Shopping with Natalie

I was post-call yesterday, and I had a pretty good night, which meant that I got some sleep and therefore I had enough energy to do something on my post-call day besides sleep. I got an email saying that Ann Taylor Loft was having a 50% off sale for one day only. The last time I was at Ann Taylor Loft, I was with Natalie. Natalie saw a dress she liked there, but at $69.50, I told her that we would come back when it was on sale. She was disappointed, but I'm so glad that I made her wait. When I told her about the sale and that I would buy her that dress she wanted, she was excited and wanted to go.

Once again, Anthony was at work and Alex was at PE Camp, so it was just the four of us. We wanted to take the chance to have lunch together, so all four of us went to La Cantera Mall. Eric is really not much of a shopper. Patrick dropped us off so Natalie would not have to walk far. Her back has been bothering her this week (more on that another time). Eric was with us for a few minutes until Patrick came to get him to take him to the Apple Store. Eric found a place to rest in the dressing room.

The size 2 and extra small sizes at Ann Taylor Loft worked out the best for Natalie. Natalie not only got that dress, but she got another one in a different print. Both dresses have spaghetti straps, so she also got a dressy sweater to wear over them, plus another short-sleeved sweater. I also bought a couple of things, so Natalie and I spent a lot of money at Ann Taylor Loft--but it was a SALE!

After that, we went to The Cheesecake Factory to eat lunch. Natalie got a mango strawberry smoothie. I had to taste it myself, of course, since Mango is my favorite fruit, and it definitely had a strong mango flavor. Eric was a little disappointed that Natalie didn't share more of it with him, but at least he got to choose root beer for his drink. Natalie and I shared the Miso Salmon, and Eric had his usual Mac and Cheese. Patrick had his usual Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pasta. We got our dessert to go. I texted Anthony while we were there, and he requested his favorite--Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake.

(Note: That purple patch on Natalie's face is some sort of reflection. I did not want to have to mess with Photoshop to erase it.)

After lunch, Natalie and I made one more stop. A new H&M store just opened recently at La Cantera Mall. I was surprised, but Natalie picked out this dress to try on. Sorry for the bad fitting room photo, but I was trying to be quick--she doesn't usually like photos of herself, and I had to take this one before she changed her mind!

She tried the size 2 on first, and I had to struggle for a bit to zip it up. Even when I did get the zipper up, the skin between her shoulder blades was folding in a little. She said it wasn't uncomfortable--in fact, she liked the way it fit snugly so she didn't really need to wear a bra. We did try the size 4 and I could zip up the zipper much easier, so she decided to get that one. The dress only cost $7.50 and it's lined and everything!

I showed this picture to Anthony and he gave me a sad face that he gives me when I talk about Natalie growing up. I told my sisters a couple of weeks ago that I bought Natalie a couple of bras in size 34B. She also now wears the same size shoes as I do--size 5 1/2 to 6. My baby girl is growing up to be a beautiful young lady! She's getting more expensive to clothe, but at least she seems to have good taste in clothing.