Opal at 18 Months

Opal had a growth spurt this past month, and is now able to reach things she couldn't reach before.  Like the counter.  Or should I say chocolate cake.

Even if I hadn't caught her chocolate-handed, her face would have told me what she had found.  This little lady leaves a path of destruction wherever she goes, but has no problem singing the "Clean Up" song while the rest of us clean up after her.  

 Opal loves water... here she is below with a dish of water and a paint brush, painting the driveway.

Opal loves trees - she will hug them, and if we are on a walk and she is in her stroller, she will demand that we let her touch the bark of any tree that we pass.  In the photo below she was hugging a tree when a squirrel caught her attention above her.

 Opal loves music, and the better the beat, the more she likes it.  Here she is below playing the piano - she can now climb up on the bench all by herself.

 She loves Elmo, and we have an Elmo CD in the car that we burned when Lucy was a baby.  Yes, burned onto a CD - this was ten years ago!  We have literally spent HOURS listening to the same two songs on repeat as it keeps her from screaming.  She will demand "Walk walk" and "Elmo" if any other music without a good enough beat is on.  We were at the library the other day, and Opal discovered a sesame street lunch box in a display case that she was so excited to see.

 Opal loves her sisters, and loves being with them.  She is so proud when she can do what they are doing.

 Opal got a big girl bed this past month, and she wasn't too happy about it, as this is our attempt to get her out of our bed.  As I type this, she has resigned herself to naps and starting the night in her own bed, but we have yet to get her to stay in it the entire night.  Frankly, her three older sisters rode us hard and now we will pretty much do whatever we can to get the most sleep, even at the cost of long term bad habits.  If that doesn't sum up my fourth daughter, I don't know what does!

Opal is a feisty one, and has a very high-pitched scream.  She will scream to tell us she wants something or is unhappy, or if a sister is in her space.  Whoever is making her scream gets attacked by every other member of the family who sometimes at the same time yells "give that baby what she wants!!!" just to make the screaming stop.  Again, not great habits here folks, but we are tired.  Opal is so lucky she is cute, and if that isn't for her own survival, I don't know what is!