Owen's new car

Well, after months of debating, researching, and indecision, Mommy and Daddy went out yesterday and bought a new minivan to drive Owen, the baby, and all their baby gear around. We never thought we'd reach this point in our life, but are very happy we're here.

While we were busy negotiating a good deal, Owen spent the afternoon with his cousins and Aunt Minh. He had lots of fun and didn't seem to notice that Mommy and Daddy were gone. But we sure missed him and thought of him often during our car buying adventure.

Just in case anyone is curious, we ended up with a silver with grey leather interior 2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L with DVD entertainment and Navigation. We had a hard time deciding between the EX-L and the Touring trims, but decided that there were things in the Touring trim that are nice to have (seat memory, power lift gate, power foot pedals, Bluetooth, front and rear parking sensors, and trip computer), but not worth spending an extra $5k on. Overall, this car buying experience was quite pleasant. We got to the dealership at 2pm and left with our new car a little after 5pm. In the end, Mommy even got the dealer to throw in all weather floor mats. Daddy didn't really care for them because they're ugly, but Mommy's a little particular about keeping the carpet clean. If Daddy wasn't there, Mommy would have somehow gotten a cargo tray and cargo net thrown in there.

This afternoon, we're going to get Mommy's old car, the Acura TSX, cleaned and detailed (somewhat) and hand it over to Owen's cousin, Tracy, who just turned 17. She saw Mommy's car at Uncle Tim's wedding and wanted it when it was time for Mommy to trade it in for a more appropriate Mommy-mobile. Tracy was very happy yesterday when Mommy called to congratulate her on her gently used TSX. Mommy is going to miss this car, but she's going to love the new car much more because this means we won't have to change Owen's diaper in the trunk of a sedan. Instead, he'll be spread out in the rear hatch of the minivan while Mommy wipes and changes him.

The car is really nice to drive. Overall, it drives like Mommy's old car, the TSX, just much bigger. And she especially likes all the storage. Owen's single stroller fits perfectly in the well in the back of the 3rd row of seats. And we're pretty sure the double stroller will fit in there just as well when we're ready to put the double stroller to use.

Here are a couple of pictures of Owen and HIS new minivan.

Here's Owen sitting in the driver's seat. He's grinning because, like Daddy, he likes all the new toys in the car.


Here's Owen wondering why no one has given him the keys to his new car yet. He's ready to take it out for a spin! If he plays his cards right, we'll pass this car onto Owen in 16 years!
Here's Owen checking out the center seat in the 2nd row. In about a month, we'll turn his baby seat around so that he's forward facing and can really take advantage of the DVD entertainment system. What a lucky kid. His baby brother will have to settle for listening to whatever obnoxious kid's movie Owen wants to watch!
Here's the car parked at Babies R Us in the Expectant Mother's Parking Space.
Here's the car from the front.