End of Sep 2010 - Abigail at 8 months

Well, September has brought the start of school and activities. Things are certainly busier. Madi has had a good start to middle school. She has started to be involved in student council, the mask and wig club and soccer. Andrew is doing well and is also playing soccer this fall.


Abigail continues to develop. She has moved through crawling to pulling herself up and walking along the couch. This has certainly kept us more on our toes because she is pretty mobile. She has also developed an adorable wave and a sound that sounds like "Hi". Below of some pics of Abigail. The first one is of her dedication at our church.




We did have Nick Lynch and his wife visit us over Labor Day Weekend. It was great to visit with him and his family far removed from Afghanistan.

This post is shorter than most...I guess the start of school has made our family less interesting :)

Hope you are doing well...if you are coming to Gettysburg or passing through, please let us know. Keep in touch. Until next time...

End of August 2010 - Abigail at 7 months

Wow, this was a busy month. We began by venturing to Sesame Place outside of Philly. It was an interesting thought that 2 years ago that we wouldn't really consider this trip, but Abigail resets the clock a little. Luckily, there was still enough to entertain a 11 an 9 year old as well...we had a good day.




I took the Madi and Andrew to see the Ravens training camp in Westminster MD - we are not really fans, but it is only half an hour away. It was pretty hot, but the kids got to get close to some players and get some autographs.

The kids are just to right of this picture and didn't get Flacco's autograph, but saw him up close.


Andrew did end up with a Ravens jersey that was on sale a week later. Here he is with his jersey and his autographs.


We also travelled to Virginia to see Rebekah's friend Melissa and the Dunn's. It was a good time. Madi and Andrew got to swim in the pond, ride horses, and ride some 4 wheelers. Here is a pic of Andrew with his helmet on.



Abigail continues to grow. She is now able to scoot her way around the room, go to her belly and roll over. She is on the verge of crawling and is grabbing on to the couch to try to stand up. She is pretty active. She has also developed to ability to reach out and wave, kind of. She also squeals as a way to talk with her brother and sister, it is really comical. She also is able to now enjoy her swing. Here is a picture of Madi and Abigail at the swing as well as some other random shots.




The other main event this month was the start of school. Madi and Andrew had a good first week, as did I. It has been a bit of an adjustment from the freedom of summer, but it has gone as good as could be expected.

I hope this post finds you all well as you end your summer. Please keep in touch. Until next time...

End of July - Abigail at 6 months

July was a busy month here in the Hirneisen home and Abibail continues to grow and change. She is now eating much better, sitting up well and scooting around on her bottom, getting into things and making attempts to get to her belly to crawl...


Madi and Andrew had a busy month. Rebekah and my inlaws took the kids to the Baltimore Aquarium and to DC while I was at a math conference.


While Rebekah took her annual trip to Dallas for her Mary Kay Seminar, the kids also attended Good News Camp for a week (like every year) where my Mom and Rebekah's Dad are teachers. They had a good time like every year....



Andrew also turned 9 on the 26th. He is getting big and got alot of cool gifts.Due to schedules, he had numerous small celebrations and here are some pictures.




My niece Stephanie came to visit from Georgia for the week. It was great to have her here and we made an attempt at an Overcash grandchildren picture...


I did have the opportunity to lend some support to Joint Staff Engineer Division at the Pentagon and had the chance to have lunch with Maj Nick Lynch who I was deployed with. He is about to transition to school and I wish him the best of luck.

School starts around here on the 25th of August...that will be another transition as we all head to school...Madi to the middle school as a 6th grader and Andrew to 3rd grade. I hope you all continue to have a good summer...Until next time.

End of June - Abigail at 5 months

This has been a busy month. School has ended, summer activities and vacations have begun, and Abigail has continued to change.

School ended for the kids on June 9th. Here is a picture of the kids the morning of the last day of school.


Both kids ended school on a good note. Andrew will be going into 3rd grade at the same school and Madi will be going to Middle School for 6th grade next year. Madi has had a good experience at her intermediate school and received kind words and an award from her teachers at the year end events. Hard to believe that she is going to be in middle school.

Andrew grew into quite the Celtics fan over the past few years. If you followed the NBA finals, there was some tears and disappointment here. He wanted a headband to be like some of his favorite Celtics and I took the opportunity to take this shot.


Abigail has really changed this month. She has begun to eat cereal and some sweet potatoes, she is now sitting up very well, she picks up and throws the balls in her exersaucer, she has increased her repitoir of sounds, and has been to the pool at home and on a family vacation to Williamsburg. Here are some pics.






Hope your summer is off to a great start. I welcome any updates. Please let us know if your summer vacation plans take you to or through Gettysburg...

Until next time.

End of May - Abigail at 4 months

Well, it is the end of May. Abigail is growing, Madi and Andrew are involved in their activities, and school is about to end for all of us by June 8th. Things are busy, but things are going well.

Abigail is now interested in her toys, books and chewing on her hands...She also now giggles which is fun. Here are some pics from the month.






Madison turned 11 last week. She had her first sleep over with 5 friends. It was a good time. They did tye dye shirts (Thanks Amy N.) She also started her softball season. She is a great 11 year old - hard to believe she is that old though...



Andrew is having a good spring as well. He enjoys shooting basketball ( 2 hours a day) and watching the NBA playoffs with Daddy. He did play soccer this spring and had fun with it. I was able to get a few pics...



Hope all is well with you and your families. Enjoy your beginning of summer. Please keep in touch and if visiting the battlefield is in your plans, please let us know! Until next time....

Abigail at 3 Months

Well, another month has gone by....Abigail is growing and becoming more active. She is smiling, almost laughing, and able to sit in her seat. We are looking forward to rolling soon. Here are some pics.



Soccer and Softball have begun for the other kids and things are busy as always. I attended a redeployment conference in Hershey PA and brought my family the first night. We got our picture by the Hershey Bear...


In mid April I was able to complete my 3rd Cherry Blossom 10 miler in a row. I was not able to prepare as I normally would....it hurt a little (the picture shows some wear), but I ran 1:22.00...not too shabby.


For the Bucknell followers, I was able to visit with two of my friends from BU at Hoss's. They were in town as part of the History Relay from Gettysburg to Washington DC. There were 2 Bucknell teams represented. It was good to see Colleen and Eileen...


I hope this finds you all well...please keep me posted on your lives as well...until next time....

Abigail at 2 Months

Well, Abigail is now two months old. Things are busy but pretty much back to normal. I just figured I would share some pictures and a video of Madi and I trying to get Abigail to smile. Hope this finds you all well...