Since it is only a 2 1/2 hour drive from us, we have made several trips this summer and have now successfully visited all 4 of the Disney World theme parks. So here is a recap of all our exciting Disney adventures.

It all began on May 9 (our 11th anniversary) at Epcot Center...

Donovan still talks about the "Big Silver Ball".

We started off eating lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh.

It even included a belly dance show.

He joined the dance.

Japan World even had a life-size torii just like at Miyajima, near where we used to live in Japan. Epcot was quite fun. Donovan even rode the Test Track race car and loved going into Spaceship Earth (the Big Silver Ball).

It was a long and hot day walking through all the various countries represented, but we all survived.

On our next trip, we visited the Magic Kingdom (the original Disney park).

Cinderella's Castle

Goofy boys.

Donovan loved the teacups after he rode them, but wasn't quite sure what to think before it started.

The Buzz Lightyear adventure was great because Donovan actually got to meet the real Buzz Lightyear.

Goofing around in It's a Small World.

Flying in Dumbo.

Donovan's favorite ride of the day (with maybe one exception to be noted later on). The Walt Disney World Railroad!

Now that the summer had ended, we thought it would be nice to actually stay overnight and go to more than one park in a trip. So we headed back to Orlando last weekend and a wonderful time.

Here is Donovan at our hotel Shades of Green (right across from the Magic Kingdom).

We got to Orlando on Friday night and headed to Downtown Disney after checking in.

We had dinner on a steamboat and then dessert at Ghiradelli's. Mmmm, good.

The next day, we went to the Hollywood Studios park.

Donovan was finally able to meet his absolute favorite movie stars of all time...

Lightning McQueen and Mater!

He was enjoying this quite a lot, when Donovan touched Mater and at that very moment, Mater beeped his horn.

He still had fun in Radiator Springs; he just didn't want to go to near Mater again.

We also got to meet Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc.

and got to ride a tram around the studios.

The new Toy Story ride was quite fun

Donovan showing off the talking Mr. Potato Head.

Donovan's favorite ride of the day was the Tower of Terror. Before he went in it, we just told him it was a really fast elevator.

He did really well and never screamed, but he sure was in a hurry to leave the building. We asked him if he liked the ride, and he said yes, but when asked if he wanted to ride it again, he said no.

After leaving the park, we were able to ride Donovan's most favorite thing at Disney...

the Monorail.

waving bye and watching it leave.

The next day, we headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom and Donovan got to ride another favorite...

the parking lot tram.

The park brought out our wild side. "Roar".

Riding the triceratops (a lot like Dumbo).

Since it was Dan's birthday, we had lunch and cake at Rainforest Cafe.

Happy 35th Sweetie!

On our safari around the park, we saw a lot of animals, but they never want to pose for the camera. This is the best picture I got of the giraffe.

We saw many wild animals and then, in true Disney fashion, got to watch a Mickey and Minnie safari parade.

These have been our adventures of the summer and it was a blast. Seeing Disney through the eyes of a a 3 year old is amazing. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

What is its full name?

2009-09-03T11:46:00.009-04:00

The other day, I had an very entertaining conversation with Donovan and it went something like this:

Donovan pointing and asking, "Mom, is that your butt?"

Me, "Yes, but I prefer you call it a bottom."

Donovan, "What is the bottom's other name, is it butt?"

Me, "No, (long pause) it is gluteus maximus."

Donovan, "What name is butt then?"

Me, "Butt is a kind of nickname for the bottom."

Donovan, "So it's full name is Gluteus Maximus Bottom?"

Me, "I guess so."

Then Donovan started marching around saying, "Gluteus Maximus Bottom, Gluteus Maximus Bottom, Gluteus Maximus Bottom!"

This all probably doesn't seem quite as funny written down, but it got me truly laughing out loud.

All of this probably stems from Donovan knowing his full name and now believing that every other thing must have a first, middle, and last name. For instance, our car's name is Shiroi (She-roy-ee -- it means white in Japanese) and Donovan asked me the other day, "What is the car's full name?" I told him, "It is just Shiroi", but he said, "It's last name is O'Neal." He then asked, "What is it's middle name?" Not wanting a long explanation, I said, "It is Mazda." Donovan then stated, "Shiroi (which he pronounces shidowee) Mazda O'Neal; that's a nice name."

Zucchini Fireworks

2009-08-12T13:00:00.007-04:00

Ever since the Fourth of July, Donovan has been watching his own pretend fireworks shows, whenever and wherever it pleases him. He will sit down in the middle of the kitchen or on the living floor and start making booming noises, with the occasional, "look Mom, it's a really big one" or "that one looks like a jellyfish". This would be the result of a nice fireworks display put on in Orange Park this year and us getting great front row seats on the river.

Intensely watching fireworks on the 4th!

The other night, we were sitting down to a lovely dinner of Penne pasta with tomatoes and vegetables (thank you Bertolli) and Donovan was picking at his plate just like usual. Every now and then, he would eat a bite of pasta in between making his fork flying around like a plane or drive on tracks like a train, but the vegetables were staying untouched. Now Donovan has his times when he is a really good eater; those are usually during growth spurts and he will eat anything and everything put in front of him. He eats and likes most food, including vegetables, but like plenty of three year olds, he would rather play at the table, take a few bites, and then announce he is full.

So there sat the zucchini just staring at him. Dan and I tried several persuasion tactics to get him to take a bite of his zucchini (mind you, he has eaten zucchini on several occasions and really likes it). We tried the, "wow this tastes so good" method (yes Mom, I do eat zucchini too), and the "do you want to have to save it and eat it for breakfast instead of cereal?" method. Nothing seemed to be working. Of course, if we really did save it for breakfast, there would be a huge fit about not getting his cereal and it would end with him crying while grudgingly eating the zucchini as fast as possible to get to the cereal and me in a really bad mood. I really didn't want to deal with that in the morning.

After many unsuccessful attempts on our part, Donovan started to "boom" and see fireworks. Dan then asked, "Can you see a zucchini firework up there?" This got Donovan thinking. Dan then told him, "If you eat a small bite of zucchini, you will see the firework." Immediately, Donovan forked a bite and shoved it into his mouth. Then he followed swallowing it with a huge "BOOM". "That's the zucchini firework!" He proceeded to eat every single piece of zucchini on his plate with the subsequent boom and he also ate the tomato and bell pepper. Those made red fireworks he told us. Before we knew it, his plate was empty. After a lot of fireworks going off for the finale, we all cleaned up from dinner - quite happy and full.

The Evolution of Donovan's Hair

2009-08-07T12:00:00.001-04:00

Just the other day Donovan got a new haircut. He has had several haircuts in his life, but this was the first time I let him decide how it should be cut. He told the hairdresser, "Make it very short and stand straight up." I have always loved Donovan's hair and the fact that he has had hair since he was born. I also have tended to keep it a bit unruly and long. I think it looks cute that way, but thus is life; the boy grows up and chops off his hair, I just didn't think it would happen so soon.

In my nostalgia, I have revisited the evolution of Donovan's hair through pictures, enjoy.

At birth

About 6 months old

About the time he was being referred to as the "mayonaise baby" (In Japan, there is a very popluar brand of Mayonaise: Kewpie.)

Almost 1 year

15 months

18 months

22 months

First Haircut - almost 2 years old

Before

After

2 Years old

2 1/2 years old

Almost 3

We let it get way too long this time

... and now at 3 1/2, the buzz cut.

Pictures of Our House Part 2

2009-08-06T13:00:00.004-04:00

Here are more pictures of our house after painting...

The living room

The playroom

The kitchen

We are still working on the rest, but it sure feels good to have some rooms finished. More pictures to come.

The Long Awaited Pictures of Our House Part 1

2009-07-18T13:49:00.014-04:00

Everyone I know has been wanting to see pictures of our new house, so here they are. We moved into it in the middle of May and we have been doing a lot of painting, unpacking and all sorts of stuff to make it ours. We still have a ton more to do, but we are getting there and it is starting to feel like home.

First I will start with the before pictures. This is how the house looked when we moved in.

This house came with a lovely backyard of dead grass.

Which we have managed to get green; we know they are weeds, but they are green.

Living Room

Kitchen - no appliances.

With brand new appliances

and a new sink

Master Bedroom - yes, it is purple (definitely on our list to be changed).

Master Bathroom - the shower was unfinished..

... but with a good contractor, it looks like this

I love the garden tub!

and the 2 sinks.

The front room/playroom

Coming soon: pictures of the newly painted rooms.

A Meter Tall

2009-06-18T22:14:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday I was finally able to put Donovan's growth charts back up. after careful measurement, Donovan is now officially 100 centimeters tall or 39.37" (3' 3.37"). Donovan was quite excited about his new growth, especially when I explained to him that he was now 1 meter tall. Ever since, he was been going around telling everyone, "I'm a meter tall. I'm a tall boy." I think he has finally realized he is on the tall side of kids, but more than that, he is just so proud of his growing up. It really is quite amazing to see how such small milestones can make such a big impact in a child's life.

Donovan is showing off his "huge muscles" and pretending to be a sumo wrestler.

Caught in the kitchen.

This picture is courtesy of my brother who sent us a big box of packing peanuts. I guess, the bigger the boy gets, the bigger the messes he can make.

I Like the Movie, Movie

2009-05-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

Donovan's new favorite movie is Madagascar (1 & 2). In the past few weeks we have watched both movies at least a dozen times. Since the lion in the movie loves to dance and so does Donovan, it is a perfect fit. Donovan now is a lion. He loves to jump on the bed and roar as loud as he can. His dances look quite similar to the ones in the movies.

He pretends that the lion, zebra, giraffe, and hippo are on his toy planes when he flies them around. I asked him the other day if the penguins were flying, and of course, they were. Today Donovan told me "I am Marty". I asked him how he was like Marty and he said he had stripes and was a zebra (he was wearing a gray and white striped shirt, I guess that was good enough for him).

He also loves to sing the songs from the movie. He just 'doesn't quite get the words right, but I like his versions better. The main song from the movie is, "I Like to Move it". (If you seen the movie, you know the song I am talking about.) Donovan sings the song like this, "I like the movie, movie. I like the movie, movie. Move it!" If you try to correct him, he says, "No, it's movie, movie, not move it, move it."

I always say a change is nice, so no more Cars or Wall-E for the time being; we just get to enjoy Madagascar and all the comical animals in it.

This is my Dan

2009-04-22T18:55:00.000-04:00

Back when Donovan was first speaking little bits of words, he would call me "Mom-Mom" and Dan he would call "Da", which seemed perfectly normal, but after a little while, it seemed like he was actually saying "Dan" and not Dad. This seemed resonable, since I call my husband by his name, Dan and it really does sound so close. We thought it was cute, but made a point of telling Donovan he should call him Dad. For the last year, he has referred to him as Dad most of the time.

Lately, Donovan has begun to refer to his father as Dan again. Now that he talks quite well, there is no denying what he is saying. If you ask Donovan who Dan is, he says, "That's Dan." If you ask him who is dad is, he will say, "Dan," or "Dan is my dad." The more we correct him, the more he tries to use Dan instead of Dad. I asked him the other day why he calls him Dan and not Dad and Donovan's response was, "Because it's his name." How can you argue with that? So for now, we are Mom and Dan.

More Shinkansen - Bullet Trains

2009-04-16T11:00:00.002-04:00

After seeing the picture of the Hikari train on my post yesterday, Donvan has been requesting to see pictures of the other Shinkansen trains. Since I went through the effort of finding these pictures, I figred I would share them.

Here is the Nozomi N700 - the fastest train we rode on.

Then there is the Nozomi 500 Series, which also runs the Hikari line sometimes.

And finally the Kodama 300 Series

Here is also some video we took of just how fast these trains go through the station - this is the Hikari Railstar passing through Iwakuni.

I never thought I would know so much about trains...

2009-04-15T16:48:00.001-04:00

Donovan loves trains.

That would be the understatement of the year. I realized his passion for trains on Christmas day a year ago (2007). Donovan received a few Thomas trains in his stocking. Now they say that toddlers have a very short attenton span, but Donovan played with these trains for about 8 hours straight. It was difficult to convince him to eat, and don't even think about sleep. He just drove those trains around and around.

So I began to feed his passion for trains. First it was the little die-cast Thomas trains, which he has about 20 of, then his gramdma and grandpa got him a small battery operated Thomas and track to go with it. My goodness, he thought that was the best thing in the world. He just sat in the middle of the track pushing it around and around. More trains and more track came. This past Christmas, Dan picked out a bridge/waterfall set to go with the trains. By this time, Donovan had about half a dozen trains for this set, both Thomas and Japanese Shinkansen trains, as they both fit the same track. Donovan really loves the Japanese Shinkansens more than the Thomas trains. (He can name them all, but his favorite is the Hikari Rail Star.)

So Donovan and his trains are inseparable, but moving day arrived. There was not enough room for the trains and track in the luggage. We did bring a few minuture versions of some Japanese trains, but none of the bigger ones could come with us. Amazingly, Donovan was okay with this. We have been living out of 5 suitcases for the past 2 months and he has been exceptionally good only having a small selection of toys. Although, the past few trips to Target has revealed a longing for more trains. Everytime we pass the train ailse, Donovan says, "I will get my trains back when we move into our new house." Then he proceeds to say, "Let's go to our new house." (Unfortunate for him, he doesn't understand that buying a new home can take a bit of time. But the whole house hunting story will be an entirely different blog.)

The nice thing about the small trains we brought with us is that they can go just about anywhere we go inside my purse. They are great at keeping him entertained. So, the this past weekend, while we were at a restaurant waiting for our food to come, we got out a train. Donovan also had the kid menu and crayons in fromt of him. Dan thought it would be a good idea to draw some trains tracks on the menu with the crayons. It worked. Donovan was overjoyed to finally have tracks for his trains. He didn't even want to eat food, just play with his train.

Since then, Donovan has been asking for me to draw tracks on all of his coloring pads. This has now extended to drawing railroad and stop signs for the cars before they go over the tracks. Everyday, he asks me to draw more track and more signs for all his differnt trains. So far, we have created quite the track with paper and markers, which makes me wonder why we ever invested in any other track.

Welcome to My World

2009-04-13T15:12:00.000-04:00

For the past year, I have been keeping track of the silly, crazy, and endearing things Donovan does and have now decided to share them with my family and friends. Hopefully he will thank me and not hate me when he is older for sharing these stories.

For a little introduction ... Donovan is 3 (or as he would say "free") years old. We spent the majority of his life in living in Japan, therefore, Donovan believes he is Japanese. It is quite cute when this pale, blond, little boy says he is from Japan and speaks Nihongo (Japanese).

He is beginning to explore the imaginative side of play. Lately he is "The Caterpillar". Whatever he does, he will say things like, "The Caterpillar needs to brush his teeth" or "the Caterpillar needs to get dressed." He also crawls everywhere, just like a caterpillar. The other day, he was a robot and went around pushing his "buttons" on his chest and trying to move like a robot.

There is so much more about my boy, who I (just like any good mother) thinks is the cutest on earth, and I hope to share more soon.