Not just cute, but now famous...

in the town of Clifton Forge :o)

Papa has been trying to get a picture for 6 months in the paper.
http://www.alleghanyhighlands.com/soc%20page%203%20-%205-27-09_Layout%201.pdf

Enjoy the tips for bikini season as well!

The Nicely Family Reunion

We had a great Memorial Day Weekend! 3 days is what we need all the time! Sat. we went up to Grace Bible Camp for a family reunion... Matt, Will and I rode up with Joe, Elizabeth and mom while Charlie and Jon took the bus. They were going for the full experience, fishing, camping and hot dogs on the fire. We all had a great time. Charlie is asking when we can go camping again and Matt, Will and I had a fun (and very comfortable) time staying with Alice & Earl.


We were back on Sunday and had time to hang out here, go to the playground and make our 1st visit to our pool - Southhampton.

Jon and Charlie's big catch! Charlie later told Jon, "Dad, see the snake" very calmly. Their was a big old water mocassin (?).
One year from this weekend, Elizabeth and Joe will be getting married!

Big Lips Charlie!

Charlie's bed in the VW bus. Jon searched high and low for this "cot" for the VW.

Stacy Ann, Tommy & Laura

The Wood's... it takes a lot just to get all these people in the picture. Nonetheless, smiling or looking at the camera.

Bottom: Alice with Will, Charlie with Matt, Earl, Sally, Laura with Stacy Ann

Top: Jon with Charlie, Jane, Joe, Elizabeth, Margaret, Tommy

Charlie's Year End Show

Charlie's preschool had their Year End Show Friday. It was very cute, with each class doing a number. Charlie's class, Room 1 2 yr olds did their song, "Ain't no bugs on me" with their teacher Katie playing the guitar. Lots of fun!

Charlie is the tall guy to the right of the trunk.

My big guy

Charlie had his 3 yr appt today! He is doing great and has grown 3 inches since last year!!! What I would give for another 3 inches of HEIGHT!!! His weight is right in inline and he is now a whopping 38 lbs. Can't believe it.
This kid is excited to go to the doctor's office too. Anything for a lollipop :o).... and stickers!

A day at the Zoo!

Cabin fever has been catching up with us and we decided to get out and go this weekend. On Friday night, there was a little festival on Brown's Island in addition to the weekly Friday Cheers concert. Lots of cool stuff for all ages... There was a dog water jumping contest, bike show (jumps & ramps), music and then of course it's right under the train track which is really interesting for a 3 yr old!

This was our dry run for Sat.... we were practicing stroller techniques, packing gear, etc. Somehow we blanked and only took the 1 double stroller, forgetting a baby bjourn or something for a "3rd." It ended up working out- Charlie rode some, but enjoyed getting out too...

Saturday, we headed to the Washington Zoo. Charlie was so excited. We hit McDonald's on the road and enjoyed a movie on the way up.

Here we are watching the elephants... They put on a great show for us, playing in the water and tossing the ball back and forth.



Inside the reptile house... Jon's famous nose shot :o)

Morning snack:
Could that be Alex? (for those of you that don't know Alex, he is the lead in Madacascar).




This is inside the new Children's Barn area at the Zoo. Nice hairdo.


Stroller days (Will on the left, Matt on the right). Jon and I wondered how we could zip through so fast with 2 strollers and other people were so slow... figured we are used to being fast paced = survival mode

We only saw 1 panda- the male. The female panda may be expecting and taking it easy inside the Panda House...

We had so much fun - and enjoyed seeing the city a bit too. Thank goodness for our GPS, it took us right in and out. We saw President Obama's helicopter... take it from the news, he was on the way to/from the girls soccer game.

Bye bye cabin fever, summer here we come!!!

Jumping Jacks

Something else we like to do these days is jump, jump, jump. It took a while for Will to figure it all out, but Matt has loved it from the beginning and grabbed on right away.

Matt on Left, Will on Right

things are pretty calm in the Nystrom household although we're all having a few allergy issues. Matt & Will have been coughing quite a bit, so since we didn't think our lifes were exciting enough, we've added breathing treatments (2xday) back in the mix. So now, at night in addition to Charlie pick up, cereal, dinner, bottles, baths, walks, we've added breathing treatment. It's funny, because we stopped about 2 months ago and it's a lot harder these days - they are both grabbing onto the tubing and the pipe and your arm... not so easy to keep your aim :o)

Happy (belated) Mother's Day!

I was very much spoiled here. My husband really is a wonderful guy and in coordination with my wonderful parents, arranged for the kids to have a sleepover so we could get a decent night's sleep and enjoy a relaxing evening... It was a good thing too as we were up last night with coughing Will from 3:00 to 4:30 a.m.

We went to Kitchen 64 (really enjoyed the atmosphere (no smoking) and could've picked several things off the menu) and the new theatre on Boulevard. Saw Ghosts of Girlfriends Past... not the best movie, but entertaining enough for someone who hasn't been to a movie in 6 months.

Yesterday we had fun twirling around Short Pump Mall and eating outside in the perfect weather. A little bit of the Monday blues here with this gray weather and reality kick.

I am looking for some help with my blog. I just have questions that I haven't figured out with editing template/etc. I don't think they're complex questions for someone that knows what they're doing, but they're above my level still. If you know anyone that could help, let me know.

Oh, Proud Parents

We went to Charlie's school, the Jewish Community Center, today for Shabbat. Each class gets to lead once a year, and Charlie's class was the last to go. As Jon said, it was pretty cool that Charlie got the leading role for the boys. Ok. I don't think it's exactly a play, but for us non-Shabbat knowers, we thought it was neat. And funny.

It was also Will & Matt's coming out party at the JCC. All these people saw me pregnant.... very pregnant. But have never seen Will & Matt and made a special request for their appearance. So, we decided, we'd forge ahead, germs in all :o).

We absolutely love the teachers at the J and feel they have the best programs/resources. Some days I wish they celebrated Christmas & Easter, but hey, I did get the most beautiful Mother's Day card!

8 hours

what a wonderful day when you wake up after 8 hours of sleep in a row, it's sunny, it's Friday... YIPPEE!!!
Not sure exactly how long it's been, but it has been a while since we've slept through the night. Who knows what makes our smiley Will wake up 3 and 4 times a night, but last night he slept through with 1 minor outcry and putting himself back to sleep.

We've been trying to adjust our schedule this week- it's been a while coming. Instead of eating, awake, sleeping every 3 hrs, we're working towards 2 naps a day and incorporating 2 additional things: Juice Bottle & Rice Cereal. You would think it would be easy, but is sometimes crazy to figure out the transition. Our goal is to now eat at 7:00ish, have a juice bottle about 9:00ish (need help getting things moving - perhaps another cause of sleep issues!), a bottle about 10:00ish, MORNING NAP, eat / up, bottle, AFTERNOON NAP, 4:00ish bottle, CEREAL (still not really interested, only 2 days into it), then 7:00ish bottle, stories with Charlie and BED!!!

That's the plan, at least for a few weeks...

Hanging with the Kolkhorst's

We had a nice visit last Saturday with the Kolkhorst's! Tried to go to a festival, but since the weather was rather bleak, we stayed here and ordered pizza. The kids had a great time. It's always interesting how kids can "jive" without seeing each other all that often!

Top Pic: Jon, Charlie, Matt, Guy, Will, Jessica

Bottom Pic: 2 cool dudes > Noah & Charlie

We like to move it, move it!

I have to say I thought it was so cute of Debbie to put Move It, Move it on her Team Momentum CD. I said Charlie sure will love this. Well now that I have listened to it 150 times in the past week, I'm not so sure how cute it is anymore!
Although this morning, I did think maybe this is my family anthem? It's an adventure to get 4 people fed, dressed and out the door to work/school when 3 of the 4 can't do it for themselves! It's task management, task management. Thankfully, I don't have to get dressed for my office companions, the squirrels and birds out my window.
Charlie's new thing is taking showers in the morning - I can't complain, at least he's clean and it simplifies our night-time routine, but he sure doesn't like it if he hears the shower turn on and he's not in it.

6 months checks ups

Matt & Will had their 6 month appt today - all is well and both are on track. They both weigh about 18 lbs. and are 27 inches long. We go back at 9 months.

Will is really teething and looks like his bottom 2 front teeth are coming in. He woke up about 5:00 am this morning not feeling so hot (after already waking up at 2:30 am!). We're feeling sleep deprived again today. Matt also looks like he has 1 tooth coming in but doesn't seem to be feeling bad.

Next is Charlie's 3 yr check up next Tuesday!

Happy Friday!!!

What a great day!

We had a nice night, although some of us did get up a few times...

Charlie is off to school this morning. He and Dad have been riding in the school bus as he likes to call it - although he is now calling it by proper name, VW Bus, every other time or so. He laughs the whole time and thinks it's so cool. He wants to go camping soon!

Ahh, the nuts... they just don't fall far from the tree, do they?