Car seat love

I was so excited to be invited to my friend Allison's Graco Safety party last week. We've used a Graco infant car seat for both boys, and it was so much fun to see the new features they have added in the Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40. Not to mention, I got to hang out with some super sweet bloggers that I have been reading for years (and was slightly starstruck). :)

(Intently discussing car seats at the Graco Safety party)

I'm not much of a researcher, but when it comes to car seats and my boys' safety, I've done my fair share of Googling and combing Consumer Reports. It horrifies me to hear stories from my mechanic husband about parents who don't use car seats for their kids, or who have seats that aren't properly installed. Did you know car accidents are the number ONE killer of children aged 1-12 in the U.S ("The Right Seat", safercar.gov)? If you have a child in a car seat, I highly encourage visiting this site to brush up on car seat guidelines. This is important stuff!

At the party, Allison and Heather did a great job of explaining the features of Graco's newest car seat:

1. It is the only infant car seat that allows a child to be in the same rear-facing seat from birth until age two - comfortably. It has an easily adjustable 8-position recline so big kids can sit up straighter in their seat (hence, more leg room).

2. Its straps are easily adjustable with no re-threading! (There was much excitement over this during the party!) Most of us admitted to avoiding moving those straps up because it was so darn time-consuming. The Click Connect 40 makes it easy.

3. An optional foot rest prevents big kids from getting mud all over your seats. Genius, I tell ya.

4. The cushy headrest and cute patterns are also nice perks!

Thanks to Allison and Heather for hosting such a fun event -- and many thanks to Graco for providing this awesome car seat for us to review!

{The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 – the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.}