Reward

Lila has sucked her two fingers pretty much since birth. She's such a strong-willed child, I had no idea how to get her to stop. I knew it had to be her decision or it wouldn't work. She'd find some way around whatever strategy I tried. We decided to play on her love of animals. She always wants new pets, but the only one I was willing to cave in to at this time was a fish. So I told her a month ago that she needed to stop sucking her fingers by the time she started Pre-K in the fall. And, when she did, we'd get her a fish tank to keep in her room! I was thining this would hopefully happen by mid-August, but in her always-surprising Lila style, it took about a week! We waited out the month to make sure she wasn't sneaking a suck here and there. Now that the callouses on her fingers are gone, I know she's not bluffing!
So we bought a fancy tank at Walmart - with a filter, so I don't have to deal with the slimy fish bowl as often. We selected lovely items to decorate said tank, and we filled it with water last week. Lila said it looked great, but she wished it had real fish in it. :) Did she really think that was it?! As luck would have it, my friend Melynie's (who we visited over the weekend) fish recently had babies! She was quite surprised to find 18 fish habitating her 5 gallon tank, and didn't know what to do with them, so we came to the rescue. We drove 4 hours home on Sunday with a very large vase full of 8 tiny fish between my feet. I assumed most would not survive the first 24 hours, but 3 days later - all 8 are still swimming! Oh well! Lila is thrilled with her new pets. It's helped her to want to sleep in her room with the tank light on instead of with Emma all the time. She feeds them every morning and night, and she shows them to anyone who walks in the door. Ahh, the responsibility and pride of fish ownership!

The tank is on her dresser, in front of her mirror. This is a pretty confusing reflection shot!

Our fish are Dalmation Mollies - which means they are white with black spots. Emma and Lila claim to be able to tell them apart - I have my doubts. Their names are: Johnny, Sally, Mrs. Kit, Sput, Oreo, Marina, Vernon, and Nelson. Lila names the first 5, Ryan and liked "Marina", and Emma named the last two.