Love It!
1. Instagram! When I’m not shooting with my big camera I’m using my iphone, I’ve tried point and shoots but they frustrate me by being something else to carry and the quality can’t come close to my 5d3. Instead I find myself pulling out my iphone for cute photos of the dogs or Will and sharing them on Instagram! I love Instagram, it’s such a fun community and I’m frequently blown away with the images I see others produce with such a limited platform. Truly artists out there! Now with the new pages for Instagram I can share that with family that don’t use it so they can see what I’m up to! It has become home to the snapshots of my life, the small moments I capture each day. So if you love Instagram then make sure to follow me and see lots of photos of my cute baby 😉 Who doesn’t love cute babies?!?!? http://instagram.com/melissaarlena
2. Grandparents! Thank god for grandparents who are happy to watch their new grandbaby! My parents kept Will for us Saturday night so we could attend the Marine Corp Ball and I could get a good nights sleep. They even texted me photos of him throughout the day so I wouldn’t feel so alone without him! As I’m writing this Will is hanging out with Granny in my living room while she reads him stories. Again thank god for grandparents so I can actually get things done!!! Love them!!!
3. Little Smiles! Will is just starting to smile and laugh at me and I LOVE it!!! I’m the mom that takes video of him smiling and laughing and cooing and sends it to his grandparents, his aunts, his great grandparents, everyone practically. For the first couple I would come running to show David and of course he would stop then but now he is laughing and smiling at David too!
Hate It!
1. Blowouts! No I’m not talking about when you go to the hair salon and they make your hair look fabulous, I’m talking about the version of blowouts that new parents are familiar with! Yes the kind that your new son deposits in his diaper after apparently holding it in for over 24 hours. The kind that makes you laugh like a crazed maniac because you have no idea where to start and you really don’t want to touch any of it! Yes that happened and while it was hilarious and pretty much matched the poopy diaper scene from Life As We Know It with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel I’d prefer not to have to go through it again. I realize that hope is futile though!
2. Wrong Numbers! My one chance to sleep through the night while my parents had Will and some wrong number decides to call my phone at 6am…. TWICE!!!! Even worse it was a recording for something that had nothing to do with me. Don’t they realize new mommies need sleep and if I could have reached through the phone to strangle them I would have!!!
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2023.
