This & That before we go

No, we are NOT potty training yet.
Jeremiah and Nathaniel found the training potty in a pile of stuff. Jeremiah decided it needed to be in the bathroom so that he could teach Nathaniel. I was standing in the hall laughing so hard as I listened to him boss Nathaniel around. This was the finished product. :-)
Nathaniel has been talking about "pee pee in the potty" because he watches Jeremiah do it. However, on the few occasions that I have actually gone through the process of removing the diaper and sitting him on the potty he looks at me like, "ok, now what?" I figure if the kid can't take off his own pants yet there is no way we are starting potty training.
Nathaniel seems to have a fertile imagination. He loves his play doctor kit (even before "the incident") and spends most of the day walking around with the stethoscope around his neck. He has also developed a love for hats that is directly inherited from his father. Aaron has a collection of hats of all sorts and when Nathaniel found it he promptly claimed this same hat that was Aaron's favorite as a teenager. :-)

Jeremiah has been working on some paintings to give as gifts for some people we are going to see soon! He literally spent about 4 hours on Monday morning painting.
I am in the midst of packing and organizing for our vacation. We leave tomorrow morning to meet my parents in Roanoke, Virginia (half way point) and then on Friday we take the rest of the trip to the house we are renting in the Pocono's. Aaron will join us in a week. I have not had the experience yet of driving that long with the boys by myself. So we shall see how tomorrow goes. Some friends are letting us borrow their Volvo station wagon (my dream car! hee hee) since the a/c in our car is broken. This is such a blessing since taking the Saturn would have meant some serious downsizing in the luggage department.
I am ready to be on the way! I have been jealously watching from afar as the family celebrated Will & Mariana's graduation from law school, had a special birthday surprise for Ramona, and had a house warming shower for Ben & Ramona. I am ready to be with them!
We do not have a laptop so I will be computer-less until we get back. I am actually looking forward to disconnecting for a while. But be sure I will have lots of pictures to share when we return!