Hello, new car!

So, FINALLY, after weeks of deliberation, Avery has decided on a name for our new (to us) minivan.  We gave her the privilege of naming the car as an attempt to trick her into liking it.  As evidenced by the last post, Avery was VERY sad to see our "blue car" go.  For days before we traded it in, she would randomly be brought to tears by the thought of getting rid of the "the only car [she's] ever known."  She cried during most of our (hour plus) drive to the dealership to switch cars.  She wailed as we strapped her into her carseat for our inaugural ride in our newly acquired van.  And, for weeks, she felt almost haunted by sightings of blue Toyota Highlanders...

"Look, Mommy!  Our blue car!  It's trying to find me!  Blue Car!  It's me, Avery!  I'm right here!  Oh, no!  It can't see me in this green car!  No, no!  It's turning the wrong way!  Blue car, I'm over here!  Blue car!"

The whole process was rather heartbreaking...for her, as well as for me and Jeff.  It never occurred to us that she had any strong feelings for/about our vehicle.  We were totally taken aback by her reaction and rather unprepared to deal with the consequences.  As we were floundering, trying to find ways to make the situation better for her, we came up with the idea that, in an attempt to make her feel connected to the new car, we would tell her that our shiny new minivan needed a fancy (using the word "fancy" with Avery is very influential) new name, and she would be allowed to pick its fancy name.

She thought and thought and thought.  She tried a few names on for size...Shimmer, Myrtle, Saige, Fern, Zinny, Stan...but couldn't find one that fit quite right.  Finally, one day, after a LONG round of The Rhyming Game, it came to her...

Drumroll please...

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you, the newest addition to our family...

Penny Ann the Minivan...or just Penny, for short.

We all really like Penny.  Mommy likes that Avery can climb in and out of the car by herself.  Daddy likes the I. M. Pei-ness of the color.  Noel likes that he has his "own chair" and that his door closes with the push of a button.  And, Avery likes that the car is so roomy, with enough seats to have a friend ride home with her after school and, most importantly, ample trunk space for nighttime trips to Rita's for "car picnics."

We still miss our "blue car," but we are all (finally!) happy to have Penny Ann carefully carting us around town.