What car seats/booster should I get?

[mommyoftwo]

I used to be on here every day but haven't been on here for over three years as my children have gotten older. I am now needing to get new safety seats for my girls and I am completely out of the loop as to what is currently the best. Linnea (6) is in a Britax MA that will expire in a couple of weeks. Amelia (8) is in a Britax Blvd that expires in October. Both girls are quite small and enjoy the comfort of their car seats although Amelia has recently expressed her desire to get a booster seat. While I would rather not go crazy over the top expensive, money is not an issue. I just want to know what would be the safest, most comfortable options for them. We are driving a 2012 Town & Country minivan and the girls are sitting in the middle bucket seats. So I guess these are my questions.

1) I realize that Amelia is 8 and by law in Illinois is not required to even be in a booster but she is only 52 lbs and I would like to keep her in a booster as long as possible for her safety. Plus she likes being up higher so she can see out her window. Amelia still likes to rest her head on the side of her car seat. Are there any booster seats that would allow her to still do this?

2) When and what should I get for Linnea? She is only 43 lbs at this point. I could put her in the Blvd until it expires in October but I'll still have to get her something. She occasionally still falls asleep in the car so I'm thinking for now she should probably stay in a car seat. Are there any decent car seat to booster convertibles out there?

I really appreciate any insight you might have. Thanks!

[mom2binsd]

:waving4: Hi neighbor (I live in Bloomington)....for Linnea (love the name by the way) I'd get her a Britax Frontier, you can harness her for now and then it turns into an excellent booster, it has cupholders and the harness easily adjusts. I love this seat!!! I think it's running about 224. online these days and there are some cute girly colors, light pink, dark pink, and cowmoo.

The other options in this category are the Graco Nautilus, which has head slump issues and the Evenflo Maestro, which is a more economical choice, but perfectly safe, just not the cushiness etc of the Frontier.

For Amelia who can certainly sit in a booster, I'd get a nice high back like the Parkway (I found the Sunshine Kids/now Diono "Monterey" too wide for my little one). I'm sure the others might have other suggestions for High Back Boosters. The reason I suggest Parkway is that it can be latched in place, which makes the seat stay in place better when the are getting in and out. If she's like my DD though she might find the transition to booster different than expected, my DD thought it would be so cool, when in fact it's more a pain to do the seat belt up and she doesn't like the way the seatbelt feels on her chest.... The Graco Turbo Booster fits most kids quite well as well, but just doesn't seem as substantial as the Parkway.

[mommyoftwo]

Thank you very much for the suggestions. I'm impressed that you even recognized where I live. My husband and I lived in Champaign/Urbana for five years and had never heard of it.

If anyone else would like to weigh in, I would appreciate it. :)