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Throwback Thursday- My First DSLR | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

I may be in the minority here, but I really love facebook's memories feature.  Every morning I look back on what I was doing on this day going back 7 years.  Sometimes I wonder what was going through my head, sometimes I laugh at how young I was, and sometimes I am able to see patterns in my life.

For instance, for the past 7 years on this day, I was doing something related to art (except 4 years ago, there's no record of that one).

  • 7 years ago I was making a prom dress
  • 6 years ago I was a DJ on my college radio show
  • 5 years ago I was working on creative writing homework
  • 3 years ago I bought my first DSLR camera
  • 2 years ago was my first shoot with a model

I loved seeing the old photos.  When I first picked up my Nikon D3100 I had no idea what I was doing.  I had done some online research about the exposure triangle, but with nothing other than a point and shoot to practice on, I didn't have any idea what I was doing.  I was just playing with it to figure it out.

The first thing I did after buying my camera was take a walk around a nearby lake with my family and my dog.  Since it's still nearby, I decided to do the same today.  Check out the difference!

Even though my older photos often make me cringe, it's so fun to see the progress I've made.  It is so easy to get caught up on the things I'd like to change or do better today, and totally forget how far I've come.  
Plus I got have a nice relaxing evening at the lake with Jerry and my little man.  You can't beat that!

Happy Birthday Riley!

Happy Birthday Riley!

This time last year I was probably sitting on the couch, cuddled up with a little human that somehow (and I still couldn't wrap my mind around this)- I created.  He was probably sleeping, his tiny body taking up barely any space on my chest.  Or he might have been trying to breastfeed, something that we were both learning and struggling with.  But one thing I know for sure I was doing at this time last year- staring at him in complete awe.

Why I'm Excited My Husband is Coming Home

Why I'm Excited My Husband is Coming Home

I've been going it alone for the last month, and I'm excited to say that my hubby is coming home tomorrow!  He's been off sleeping in a tent somewhere in Spain, and I've been on 24/7 baby duty.  As much as I love my little hair pulling bundle of joy, I need a break.  I don't know how you single moms do it.

So let's take a second to talk about all the wonderful things that will happen in my world when Robert comes home...

Pregnancy Update Week 18

18weeksWell, now that the big news is out (along with the big belly), I suppose it's time to start doing some pregnancy updates. At 18 weeks pregnant I'm officially and unmistakeably showing.  I'm to the point where strangers now feel comfortable enough to comment on the small orb that is my stomach. It pretty much happened overnight. Speaking of which, since when are people so bold about asking a woman if she's pregnant?  I'm of the philosophy that you should never ask.  Even if she's got a giant 3rd trimester belly.

I think I'll start acting confused whenever people say something.  I'll lead with a, "What? I'm not pregnant," and then act very offended that they think I'm fat.

Since this is always everyone's first question, I should probably mention that no, I don't know whether it is a boy or a girl yet.  I will be finding out in less than two weeks though (how exciting!) I've started to feel movements fairly regularly (at least once a day), but no significant kicks yet.  Definitely nothing that anyone else would be able to feel.  I had my first appointment with the midwife today (after the long battle of trying to get off post with my care) and heard a strong healthy heartbeat and confirmed that both baby and I are healthy and happy.

As for cravings, at this point I pretty much want to eat my weight in cherries.  So if anyone has the hookups on where to get large amounts of cherries for cheap please let me know.  I will be oh-so-grateful.

So that's the news for my 18 week update.  I haven't quite decided how often I plan to do these (maybe weekly) but expect more to come soon!