Referral-a-versary.

We got Megersa's referral on November 5, 2009.  
Yep, a little late getting to this post...but finding a pic for every month has been a task!

 November 2009 to November 2012. 

We now celebrate the 3 years we've known and loved Megersa.
((1st 4 months in Ethiopia.))

Happy Referral Day sweet boy!!!!
My you have grown! You have taught your Daddy, Mommy and brothers so much about God's love.
You are both a blessing and a challenge - as all your brothers (and I'm sure your sister) are!! :)
Honestly couldn't imagine life without you. 

Pumpkin Patch

When Grammie (and her friend Frances) were here in early October, we decided to visit the Pumpkin Patch.
A first for the twins and Grammie.

It was super great that Crumland Farms is basically in our backyard.  I always enjoy when it doesn't take forever to get to a place.
It was a bit chillier than we anticipated when we got there, so we sent Daddy for some more jackets.  While we waited we snacked on
fries they were selling and yogurt balls my mom had in her fanny pack.
Fanny pack....  :)

 It was a nice little hayride to the patch and everyone was more than mesmorized by all they were seeing.  The twins get this look on their face when they're in  new situation (sometimes whether they enjoy it or not - though this time they definitely did.) - it's pure amazement with the widest eyes you'll see. :)

 Everyone was allowed to pick one pumpkin, so long as they could carry it home.  Cale chose many different ones, only to swap them out for something "better."  The 'you-have-to-carry-it' rule was the most challenging for Megersa, cuz he's a bit of a light weight.  Thad is surprisingly strong, but didn't really want to carry anything for long. And Shepherd just walked around yelling "WOW!"
We ended up wtih a pumpkin for each - costing about $14 in total, so really not to bad for a fun afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch.

And as a fun added bonus, we ended up with a pretty good fall family picture:

A fine looking family if I do say so myself. :)

Stats

We sorta missed the twins 15 month check up.
Whoops.
We kinda got behind on their appointments while back, but figured...hey, better late than never, right?!

Megersa came along for the ride...and to his dismay ended up with a shot for himself (flu shot, since we were already there...)
The twins got 3 shots a piece.  It was TORTURE!  The bigger they get the harder it is, huh?
Plus, Thad hates to be at the doctors office.  Well, he's fine until we get him into the room, then he flips.  M was wound up, so he was just trying to mess with anything he could see, but Sheppy was perfectly entertained with the crayons, bubbles and snacks I brought.  Both Tim and I felt the worst for him when he got his shots.
"What did I do?  I was being good...and having a fine time...why do this to me?!" 
Awe.
Honestly though...they make those rooms so dang small, and having 5 people there is just crazy.
Tim and I were sweating bullets by the time we walked out.
Thank goodness no one needs another appointment until the twins are 2.

The nurse practictioner said they're both cutting a bunch of teeth "which could explain all the drooling" - well, we can't wait for them to get them all in.  We've got about 50 bibs on rotation and it does seem strange that they are the only toddlers I see (almost anywhere) at their age still wearing them....
She also said that we "need to keep a very close eye on them all the time - like never leave them alone doing anything because they are at a very accident prone age."
Okay sure, the clones we made of ourselves are just about ready...equip with an extra set of eyes and two more sets of arms... 

At any rate - here are their 15&18 month (though technically 19 month) stats:
((I get the feeling that they were a bit off with the measurements.  First off - Thad would NOT sit still on the scale, so the lady finally just wrote something down.  We are fairly confident he weighs more than Shepherd.  And it may or may not be accurate that he is taller than Sheppy now - that seems a bit off as he's always been a tiny bit shorter. ...such a fool-proof system they got going...where they lay the child down and mark the paper where their head and foot touch.  Record-worthy, right?))

Shepherd Kingston
age: 19 months
weight: 27.7 lbs
height: 34.25 inches

Thaddeus Drew
age: 19 months
weight: 27.4 lbs
height: 34.5 inches

Megersa stepped on the big boy scale with his clothes and shoes on weighing in at a whopping 31 lbs....  notice that that a mere 3-4 lbs (being generous) more than the twins?  I'm pretty confident they'll outgrow him within the year.
I can't imagine having them all in the same size clothes at the same time...