My girlfriend and I have been dating for almost two months, and we are both in our first relationship, so neither of us is really an "expert" on relationships, but we really love each other. I think I can give some helpful input. :)

(We're both 18 for context.)

To answer your question, the "dating" phase doesn't necessarily have to end, initiating the "doing things" phase. Both can exist simultaneously. For our first date, my girlfriend and I went to Jason's Deli and went to this artists' market that is pretty neat. We just hung out and had a lot of fun. Later we went to the park and looked at ducks. And the we went to Sonic and went home. And that was it. That's a date.

Since then, we've both had simple meals and have had other dates. We've gone to the movies, we've gone swimming, eaten at restaurants, gone bowling, met each other's families several times, hung out at each other's houses, and we've even gone to a local cavern together with some friends. It doesn't rewlly matter what you call it: "date," "hanging out," "doing stuff," etc., etc. As long as you're having fun and you both know it.

How my girlfriend and I even started dating wasn't even as black-and-white as you might think. We knew each other at school, and we had some cases together. We both really liked each other and became friends (I actually became friends with her and her friends since I didn't really have any). We started talking to each other more and more and giving each other more and more attention. The way we got each other's phone numbers wasn't even by outright asking. We were in a group project together, and we all have each other's numbers to each other (or rather, they gave theirs to me). A few days later, we started texting each other a lot and then even more. Eventually, I asked her out (via texting). And she said yes. I was really nervous and worried she might not like me back, but I just went for it because i just wanted to see what would happen, and it turns out she liked me too.

So in my admittedly very, very limited experience, dating is not so black-and-white. So try not to worry about it. :)