How big of an upgrade is this?

I have been bluntly hinting to my husband that i Really want a dslr for my birthday, which was yesterday

i want to get serious about photography and you just can't without a serious camera in my view

so, my wonderful hubby went out and bought me a Nikon D7100 with an 18 to 105 lens as well as a 55 to 200 and 85mm micro to go with it. ( i like sports, wildlife, and macro photos)

my previous camera was a Sony NEX 5r, nice camera but nothing like this

how big of an upgrade is that do you think and what tips / advice can you give me for the dslr world?

happy girl here.

Well, that's nice of him and nice for you, but I think that your premise is entirely wrong: "you just can't (get serious about photography) without a serious camera in my view". I find this thinking to be flawed; a good photographer can get a great shot from an iPhone, and here is the proof (it's not my shot, although I wish I could claim it is: most people don't have the skill to get a shot like that even if you gave them the most expensive camera on the planet)

Anyway. The D7100 is a pretty new camera; it's basically the D7000 with more megapixels and no AA filter which makes it theoretically sharper, although the reviews I've seen intimate that it takes Nikon's best glass plus a very specific shooting envelope to really make use of that fact. It will be pretty versatile, but the absence of the AA filter and the high-ish MP count will require more shot discipline.

The lenses you have are decent enough and will be a good start. In terms of how to take a good picture, nothing is different from the Sony NEX, nor from any camera ever made. It's still all about composition / framing, light, exposure, and all the other elements that come together to create a photo.

Watch the metering: The D7000 had an occasional tendency to get the metering wrong by anything up to a stop or more, depending on the metering mode and the subject, and recent Nikons have occasionally had the same issue. Check your histogram afterwards and apply exposure compensation as necessary. Or bracket.

You won't get the best from the D7100 straight away: you've not just switched cameras, you've switched companies, so it'll take a while to get used to Nikon's way of doing things. Don't be surprised if your first shots actually come out worse than they did with the Sony while you get used to the 7100. Then as you learn to use it, you'll see improvement.

Whatever you do, though, don't assume that suddenly having a DSLR is going to magically turn you into a master photographer. Too many people make that mistake. Take your time with the Nikon and have fun with it.

Your old Sony would have served you well for "serious" photography. A better camera doesn't make you a better photographer!
Anyway, good luck to you and I recommend reading through the User manual several times until you get to know every function and feature of the camera.
then get out and PRACTICE as much as you can.