A collaboration between Boston Moms Blog and Leah LaRiccia Photography.
Ahh, the witching hour. It can be the best of times or the worst of times. A chance for post-nap fun and relaxation or pre-dinner misery. A time for cranky-toddler meltdowns or spur-of-the-moment playground adventures. I’ve experienced my share of miserable evening-time moments — watching the minutes creep by, awaiting my co-parent’s arrival home from work. But for the most part, I’ve come to love my leisurely afternoons with my littles.
So when I had the chance to participate in a documentary-style photoshoot with the lovely Leah LaRiccia, I happily requested the witching hour as my time slot of choice. Our mornings are typically booked with library story times, babysitters while I work, playgroups, errands, and preschool. So I love that our afternoons are unstructured, with no agenda, and no place to be.
For my kids, one of the secrets to happiness in the afternoons is freedom to just play. Sometimes it’s made-up games, like slithering under mom’s legs and trying to avoid being caught.
Excuse our dirty feet — playing outside barefoot comes at a cost!
No afternoon at our house would be complete without Duplos.
Chunky baby Shaw even sustained a Duplo-imprint injury on his cheek the morning of our photoshoot — just to prove his loyalty.
Big brother Soren, almost 4 years old, is forever in the middle of some creation or another. It’s rare that we actually ever clean up the Duplos, because he can’t bear to see his work destroyed.
And then, on to trains — Soren’s second-favorite afternoon activity.
For this guy, a happy afternoon means being in mom’s arms.
Or nursing. At 7 months old, Shaw’s at the wiggly nursing stage, where legs must be moving, and hands must be grabbing.
Snacks are an essential part of the witching hour as well — it’s hard to be happy when you’re hungry, so I let the snacks flow in the afternoon. For big brother, self-sliced cheese is the choice of the day.
Avocados, bananas, and cheese for baby.
Can you tell from his chunky thighs and knee rolls that he loves to eat?
And then, meal time inevitably turns to play time. Attention spans only last so long when you’re 3!
Then, clean up time. This kid would be happy playing in sink water all day if I let him.
Forgot the bib at feeding time, so a full outfit change is in order. Undressing and dressing a baby is one of the motherhood tasks I could live without!
But comforting a child with a fresh owie? I’ll take that task every time.
When the natives start getting restless, the guaranteed way to lift everyone’s spirits is to get outside. On with the shoes! The day this one learned to put on his own flip-flops was a long-awaited milestone, indeed.
After a quick run up and down the driveway, it’s helmet time. Our park is practically across the street, but scootering is the only way this boy likes to travel.
The swings are always first. It’ll be a happy day when big brother can swing independently!
With Shaw content to hang out in the swing, I take a minute to play with Soren — up the ladders, down the slide.
And then, the moment we’ve all been waiting for… Dad is here! No matter how great my day has been, it’s always such a relief to have him join us.
And then, it’s time to head home for dinner and bed for the littles. One of my witching hour tactics is early bedtimes for all! Someone is looking tired already.
We’ve survived another day — everyone is alive and happy, which means I’ve done my job! I’m so thrilled to have a “day in the life” documented so beautifully and accurately — so on those days when I want to run away from home instead of face the little monsters during their witching hour, I’ll have these tender photos to look back on and remember the good times that always somehow prevail.
Leah LaRiccia is a documentary family photographer based in Natick who is forever grateful that she got to turn her passion for photography into her job. She loves that her work lets her meet new people all the time, and she loves even more that these people allow her into their lives and trust her to tell their stories.
Leah met her husband when they were both living in New York City. She misses it terribly (mostly the food and theater) but doesn’t think she could live there again. Leah is mom (or “ma!” or “mommeeeeee!”) to an amazing 4-year-old boy who is her best friend. They love to play good guys vs. bad guys, free build with “little Legos,” eat meals on their deck, and make each other laugh.
Leah’s been a Star Wars fan since she was little (before it was cool to be one), didn’t start baking until her 30s (and hasn’t stopped since), hates dressing up, and wishes everybody (including herself) would print more photos.
