Sleeping: Hmm.  I just posted a long journal entry about our major sleep struggle this month, which is basically that she doesn't want to sleep during naptime, and she doesn't want to GO to sleep, period.  She wants us to come in and cover her up, or give her a drink of water, or cover baby up, or give her some socks, or sing one more song.  She wants to pee pee.  She wants to poop.  She also prefers singing and talking to her baby to sleeping.  We're working on this.  One of the major things we're doing is telling her that "your bed is just for sleeping."  If she talks and plays with baby, out comes baby.  She can snuggle with baby, but that's it.  We've decided that even if she doesn't sleep for two hours, she has to stay in her bed for two hours.  My mom wisely recommended that we find a timer to use, and tell her it's wake up time when the timer goes off.  I don't want a loud beeping one to wake her up in case she does go to sleep, so I'm on the hunt for a two hour sand timer.  In any event, while she may think she doesn't need a nap, Mommy definitely needs one.  Naptime is really for the parents, anyway, right?

Eating: This month's huge hit has been grits!  She wants to eat them every single morning.  They're not packed with the most nutritional value, so we try to pair them with some fruit and/or sausage.  I think it's so cute, though - she's a southern girl at heart.  We've been putting snow peas and blueberries in her lunch lately, and those are both a big hit.  For the longest time, she wouldn't eat eggs in any form, but now she's eating them fried or scrambled with ketchup.  She's just such a good eater.  

Talking: Her two new vocabulary words for the week are "attached" and "frustrated."  I wrote another journal entry about them....it's too cute.  And we're hearing SO MUCH of what we say parroted back.  There are things that we love, like when she tells us that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, or that the Bible is God's true Word.  And then there are things that we don't so much love, like today when Dan was talking to her before naptime about not calling out for us and just going to sleep, and she said (with finger pointing and all): "You worry about you and I'll worry about me."  Oh, heavens!!

Potty training: is finished.  She's trained.  Poops and pees, no matter where she is, she'll tell us and go to the bathroom.  Also, she's no longer getting up in the middle of the night to pee - she's waking up dry in the morning about sleeping 11 hours.  I really am so proud of her.  I think she's living proof of the importance of waiting until a child is ready before you potty train.  She was just ready, and it was easy.

Discipline: Lana is two and half.  She has begun to realize (as evidenced by our bedtime struggles) that she has wants and opinions, and they don't necessarily coincide with ours.  She's asserting her will in many ways, and we are working hard to train her in righteousness in this area.  A particular point of focus for us right now is first time obedience.  Since I've been pregnant, I have probably let her get away with more, or obey more slowly.  I just haven't had the energy to put into being consistent in that area.  Well, we are seeing the results of that, and are ramping back up on our insistence that she obey the first time.  We know that this is an area that requires constant diligence - the Lord is STILL training me to obey Him the first time.  My main goal with discipline right now has less to do with Lana, and more to do with ME.  Before this new baby comes in the fall, I want to memorize as much Scripture as possible to use in teaching and training our children.  I use Biblical principles when training her, but it is not always the Word of God falling from my lips.  For example, I heard myself tell her the other day to "talk sweetly."  I'm a southern girl, and at first listen, that sounds innocent enough.  However, I cannot find one place in the Word that it tells us to talk "sweetly."  It does tell us "do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth."  It tells us to use our words to "build others up."  THIS is the Truth that I want to be pouring into her life - not some nonsense about sweetness.  When she leaves my home at 18, I want her to be clothed in the full armor of God, and I have to begin now to cover her with that Truth.  If it is always on my lips, then it will be on hers.  This process of parenting is so refining.

Playing: Lana's babies are occupying nearly all of her free playtime!  She lines them up and puts them in strollers and dresses them and rocks them and reads to them.  She loves on them, and spanks them when they disobey.  I'm looking right now for a baby doll highchair on Craigslist, so she can practice feeding the baby.  She has not made a connection yet between those babies she plays with and the baby that is growing in my tummy, but it's great practice as she nurtures them.  She's going to be such a good big sister!