Car(s)

Last weekend, we bade farewell to our family sedan. We had bought it sight unseen when we moved to Atlanta from NYC (well, it was seen by Thomas' dad, on our behalf...), and it served us pretty well for over 2 and a half years (save the rear view mirror continually falling off).

We had been a one-car family since moving to Atlanta. Thomas would take the train to work most days, and we'd get a zipcar when we both needed a car. However, with the impending move of Thomas' office (away from the train line), we've known we would need a second car sometime this year. And, as Carter is getting older, we wanted a car that would allow us to haul more than 2 kids at a time. And, our marriage contract stipulates no mini-vans.

So, we bought a Highlander with a third row of seats. Then, in order to assuage our guilt over buying an SUV, we traded in our car and got a Prius. So now we have two new (to us) cars, and we did it all in under 5 hours.

Bring My Car Back

I blogged previously about how possessive Carter is with our car. His bedroom windows look out over our front yard and driveway and he likes to lay in bed and look at the car. This morning, Thomas had taken the car to an orchestra concert. Carter woke me up with heaving sobs, crying, "My car gone! My car gone!" I calmed him down, explaining that his Dad had taken it, but he would bring it home later (I can only imagine how horrible it would be for Carter if our car got stolen).

Later this morning, Carter insisted on calling his dad. Here's his recap of the message that Carter left for Thomas...

My Car

Carter is getting very territorial about our family car, which he considers to be "MY car".

When it snowed in Atlanta last month, the first thing he did when he looked out the window was to gasp and exclaim "I need towel!". He proceeded to grab a tea towel and insist on wiping the snow off the car. He now tries to wipe up the car when it rains.

When Thomas goes to an orchestra performance, leaving Carter and I home without a car, he'll ask, constantly (and very perturbed), "Where my CAR be?!?"

Last night, after reading a story about a car, he looked out the window and said, VERY seriously, "My car stay HERE. You WALK Mama!"