A quick picture update...

As promised, here is another batch of pictures. We had a good Sunday - it was nice outside, so Sylva and I took a walk then played outside for a while. Claire got some good kicking and stretching done inside, and then had a visit from great-grandma and great-aunt Pam in the evening.

So without further ado...

This is Claire's "I'm not tired, I want cuddles" face.

"Mommy + Daddy = Me"

Claire's exercise time - Sylva likes to watch.

A quick self picture of the two of us - note the strong resemblance.

Tanya's latest sneak-attack picture. Claire was a little fussy one morning, but it turns out she just wanted some dad time.

Things are kind of getting back to normal...

Hello all. It's been another chaotic week, but things are calming down finally. I got hit with food poisoning, which is a huge pain by the way, and that knocked me out of commission for a few days so Tanya picked up the slack there while I was moaning and curled in the fetal position...you know, between trips to the bathroom. Along those lines, I just want to take a quick moment to say that Tanya is an amazing wife and mom, and has been incredibly strong with everything that's happened.

There are a few pictures below of Claire and three of her uncles. Yes, technically I only have two siblings, but that doesn't mean she won't have more than two uncles to look after her. Brian and Mom came to Fargo last weekend and it was the first time Brian met Claire, so of course we got a picture with him. Al also came to visit and stayed for about four days, so that was great. After having him live with us for months it's kind of sad that he's about 3 hours away now.

Claire continues to have other visitors as well, such as Tanya's friend Chelsey, my aunt, uncle, and cousins (the Sabols/Rings), and my Aunt Alice and Norm, but we don't have pictures of quite everything at this point. No worries, though, as I'll have more pictures to post tomorrow as well.

Uncle Joel & Claire
Uncle Al & Claire
Uncle Brian & Claire

A middle-of-the-night update...

Well, it's 3:30 in the morning, and Claire is up, so we are too. Figured I'd post a quick update while she's feeding before I get to put her back to sleep.

First of all, a GIANT congratulations to my sister, Erika, and her two friends Jane and Amber. They all completed the half marathon yesterday, a 13.1-mile stretch of running. Jane even did it with a broken toe (which she broke the night before ironically enough). Erika has been training for it for about 12 weeks if I recall correctly, and looked awesome. We're all insanely proud of her, and I know Dad is loving it that his little girl has been doing so well lately.

Second, my brother, Brian, became a father for the second time at the end of April, another little girl named Isabella. I managed to snag a picture of Brian, Meghan, and Isabella when I was in Dickinson helping him with a couple things, so you'll find that below.

As a closing thought, I've been watching the NBA playoffs, so I try to catch most of the games when they're on, but occasionally I'm just tired enough that Tanya gets to catch me in a pose like the one at the bottom of this post....ah well, what're you gonna do?

Erika with Claire after the marathon!

Brian, Meghan, and Isabella - Isabella really has a lot of hair.

It's been pretty warm lately, so Tanya put Claire in a cute shorts outfit the other day.

An experiment with the color accent feature of the camera...Claire's bored with pictures already though.

I know, this is a terribly flattering picture of me...so don't look at me, look at the cute baby...Tanya likes to sneak attack with the camera.

Quick update and more pictures.

Today was a good day. We went up to NDSU to have lunch with Erika, then came back home. Took Sylva for a walk, finished up the yard mowing, and took a little nap with Claire.

The pictures below aren't from today, but they're from the last few days at various times.

Since Claire's cord fell off, we can give her tub baths now, which she seems to like a LOT more than before...I'm sure she'll also love the embarassing pictures we've taken of her later on.

After her bath, in the duck towel.

Me and my two little girls...my chest happens to be a prime napping location for Claire.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe we have Tari to thank for the "My Mom Rocks" outfit.

All three of my girls relaxing in the living room yesterday.

Well, it's been about a week since the last one...

...so I figured I'd do an update with some pictures.

Howdy all. For those who didn't know, having a baby is kind of a big adjustment and doesn't always let you go by your schedule. "The best laid plans..." and all that. Along those lines, I want to give a huge "Thank You" out to everyone - our friends, family, co-workers, etc. for helping us so much during this time. I know it's not an individual thank you for each and every one of you, but I hope no one minds too much!

Anyway, things have been going pretty well so far, although Claire has definitely had her fussy moments. Tanya has also had her fussy moments...you know, with things like worrying about whether Claire "got your (Aaron's) weird pinky toe!" or making sure her ears are covered by her hat if I take her outside. I'll admit I have my little peculiarities as well, especially when it comes to Claire possibly scratching herself without mittens on. I also like to sneak attack Tanya by dressing Claire in pink clothing when she's not paying attention. Hahahaha!

Sylva is still having a bit of a hard time adapting and has been pretty sad at times, but we've been trying to spend more time playing with her when we can, and I've been taking her out on walks. She's settled down on walks quite well so she doesn't try to rip my arm off every time another dog barks at her.

Anyway, I have some more time off work for a bit thanks to the great folks I work with. I know a couple of them probably check in for new pictures and the like, so I'll say thank you on here as well for all the schedule juggling and compromises they've made to get me time at home right now. It's very much appreciated. So you can all expect a healthy dose of pictures in the coming days, but I won't overload too much at once, so maybe just a handful for tonight. Without further ado...

Claire's first day of work, at Aunt Erika's work. We went up there for lunch the other day and Claire did great.

This was taken right after Adam bent down to give Claire a kiss while Friedo was holding her.

I was teaching Adam all about taking pictures.

While Friedo, Robin, and Adam were over, the little guy was saying he wanted to hold Claire, so he got to, with a little help from his mom.

Tanya, Cheri, Robin, Friedo, Adam, and Sylva sitting around visiting.

An update of the past couple days

It's been just a few days since new pictures got posted. Claire has had a few fussy moments, but overall she's been doing very well. Sylva seems to be a bit out of sorts, but there are a lot of changes, and she's still a puppy also. Sylva has no problem at all checking up on Claire and gets pretty concerned when Claire is fussing or crying.

I decided to put Claire in a little pink ladybug outfit that Grandma Beseler got for her, much to the chagrin of Tanya and Cheri. I have no doubt my little one will grow up at least in part as a tomboy, with horses, dogs, and all kinds of other animals no doubt, but I'll let her be a little girl dressed in pink every once in a while!

Claire wanted to sit in the papasan chair...at least she can't fall out of it!

A closer picture of Claire this morning - the blanket she's lying on was made for her by Aunt Robin.

The first picture of Mom, Dad, and Claire.

If you look closely, her outfit says "Little Monkey"

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone. I hope you all have a great day!

Claire waking up for the day

Happy Mother's Day!

Bed time

We had a pretty good day today. Grandpa Matthies spent a bunch of time this afternoon with Claire so mom and dad could get a good nap. I know I'm overloading the picture quota right now, but oh well, here's a few more.

Claire's Super Baby outfit

Sylva making sure Claire is ok

Claire says goodnight everyone

Claire is at home now.

Good morning folks. We brought Claire home yesterday afternoon and made it through our first night without too much of anything happening, including sleep. We're still figuring out what her noises and faces mean, so I'm sure we'll have a few more sleepless nights ahead.

Here's a few more pictures, a couple from home and one from yesterday before we left the hospital.

Self picture of Claire and I this morning

Sylva is already in "protector" mode and will usually be found lying on the floor near Claire's cradle or watching what's going on

Claire and I on Friday morning

It's morning!

Good morning everyone! The weather isn't great,

but Claire is still excited for the day.

Day 2

Hello all. Less than 24 hours since Claire arrived, and here's a handful of pictures.

Mom & Claire

Dad & Claire

Grandma Maxine was super excited to hold Claire.

Grandma Cheri with an almost mummy-wrapped Claire.

Photographic proof of the Beseler nose and chin cleft!

The Beselers - Aaron, Tanya, Claire, and Sylva

I'll begin this blog by putting up the first pictures taken today of both Tanya and I with our new daughter, Claire. Claire was born at 6:06 p.m., May 5, 2010, and is currently sleeping contentedly (at least for another couple hours I'm guessing). Tanya is doing great, and is also getting some well-deserved shut-eye.

I realized after getting these two pictures put up that most of the pictures taken tonight were done with other people's cameras, so I may have to talk Erika into getting a few off her camera for the site. I'll also get a few pictures of Sylva (our collie) put up for those who would like to see her. But for now, here is a brief introduction to the newest member of our family.

I know it's tough to tell at the moment, but she does in fact

have my chin cleft and the Beseler nose for sure!

P.S. For those who thought my kid would come out with
sideburns, luckily for her she did not.