Morning at the Mall

I took Zach to Picture People at the mall this morning to have his 1st birthday photos taken. We have a large, framed photo of Drew taken there on his 1st birthday and we wanted a similar pose of Zach so we could have a framed photo of him too. Of course, being that Zach is larger than Drew, he was unable to wear the same outfit like we had hoped. My last experience at Picture People wasn't very good...the gal used NO props (which is one of the things they are known for!) and she just didn't seem to really try much with him. Thankfully we did end up with a few nice photos. This time the gal was so nice!! I had taken a copy of Drew's picture with me to show what I was wanting...and then after that I was pretty open as to what she took. She kept asking if a certain pose would be fine - kind of funny but nice to know she was trying to get what I wanted. The only complaint I have is that almost all the pictures came out just slightly soft (not quite all the way in focus). But she still got some cute ones...here are the ones we got some copies of.

First, the pose we now have framed to hang next to Drew's (Drew is facing the opposite direction in his)

She had also taken a cute one where Zach was sitting playing with blocks and she had stacked 4 up just behind him to spell out his name, but thought I had already spent MORE than enough on pictures and had to pass on that one.

While I was waiting for them to develop the pictures (was trying to save a trip back up to the mall - especially on a Saturday *cringe*), Zach and I wandered around the mall. First though, I had to stop by JcPenney and pick up Drew's 4th birthday pictures that got in this past Wednesday. Here are the ones we got of those:





A TON more pictures than what I got at PicturePeople and only about 5th the price :)

I found out, during our wanderings, that we now have a Forever 21 store!! WOOHOO!! They have some really cute tops (and are reasonably priced). I plan on picking up a few after I loose my weight. :) Using it as an incentive for me right now. I also hit Starbucks and picked myself up a vanilla cappucino - YUMMY!!! Since we had 2 hours instead of the usual one (they had to replace the bulb in their developer which then takes a half hour to warm up), I swung by Bath & Body Works to pick up some more hand soap. They had them 5 for $15 which was a good price...so I picked up 3 of my favorite Cucumber Melon Moisterizing Anti-bacterial Hand Soap
And I am also going to try some of their Gentle Foaming Hand Soap in Cucumber Melon and Cherry Blossom Still had plenty of time so I browsed through the Hallmark store, Children's Place and Borders Bookstore (didn't buy anything at any of them), Sephora (another new store to our mall) for foundation (going to try Freshface - seems to match better than most the others I have tried) and finally Steve & Barry's (got John a polo shirt, Drew some long-sleeved polos & shorts,and a couple Mizzou t-shirts...LOVE this store most the items were around $5-6 each). It had been a LONG time since I had wandered the mall and it was fun to see all the new stores that are going in (they are certainly trying to turn it into more of an upscale place).

Well, looks like Drew has come down with a cold. The runny, stuff nose and a cough started last night. Poor guy. He doesn't seem to be running a fever, but we will have to see how he is doing Monday morning to know if he will be able to go to school. I would hate for him to share it with all the other kids in the class, but I also hate him missing a day already!