Opal at 20 Months

Opal discovered tattoos this past month.  She saw her sisters putting them on, and of course, needed to have one too.  Imagine her shock when she realized that it is semi-permanent, and won't come right  off.  She started yelling "OFF!  OFF!  OFF!!!"  

She was even more disappointed when we told her the quickest remedy for tattoo removal was a bath, and she doesn't like baths any more.  She dislikes baths so much that if the girls want her to stay away from something they will tell her - "Opal if you come over here you will have to have a bath."  Mean? Yes.  Effective?  Yes, as well.

Opal's love for Elmo continues to be strong, and she loves to demand Elmo drawings out of whoever will listen whenever there are paper and writing utensils near.  Sometimes I feel like I am her trained monkey, and wonder at what level is her Elmo obsession our fault.  Don't answer that.

 I prefer to leave Elmo at home so that he doesn't get dirty - or lost (gasp).  Sometimes this takes a very skilled negotiator to get Opal to part with her beloved Elmo.  See top left hand picture below, where I came up with the brilliant idea to have Elmo wave goodbye to Opal from the window, and to be the first to wave hello to her from where he was propped when we arrived back home.

 The photos above show the Sesame Street books Opal found at the library.  She saw her sisters asking the librarians for book locations, and so she piped up in her little voice and asked, "Elmo?"  I was super proud of her, and of course we checked out every last Elmo book they had.

Opal loves eating off of our plates, and drinking out of our cups.  She is somewhat picky about the food she eats off of her own plate.  One afternoon I found a plate of cucumber slices with a bite taken out of almost every one.  Opal!

Opal likes to play the piano when her sisters are trying to practice.  In the below photo, Emma gave up on practicing because Opal was being a very persistent musical nuisance.

 Opal has not slept through the night a single night in her life.  She sure is cute and snuggly though, and at least Will and I are not surprised in the least that our fourth daughter sleeps just like the first, second and third did.  The best news though, is that we know there is a light at the end of the sleep deprived tunnel.  The three older girls sleep much better now, thank goodness!

Until this phase has past however, we sleep any which way we can.  We love you Opal, and despite our sleep deprivation, you make our life so much better by being in it!