Photography by Megan Sneak Peek Blog! » weddings. kids. families. life.

Just thought I’d pop in between client posts to share a few updated pictures of my own handsome little boy!  Wesley is now 20 weeks old… how is this possible?  We’ve had quite an adventure so far, though, and I am enjoying every minute I can soaking up his babyhood.  After a busy summer of traveling all over the Midwest (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, and of course, Minnesota) we’ve settled down for the time being while harvest finishes up here.  Wesley is FULL of personality now.  He grins, giggles, babbles, and hums.  He can sit pretty good on his own for a little while if balanced well, and rolls over too!  He chews on his toes, toys, fingers, and even Mommy’s hair if he gets a good hold on it!  He’s absolutely gorgeous if I do say so myself, with big sparkly blue eyes and long golden eyelashes.  Enough words–here are the latest pics!

We’ve been on the road again!  We just returned from another 2 week trip out to visit my husband and the harvesters who had been in South Dakota.  They finally finished up a couple days ago, and now I’m happy to say we’re ALL finally home together back in Minnesota, with the harvest here in full swing!  While we were gone, Wesley’s cousins Kajsa, Quin, and Delia came to visit.  It was also due time for Delia’s one year pictures, so we headed downtown for a fun little urban session.  The next day before everyone left we did a few more family shots, including Nathan and I!  As a photographer I know how rarely I’m in FRONT of the camera, so I took advantage of it.  I also added a few “Wesley” extras.  He’s now FOUR MONTHS OLD!

…and a few of Wesley and the cousins with Grandma and Grandpa!

Riding combine with Daddy.

He’s a blondie, now.

Giddy-up!

As I mentioned earlier, Wesley and I just returned from our trip down south with my husband who is a custom harvester.  We left at the end of May and headed to Oklahoma pulling our camper behind us.  From there, we slowly made our way north as the crew harvested, finally ending up near the Colorado/Nebraska border before I had to take off for home right around the beginning of July.  (We flew back so I didn’t have to spend 2 days in the car alone with my baby!)  Nathan will join us back home hopefully by mid-August.  Can’t wait!!

We had SO many adventures while we were away, and it was fun to take a picture every day of Wesley (“Daily Wesley”) to share with friends and family back home.  It was a challenge at times to think of something creative every day, but in the end it really was a cool way to remember our trip, plus show how much my little guy had grown!

Here is a collage of each picture I took in case you missed the daily updates I had on Facebook:

It was a huge hit, everyone loved to see what would show up each day and what Wesley was up to.  He was pretty cooperative and let his Mommy put him in some interesting locations, everywhere from the combine cab, a wheat field, the swimming pool, and even peeking out of a suitcase!  I also had fun picking out funny/clever onesies for him to wear on the days that I was stumped for ideas.  I found some of the best clothes at the dollar stores around Oklahoma and Kansas!  Here are some of my favorite (and most commented on) shots:

Day Thirteen: Kickin’ it.

Day Fifteen: Where’s my combine?

Day Seventeen: Smiley.

Day Twenty: That’s How I Roll.

Day Twenty-Five: Caution… I just filled my pants!

Day Thirty-One: First trip to the pool.

Day Thirty-Six: Daddy’s Caddy.  (There may have been a little Photoshop magic in this shot!)

Day Thirty-Seven: HAPPY Fourth of July!

Day Thirty-Eight: Packin’ up!

We had a GREAT time on “vacation” and it was wonderful to just spend our days with Daddy and not having to worry about anything.  I keep thinking about how different next year will be when he’s a busy one-year-old… we will definitely have to bring more toys and make sure the camper is baby proofed!  And as you can see, Wesley has grown a LOT.  He’s now up to about 14 pounds and turned THREE MONTHS OLD (!) on July 6.  I can’t believe how fast he’s growing up, but I’m so glad I have my camera to capture it all to remember this time for years to come. 

After six weeks on the road, seven states, and a flight with my baby in tow, Wesley and I are finally back home in Minnesota!   Daddy is still harvesting in Colorado and Nebraska, and will be home in the middle of August, we hope.  I might go out and visit again in a couple weeks when they are in South Dakota.  I’ve been extremely busy since I got home bringing Wesley around to visit all the grandparents and friends that missed him so much!

Those of you who followed me on Facebook will know that I took a picture of Wesley each day we were gone.  I kind of let my blog slip during that time, so I apologize… I had limited internet signal and of course, limited time!  Now that we’re home, (with better signal!) and things are picking back up, it should be updated more regularly now.  I’ve got TONS of pictures to share from our trip, too.  If you missed my “Daily Wesley” photos, I’ll be posting a collage of all of them soon.  For now, though, here’s a cute one I got of him for the very last shot on Day Forty, the day we finally got home!

Our days are crazy busy around here, it’s hard for me to get enough time to sit down at the computer, but I wanted to share a quick picture of little Wesley asleep at the wheel of Daddy’s combine!  He’s had quite the adventure so far, but tends to sleep through some of the more exciting stuff!

I’m writing this from the back seat of our pickup as we haul our camper down to southern Oklahoma/Texas–we’ve officially left on harvest!  I wrapped up a few last minute local sessions before we left, so I’ll have some updated blogs coming up, in addition to pictures I take of all of our own adventures with having a baby along on the road!  Wesley and I will be staying with Nathan in our camper until July and then the two of us will fly back to Minnesota while Nathan finishes up.  Until then I’m on “vacation” and wrapping up my maternity leave.  It’s gone by so fast, I can’t believe Wesley will be two months old tomorrow!  His personality is really starting to come out now, he smiles and “talks” to us and he’s such a laid back and easy-going baby so far.  Here’s just a quick peek at a picture I shot this morning–the biggest smile yet!  Also, his first pair of jean shorts!

Again, I can’t believe how fast time is flying by.  I also can’t believe I’ve been so busy I haven’t updated this blog nearly as much as I had hoped to–having a baby definitely takes up all your time!  We also leave for harvest in about a week and a half so things have been CRAZY busy around here getting everything organized to leave.  I haven’t had a spare moment to get on the computer, let alone take many pictures!  I do snap some here and there, but it’s hard to get everything lined up.  I usually try to find some time when Wesley is in a good mood, move his swing or chair to the window for some good light, and snap away.  This is what I got a couple weeks ago and love the expressions he’s been giving lately!  He changes every day and it’s so fun to see his personality come out more and more.  Check out what we’ve been up to lately!

He still enjoys napping in his swing!

All cozied up to go outside when it was cool and rainy last week; more eyelashes, they’re really blonde!

First Ranger ride out at the cabin!

Curious little boy.

Starting to get used to bath time!

Love those lips!

BIG smile!

I can’t believe my baby is now FOUR WEEKS OLD.  Everyone said time would fly by, but I never knew how true it could be until it was actually happening.  Yet at the same time, I feel like every day is the same and nothing has changed, but when I look back on photos of him from his first few days of life, he is definitely looking different physically, even though he is still tiny!  We had him weighed today and he’s up to 8 pounds, 1 ounce.  I find it hard to believe that there are new babies being born who still weigh more than him!  For now he is still my little peanut, long and lean!

We’ve had a busy past few weeks.  Wesley has been out to dinner twice at the Caribou Grill, on his first trip out to the cabin for a Ranger riding weekend (Grandma baby-sat so Nathan and I could go on the ride!) and even to the Lancaster Golf Course fundraiser where he was our lucky charm and won three door prizes!  We were happy to accept them on his behalf, especially the $25 gift certificate to Scheels!   As far as photos, this time we didn’t do an official “photo session”… I’ve found that having my cameras ready at all times means I’ve been able to grab them at different moments throughout the day when a photo op arises.  Here are a few of my favorites from the last 4 weeks!

I caught kind of a half-smile in this one, and you can also tell he’s starting to get big blue eyes!

Cuddling with Daddy.

Helping Mom edit a few photos.

He loves the mirror by his changing table!

Sometimes I can capture a smile, but it’s usually in his sleep!

He likes to sit and watch TV with Daddy.

3 a.m. diaper blow-outs that require full clothing changes aren’t so bad when you have this cute face to look at!!

“What?  You thought I was actually going to let you sleep tonight?”

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for month two with my little Wes!  In the meantime, I’ve actually been shooting just a small handful of local appointments for friends, so there just MIGHT be a few non-Wesley posts here and there.  But for the most part, my blog for now will definitely be all about my boy, so I hope everyone is ready for lots more pictures of him!  I’ve still got two more months of “maternity leave” and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it!

It’s hard to believe my baby is already TWO WEEKS old!  He had his first doctor’s appointment yesterday and was sent home with a clean bill of health.  So far we’ve been continuing to adjust to life with this little guy, and definitely getting by with less sleep!  Of course it’s all worth it, he is the most adorable little baby I’ve ever laid eyes on and today he decided to let me pose him again for another newborn session in his nursery.  I know the days are going by fast and the time for these kinds of shots is running out, so I was relieved so capture just a few more precious moments of his tiny-ness!  And can you believe that hair is getting even LONGER?  I love it!  Here are a few more shots… he’s grown, but just a little bit.  And that’s okay for now!

I think I’ve imagined this moment for as long as I can remember wanting a baby.  I’ve photographed so many newborns over the years, each one as individual and precious with little tiny details that seem to change by the day.  I wanted to give parents a snapshot in time of their little one to cherish, because it goes by so quickly.  And now, here I am, doing it for myself, with my very own baby.  The whole time I was pregnant I wondered what my little boy would look like.  Would he have his dad’s nose?  My eyes?  It seems to change daily with everyone’s opinion, and it’s even hard for me to quite tell.  In any case, he is the most adorable baby I’ve ever laid eyes on…I know I’m biased but he IS!  And so photogenic!  He ended up with that perfect newborn glowy complexion, soft gorgeous hair that I can already style into a mohawk, rosebud lips, and delicate eyelashes.  I still can’t believe he’s MINE!

The hair, the hair, the hair!  It’s the first thing people notice about him, and the first thing the doctors commented when he came out!

I better give my husband some credit, too.  He’s such a GREAT dad!!