The vehicle situation has been the only thing this pregnancy that has had me in a tizzy. I've been stressing about getting a larger car for months now. Really, since before we were pregnant with Tater Tot. For the longest time I said I would never drive a minivan and that we would upgrade to a Suburban or Expedition EL. Never say never, right? The more comparison I did, and the more looking around a friends' vans, the more convinced I became that this was the right car for us. The main reason for getting a larger car was because of the dog. Yup, the dog. The Pilot had plenty of seating with the third row, but no room for Stella to sit when we went to my parents house. And, even with three kids in the pilot, it was going to take some effort and hoop jumping to get all of them buckled in on a day to day basis.
The minivan appealed to me for so many reasons: price, gas mileage practicality, space, etc. I love the sliding doors. Cecilia is big enough now to open her own door to get in and out of the Pilot, however she's not quite big enough, or aware enough, to make sure that her door doesn't slam into the car next to her. Also, even if I parked with plenty of space between my car and the person next to me, chances were that the next car would park so close to me, leaving me without a choice but to door ding them in order to get Lilly into her seat and buckled. And, that is all going to change here in August when I am placing an infant seat in and out of the car and I'll need more space. So, the sliding door option was a big plus. Another plus to the sliding doors- they are automatic. Push a button and magically they open or close. Cecilia thinks its the coolest thing ever. I tend to agree with her on that. Another bonus, it is lower to the ground, so even Lilly can climb in all by herself.
There is plenty of space in Minnie. Even with all three rows of seats up, the trunk is plenty big for all of our stuff and Stella will be able to comfortably ride up with the kids. The trunk has a well that is quite deep, and if we don't have all three rows up, the third row lays flat, making the total cargo space much more than the Pilot was. It is super easy to get in and out of and all the way to the back to buckle Cecilia in the back row too. You should have seen me at the dealership. The sales people thought I was crazy, I'm sure. We brought the double stroller, the umbrella stroller, and the infant seat with us to test drive it. I directed Jon as to where all the seats should be placed, Lilly on the passenger side, Cecilia in the back, and baby on the driver side. Then, I made everyone get out, and I did a dry run of putting all the kids in the car and buckling them in. It was way easier than I expected. Oh- another thing I really like is that the middle row can be either captains chairs OR a bench seat. Right now it is configured for captains chairs but if we needed to haul that many people we could, and as the kids grow and we start hauling their friends we can change it to the bench seat.
So far, I'm really happy with it. It is so practical with a family, and it was totally designed with kids in mind, DVD player and all. So, say what you will, go ahead... "grocery grabber", "mommy missile", "soccer mom"... I prefer "Swagger Wagon" and, in the words of my youngest brother, "I bet my sister is hot in that dual rear-view mirror, sliding side door, hatch back, silver beast of vanness!" Why, yes, yes I am totally hot in it (thanks to the heated seats!) :)
For the record, Jon grumbled quite a bit about the minivan option. He wanted a truck frame. Suburban or Expedition EL were his top choices. I talked him into the minivan. After all, this is my car, that I will drive 95% of the time, and I will be toting kids and grocery's and stuff in and out of. He was worried about his Man Card. After we signed all the paper work at the dealership, he asked the finance guy if he should surrender his Man Card to him?? It was hilarious! Not to worry, Jon, the best Man Card is the one that says DAD on it, right?
