New Car!

Well, that tears it. We're officially grown ups. Yesterday we put aside our pride and said goodbye to our youth and bought ourselves a minivan. Nah, I'm just being dramatic. I actually got over the anti-cool factor and started lusting after power sliding doors about five minutes after we left the hospital with Philip. And now, the wait is finally over. We are now the proud owners of a new-to-us, certified pre-owned silver pine mica '09 Toyota Sienna LE. Aahhhhhh. The 8 seater model. You know what that means right? Room for four more kiddos!

*Insert picture of Phil packing his suit case here*

Okay, maybe just one more... or two. ;-)

In any case, it's the ultimate family vehicle and I'm so glad relieved we finally crossed the line from life in the fast lane to life in the car pool lane. They really ought to hand these things out when you leave the hospital along with those diaper bags full of formula samples!

Our Swagger Wagon 

Car Seat Shopping

So it's Saturday night, Philip's in bed, and Phil is at work. What's a girl to do? Well, research car seats, of course!

And you thought your life was glamorous!

Philip is currently riding in style in his Graco SafeSeat infant seat. Despite the fact that he's decided to become a baby bodybuilder and is pushing 20 pounds of solid baby muscle mass, we're still lugging him around in his infant seat. We've been talking about moving him into a convertible seat, and I had finally settled on the popular, pricey Britax Marathon when I found this:



The Graco My Ride 65 Car Seat. It can rear-face with infants up to 40 pounds! 40 pounds! That's the highest rear-facing weight capacity of any car seat manufactured in the US. It can then be used forward-facing for children up to 65 pounds. And, at $150, it's $130 less than the Marathon I had settled on. Sold!

So, yes, a 40 pound child is hardly an infant anymore, but it's recommended by the AAP to rear-face as long as possible. And, because I'm a safety freak, Philip will be rear-facing well into his toddler years. Not to mention the fact that he'll then be in a booster car seat until he's pretty much in high school. LOL. Yes, I'm that mom!

Here's some helpful info on extended rear-facing for anyone who might be interested in learning more: http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html