About Drake

It's really hard to get Drake to eat sometimes. He likes most everything, but I never know when he's going to actually eat it. He could chow down on cheese one day and refuse it for the next two weeks before loving it again. Same with almost everything else. The only things that he will usually not refuse are yogurt and Cheerios...most of the time. But he's even been known to go on a Cheerio strike. He looks all innocent and harmless, but he has also been known to hurl his unwanted peas at his brother's head with very good accuracy.
One can imagine my relief a few days ago when I managed to get him to eat mini corndogs. (We moms celebrate small victories). Granted, most of them ended up on the floor eventually, but I have photographic evidence that at least some of the corndog came into contact with his mouth and may have even made it into his stomach.
One of Drake's favorite mealtime games is the "Me" game. One of the older kids or I will ask a question such as "Who likes green beans?" or "Who wants to kiss Drake?" and then we all raise our hands and say "Me!" Drake loves to imitate us and raise his hand, too, saying "Me!" Sometimes George likes to trick him by saying something like, "Who thinks Skylar has a stinky butt?", and of course Drake raises his hand and says "Me!" and Skylar gives her dad A LOOK. You know the kind that only pre-teen and teenage girls can muster. Here in the picture, Drake is replying to the question, "Who likes corndogs?" but he would answer exactly the same way to, "Who wants a peanut butter and poo sandwich?" so it's best to never take it as an indication of what he will actually eat.
Another of Drake's current likes is his baby. Santa brought him a little cabbage patch doll for Christmas this year. Drake calls him "Bebe," and never goes to sleep without him. He tucks him right up under his arm and snuggles under his blanket with him. Drake first learned to show us where his eyes, nose, etc. are by learning about Baby's. In the morning, the first order of business is to grab Baby and reach for me to take them both out of the crib. He's surprising tender with Baby. If you tell him to give Baby a hug or a kiss, he will, and he likes to stroke the doll's soft hair. He puts Baby in the stroller to push around, too. It's really very cute, particularly since Drake is such a typical boy. On this particular day, he wanted to share his lunch with Baby. He insisted on holding Baby in one arm and eating with his other hand. Luckily, there was no ketchup involved.
Speaking of babies, on April 1, I felt the (real) baby move for the first time. It was really active just before I went to bed, but I've only felt a little bump or two since then. It's such an amazing/weird feeling. By the end of the pregnancy, I know I will feel like I'm not even in possession of my own body anymore, but in the beginning, it's pretty neat to feel the baby move. It's like a reminder that it's real and that there's actually a little person waiting to be born. George refuses to look or put his hand on my stomach anymore because he says it makes him think of the movie "Alien". It does make you think of that, but I prefer to think about the "Spaceballs" version of that scene.