Sleeping: It is so bizarre, but always true, that the later we put Lana to bed, the earlier she wakes up.  So, since it’s been getting dark earlier, we have been putting her to bed earlier….around 7:00.  She is most often asleep by 7:30, and doesn’t wake up until 7:30 or 8:00 the next morning!  When we were putting her to sleep at 8:00 or 8:30, she wasn’t falling asleep until 9:00, and up at 6:30 or 7:00.  It’s just so strange, but putting her to bed earlier has helped me manage Tucker’s nighttime routine better, especially when Dan is at work.  *our biggest discipline struggle this past month has also been around bedtime…more about that below.*

Eating: Lana’s new favorite food this month has been fried okra!  For some reason, she calls it “cornstarch.”  Who knows?  In any event, she loves fried okra.  Shamefully, the only kind she’s had is from the deli at wal-mart.  I can’t wait until we go home for Christmas and my mom can cook her some REAL fried okra.  She won’t know what to do with herself!  I wonder if she is so in love with fried okra because we rarely eat anything fried. Come to think of it, when we fried up fish, she loved that, too.  A true southern girl at heart, loving all things fried.  Too bad her mama hates cooking with grease.

Talking: Just the past week or so, she has begun “reading” books, even if she doesn’t know the words.  For a long time now, she’s been memorizing her favorite books and reciting them as she turns the pages.  However, lately, she’s been opening books that we haven’t read yet, and telling a story by looking at the pictures.  The teacher is me is just overflowing with joy!!  Using illustrations to predict text is a great pre-reading marker, not to mention the fact that she’s exercising her imagination.  I love hearing the stories she “reads” out loud to us.

Discipline: The big discipline struggle for Lana this month has been around naptime/bedtime.  She is pitching fits, calling for outlandish things, and just in general trying to control what goes on when we are putting her down for bed.  So a couple of weeks ago, Dan & I took some time to come up with a new plan.  Then we sat down with her on the couch and laid it out for her.  She can call us from her bed for “potty, throw up, or blood.”  No other reasons.  Anything else has to be handled before the lights are off.  If she wants a band-aid, a sip of water, chapstick, etc. – she better remember before we turn the lights off.  If not, she has to wait until it’s wake up time.  She may not pitch a fit if one of us is laying her down, and she wants the other one – instead, she should be grateful for whomever is with her.  These were the major issues we wanted to address, so we kept it simple.  The consequences were that the first time she cried or pitched a fit or called out for something she shouldn’t, we take all of her “guys” out of her bed (baby, stuffed animal, blanket).  The second time, she goes to our room gets two spanks with the wooden spoon.  *note – this is the first time we’ve used a spoon to give spankings.  Always before, we’ve used our hand, but we were finding this becoming ineffective.*  It is taking a lot of consistency and patience, but it’s paying off.  She’s giving Dan more difficulty than she is me, but we’re not giving up.

Playing: As I’m writing this, there is a perfect picture of what Lana loves to play with right now.  Our living room floor is covered with baby dolls, strollers, books, puzzles, and dress up shoes.  I just asked Lana what she loved to play, and she said, “Baby dolls. My dollhouse.  And I love playing with you, Mommy.”  And on that note, I’m publishing this and am going to play with my girl.