It's safe to say I've put more thought into the photos surrounding Oliver's first birthday than I have his birthday party — but hey, that's second-kid-pandemic life for ya, right? I've also learned that creating the memories is more important than stressing over a perfect party.

In this post, there are two collections of images. The first is a little family session I did myself (with the help of my husband Tyler and our 4-year-old Tuck). Yes, I could hire a photographer like myself to take these for me (and certainly do from time to time). But to be honest, I love the idea of using my talent and art to give my family tangible memories. (I also did our own newborn session, if you want to take a look afterward.)

I chose an evening that wasn't too cold and a location right in our own neighborhood. It was beautiful, and the lingering snow and frozen lake made it feel a bit more magical. 

The second set of images is something special I wanted to do with just Oliver and me, in a cozy little window-lit corner in our home. He and I have spent nearly every hour together since his birth, and I wanted to honor that with something that felt more intimate. Thank you, Tyler, for always being up for taking the camera.

Now, let's go stress a little about that party... 

I had always planned to do my own newborn session. I loved the idea of coming at this with a mama's heart and a photographer's eye. And I loved knowing that years from now, Oliver would look at these images and know that his mom and dad took them. 

I can't wait to compile these images with his Fresh 48 hospital session into one my heirloom albums! It's so important to me that my kids have special photo heirlooms of our life together, especially the parts they aren't able to remember themselves — I think it's the most important (tangible) gift I can give them!

As many of you know, my second baby boy — Oliver Lee Richards — was born Feb. 3, making him just 5 days old today. His birth story is almost the complete opposite of my firstborn, so I wanted to share!

Like his big brother, though, Oliver was late — by a full seven days! My husband and I arrived at Martha Jefferson Hospital at 10 a.m. on the 3rd for an induction. I was super nervous, because I really wanted another natural, low-intervention birth.

After we got checked in, I was given 25mg of Cytotec, a pill that's used to soften the cervix. Because I was already having small contractions (I couldn't feel them), one dose was all I needed to move things along.

I had to be monitored for about two hours after being given the pill, so while we waited, Tyler and I watched TV and ate lunch. At the end of monitoring, I was 4 centimeters and 80 percent effaced (at my last doctor's appointment, I was 3 and 70). We were in for a long night, I thought.

Once I was unhooked, we walked a few laps around the Labor & Delivery floor. Even at this point, contractions were completely manageable.  

Then 4:30 p.m. came around, and contractions turned super painful. To manage, I got into the shower and the jacuzzi tub. When I needed something, I could only point to it and hope Tyler knew what I meant. 

By about 5:45, I started to feel the need to push. I was whisked out of the tub and brought over to the bed for another quick check. I thought for sure there was no way I'd progressed that quickly (my labor with Tucker was over 24 hours!). But I was 9 centimeters and 100 percent and was given the OK to start pushing. 

Pushing Oliver was the hardest 10 minutes of my life. I screamed (a lot) and told Tyler multiple times I couldn't do it anymore. But finally, at 6:02 p.m., there he was — all 8 pounds, 9 ounces of him. We are all so in love!

*All photos by Tyler and me :)

Shortly after I arrived at the hospital.

Before his first bath.

I always want to remember when he was this small!

With our second baby boy due in just a few weeks, I wanted to share his space-themed nursery! This theme was our runner-up when Tucker was born, so it was fun to watch the idea finally come to life.

​We started off with a dreamy constellation accent wall, which, thanks to wall decals, was super easy to create. I love how it turned out. Because it and the carpeting are dark, though, I wanted to keep everything else light and minimal. 

His Moses basket will be moved into our bedroom when he's born, and the Montessori-inspired play gym will probably make its way downstairs. So that just leaves the rocking chair, crib, and shelf.

​I learned the hard way that dressers can and will be destroyed by toddlers, so I decided to go with a cubby shelf instead (we use one in Tucker's room now, too). We'll invest in nice dressers once they're both old enough. Plus, the reachable fabric bins allow both boys to easily pick out, organize, and put away their own clothes.

Next up: Snuggling this baby boy in here!

We spent our anniversary weekend creating this accent wall. Just a dark blue paint with these beautiful constellation decals. 

On the left: I found these great vintage paper pieces on Etsy — a book page with January's constellation guide, and this cute set of space-themed children's playing cards. They'll probably be hung up once he starts standing, but for now, they'll live on the shelf. Right: A diaper/necessities basket. Instead of a changing table, we'll just change him on the floor with a changing pad (I imagine I'll be downstairs changing him most of the time anyway).

These are some Montessori-inspired elements of his nursery. On the left is a black-and-white mobile, designed to develop concentration, focus, color discrimination, etc. It's the first in a series of mobiles, which we'll introduce him to around 1 week old. You can learn more about them here. On the right are a few of his first toys, including a wooden grasping ring and these awesome reflective balls. 

Burt's Bees crib sheet + Little Unicorn muslin quilt.

I made these simple watercolor moon phases paintings myself!

I'm obsessed with his Moses basket, which he'll use in our room for the first few months, and I can't wait to get him into this little constellation-patterned outfit!

I didn’t think this series would take me into June or July, but here we are.

As I write this, Virginia is on day two of Phase 3. We can dine inside restaurants, gather with 250 of our closest friends, and listen to music at indoor venues with 1,000 people.

My family and I won’t be doing any of those things, though. Because at the same time, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb.

We do enjoy the occasional drive-thru meal, a solo mission inside Target, and a rare visit with family, but it’s all done with a dose of worry. What if.

I’d love to say that I’ll look back on these days and feel some warmth, but I’ll remember — the fear, the anxiety, a sense of being trapped, a loss of time and experiences with family.

So these photos aren’t for me — they’re for Tucker. Because I hope he does remember only good things about this season.

In these photos, we build a giant fort, make friends with goats, get yet another quarantine haircut, and (finally) make a trip to my mom’s.

Laura Richards is a fine art lifestyle & documentary photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She specializes in authentic, feel-good photography that tells "the story of you" for decades. See what makes her different from other photographers in the Charlottesville area here.

Another week — or is it two weeks? A month, maybe? 

In this entry, I document a rainy afternoon in the play room, serious art projects, cereal box robot arms, a puddle-laden walk, and our first big family outing since February — strawberry-picking at Critzer Family Farm in Afton, Virginia. 

As always, my photos are made using only natural light, whether it be through a window, during golden hour, or in direct sunlight. In this series, I experimented with light coming in through our front door — one time around bedtime; another, in late afternoon. I'll note them below, so you can see the difference just a few hours makes.

Front door photo just before bedtime. 

Rainy afternoon in Tucker's play room. I loved playing around with the day's low light.

Front door photo in late afternoon. The light creates such cool rainbow splatters inside!

Breaking in the splash pad. We basically live at the beach now. 

Your kids stick scissors in their mouths too, right? 

Tucker's homemade cereal box robot arms. 

Empty boxes are the best!

Writing a letter to grandma, using stickers for stamps.

A family walk after the rain. Luckily, Tuck lives in his rain boots! 

Ready to pick strawberries! 

But first, this old tractor.

Working on my Mother's Day present! 

Laura Richards is a fine art lifestyle & documentary photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She specializes in authentic, feel-good photography that tells "the story of you" for decades. See what makes her different from other photographers in the Charlottesville area here.

Like many of you, I've lost track of the days.

The weekends carry no real distinction from weekdays. Mornings slide slowly into afternoons. Our backyard is starting to feel just a little smaller.

My first quarantine journal post documented days 1-10. This one documents moments between March 29 and April 14. To me, it feels like one long quarantine day — a day filled with fire pit dinners and deck lunches, hammock naps, a homemade sprinkler, video chats, nature walks, and an Easter egg hunt (or two or three). 

​We also celebrated Tucker's third birthday (so unbelievable!). It wasn't the party I'd imagined a few months ago, but it turned out to be such a special day, complete with a surprise visit from Albemarle County Fire Rescue. 

I didn't take too many photos from Easter or Tucker's birthday, because I was also filming the day, which definitely takes a lot more focus! Watch those films here. 

This was our very first fire in the pit Tyler built. Tucker's reaction (top left) was "Pee-yew! Hot, hot, hot!"

An 80-degree day in March calls for a run through the hose. 

Eating on the deck or over the fire pit might as well be a night out to a restaurant these days...

Tucker often walks up to the thermostat, hand on hip, and says, "Nice day out!"

Pretending to shop in his play room (guess I'm not the only one missing shopping trips).

We finally broke out the hammock, only to find out Tucker is obsessed! 

Post-nap walks.

Video chats with Grandma.

Building a bird nest, and then (unprompted) cleaning up the mess.

A nice outing and picnic to Walnut Creek Park in Charlottesville. 

Decorating paper eggs with shaving cream and food coloring.

Indoor Easter egg hunt. Turns out Tucker's a pro!

A beautiful Easter morning.

Tucker's third birthday! He had no idea a firetruck was about to come to his house!

We video-chatted each person, so they could see Tucker open their gifts.

Tucker's eggless brownie cake (I accidentally used all the eggs for Easter lunch, but this recipe turned out so good!)

I'm a sentimental sucker for the "lasts" — especially when I can turn them into something magical. 

For the past three years, I've made it a priority to spend the evening before Tucker's birthday to take some photos. For the past three years, it's just so happened to be a beautiful day drenched in golden-hour light. 

Apart from the sentimentally of these little sessions, I love that they allow the following day to be more relaxing. I don't have to worry about keeping cake smears off clothes or interrupting the flow of birthday celebrations for photos that I have (unreasonably) high expectations for. 

If you know our sweet Tuck, I hope you enjoy seeing his beautiful smile during this time of quarantine. If you don't, I hope you'll imagine your own kids having photos like these and reach out when togetherness is once again resumed. 

I hope this is a short series...

The Saturday before day one. My view coming home from a photo session. I'm including it here because, apart from Tyler going to work and a couple of photo sessions for me, we had been self-quarantining for a few days at this point. And to me, this image represents so much of what we are experiencing right now. 

Day 2 of our "official" quarantine. (I didn't even realize it was St. Patrick's Day.) It doesn't look very different from a normal day, except Tyler is working from home. It's a challenge to keep Tucker away from Dada's "work house," but for the most part, he and I have been spending the day in his play room and enjoying the spring weather.

See that little string of pony beads on his easel? Tucker made "Christmas lights" for one of his favorite stuffed animals, a bird puppet. 

Day 4. I pulled out the chalkboard Easter eggs I was saving, so Tucker could use them for his bird. We learned about how baby birds hatch and get fed. I cleaned out a honey bottle; Tucker and I filled it with brown and yellow paper. He's feeding honey to his goat in the third photo. That evening, Tyler and Tucker had their first quarantine haircuts. 

Breakfast popsicles (I think. Probably.) I love the kitchen window image, because it represents what a peaceful moment looks like for me these days: spring-scented candle lit, window open, and Tucker happily playing outside while I get some things done inside.

Tucker skipped his nap that afternoon, so he spent some downtime watercoloring. He made one picture for Grandma, two for his cousin, and six for the trees and bushes in our yard.

We started having "tea time" with Tyler in the afternoons. Tucker likes to make the tea, but doesn't usually drink it. We got out some of Tyler's old photos; Tucker would hold them up and say, "Me!" Later, he made Tyler some cards out of construction paper and stickers (a lot of stickers). 

It was about this time last year — I was sitting on the couch, in front of the tree, wondering where we would be spending our next Christmas. 

Tyler and I had been itching to start house-hunting again, and we knew that come spring, he would graduate and (hopefully) land a job he loved. 

Fast forward 12 months, and I’m realizing that everything and not much at all has changed. 

In July, we said goodbye to our little home in Roanoke, and hello to a new adventure in Charlottesville. It was so hard to leave the place that held our first memories as a family of three.

And while I still remember the creak of those floors, the grooves in the kitchen counters, the smell of the radiator heat, and the slam of the screen door, I'm learning to love things like that here, too.

The weeks following our move, I barely picked up my camera. Partly out of exhaustion, partly because I felt like this house hadn’t earned that honor yet, like I was betraying our first home by documenting life in this one.

But then I started seeing the same kind of beautiful moments happening here that made me fall in love with our life in Roanoke. 

Evening summertime walks. Watching Tucker splash in the backyard and finger-paint on a towel. His first jump into a leaf pile. His last night in his baby bed. Carving pumpkins. Helping Tyler bake brownies. Dancing to Christmas music on the kitchen floor — all an endless string of magic that has carried me from crying in an empty house to sitting here in front of the Christmas tree once again.

So this year, I take comfort in knowing that, really, we’re exactly where we were last year: together. And I’ll let that carry me into the new year, and all the years to come.