Marathon and Scenera, which for which child?

After reading and reading until my contacts dried out last night, I decided to pop into my local Target and pick up a Scenera today while I decided if I needed to start saving up for a Regent for the future. So now I have a Marathon and a Scenera, and I'm not sure which child should sit in which seat.
My daughter is 4 yo and 33ish pounds, around 39 inches in height and had been FF in the Marathon. My son is nearly 15 months old and probably just over 20 pounds and I don't know his height.
My son is now RF in her Marathon and my daughter is in an 'old' Cosco Eddie Bauer convertible seat that has manufactor year of 2001 (don't remember exact date). That was our 'friend-seat' before my son out grew his infant seat Evenflo something-or-rather. I would prefer that my daughter not be sitting in an 'old seat' and have been thinking of getting her a Regent, but need to save up $. So the Scenera is a good alternative from what I've read here.

So which child should be in which seat? My daughter is not up for switching back to RF, but my son doesn't know any different, and I'll keep him rearfacing for as long as possible. It's nice to have them facing each other so they can entertain one another while we're driving (and pass snacks to each other)

Thanks!

[all together ooky]

Ideally I'd put the daughter RF in the Scenera until she hit 35lbs. and the son RF in the Marathon. But, since she's 4 she will be fine FF. I'd put her FF in the Scenera and your son RF in the Marathon because the Marathon can tether RF. That is, of course, if your daughter fits in the Scenera FF (shoulders must be at or below the top slot).

Make sure you top tether both seats.

[flipper68]

Since you said you are not going to switch DD to RF and assuming DD will still fit in the Scenera, it probably doesn't matter too much.

I'm guessing your oldest has minimal time (height wise) in the Scenera AND it goes to 35 RF, I'd probably put DS in the Scenera so I didn't have to switch in a few months when DD outgrew the Scenera.

As far as buying a Regent, this is a personal choice. Since your daughter is already four, I'd want to see her in the MA (height wise) to decide whether she will outgrow it soon or not. If she is not yet in the top slots or has some room to grow at the top slot, I probably wouldn't purchase a Regent, but rather a Parkway or other booster with SIP instead since she will most likely be 5+ when the MA is outgrown. (I'm not a huge advocate of extended harnessing past age 5-6 unless there are physical, behavior or maturity concerns).

[crunchierthanthou]

Like the PP, I'd put dd in the Scenera because you can tether the MA rf. She can stay in it ff until 40 lbs or she outgrows it by height. Of course, I'm a little biased. I think the Scenera rf is a beast because of the steep incline, so I'm less inclined to tell you to put ds in it. If dd is too tall for the Scenera, then I take back that suggestion and you'd have to switch them.

[amyg530]

whats her torso height? my DS is 36 in RF in the scenera and i think by the time he outgrows the RF weight he'll be too tall to FF. i would guess that at 39 in she probably wont fit FF in the scenera. (top slots are about 15in and have to be at or above her shoulders)
i would put her in the MA and your son RF in the scenera. i would definatly start saving for a regent but wouldnt buy it till shes just about to run out of room in the MA or you son outgrows the scenera and needs the MA (assuming its not expired at that time). i do think the regent would be a great seat to get her when the times comes b/c it is safer and if she falls asleep in the car then she wont be floping around (and from what i've heard from other moms, kids perfer the regent to the britax booster b/c its more comfey, ask jenny, she says her 6yo picks the regent over the booster)

also flip your EB seat over and check the exact expire date on and get ready to cut the harness straps and beat the daylights out of it when you have a bad day b/c it sounds like its about to (if not already) expired

Thanks for all of the input! I'm not sure how long my DD's torso is, so I'll have her sit in the Scenera when I open it up. She's pretty petite, so she may be fine for a bit in the Scenera. It's easier for us to just remove the EB seat and put DD in the Scenera FF until she's too tall for it. DS is already in and adjusted for the Marathon, so it's easier to just leave it as is.

PPs have mentioned that the Marathon can tether RF. When I looked at the display Scenera, there's also a tether with clip on the back. Can you not tether the Scenera RF? Is there something I'm missing? Is the Marathon tether better for tethering RF? Since we recently made the switch of giving DS the Marathon I haven't attached the top tether yet . But I've read up on where to look for good anchors under the front passenger seat (we have a Mazda MPV minivan BTW).

So now my problem is deciding on what seat to get next. High-backed booster with SIP for DD, Regent for DD, another Marathon? She's pretty much stabilized at 20% on the growth charts, so the Regent will be huge on her for a long time.

[all together ooky]

The Scenera CANNOT tether rear-facing. Only Britax conververtible and Sunshine Kids Radians can tether rear-facing. All carseats can and should tether forward facing. So, definitely tether that FF scenera.

You will need to use the d-ring strap that came with the Marathon. Wrap it around a front seat leg or something else that is permantly attached to the vehicle and non-moving. Then hook the tether to the ring on the strap.

Depending on how much growing room she has in the Scenera it may be quite a while until you need to look into boosters. The Marathon will give her some more growing room too (when she outgrows the Scenera just switch the kids).