Bye-bye Minivan.

On Saturday-

Tim and I were taking Jackson to see a movie.

We were stopped at a red light and were rear-ended by a 21yr old guy.

He told us he was looking at a shiny car in a dealership lot.

He never even saw us.

Tim saw him, though, and said, "He isn't going to stop."

or something to that effect-

and he didn't.

He hit us going 35-40mph, never braking.

There is significant frame damage to my van.

It's totaled.

It was hauled away on a flat bed truck.

It was a good run, minivan!

I got to enjoy you for a whole 6 months.

*sigh*

We now have to find a new van, replace the 4 carseats that were in the van (already re-purchased 3, still need to get the 4th replaced... it was my niece's seat and she is rarely in the car with us, so there's no rush on that one)

Hopefully, all before I give birth to this baby!

You can't see Keelin's seat in the 3rd row.

Thank goodness she wasn't in the car.

I can't imagine how badly she could have been hurt.

It actually hurts my heart to think about.

Her seat will be trashed- no seat that has been in an accident should ever be reused.

The integrity is compromised.

The baby's brand new seat (new in the box) was in the trunk.

It can never be used.

Jackson was rear-facing in his seat.

He is the only one of us that isn't in pain.

The EMT that examined me and Jackson told me that Jackson would have likely sustained serious spinal damage had he been forward facing (and that Keelin would probably have been injured had she been in the car, just because of how we were hit, even though she would have been in a 5 point harness)... that he wishes more parents would be mindful of the fact that forward facing is NOT a milestone- rear face to the MAX. It can truly save your preschooler's life.

By the way, Jackson is 27.2lbs, 35" tall, and almost 31 months old.

Here is my little guy playing while we waited for Tim to come back for us with the rental vehicle.

(Serious kudos to the folks at Rice Toyota in Greensboro, NC for looking out for us after the accident while Tim took care of getting us something to drive home.)

He went and got our rental, bought a new carseat for Jackson, came back to get me and the little guy, then we went and bought a new carseat for Keelin and a new carseat for Finn.

On the other hand, our rental isn't big enough to fit 3 carseats (it's a Jeep Grand Cherokee), so we really need to work out some details before I go into labor. hehe

We had just gotten his hair cut.

Looks like a different boy!

So poor Jackson...

This weekend, he got stitches, got a haircut, got into a wreck, and STILL never got to go see Cars 2.