Kevin's First Sneakers

We bought Kevin his first official pair of sneakers today. No more soft flexible shoes for him. They are size 6 1/2 wide. We got them at Kmart for $10, mainly because they were the only pair that we could fit over his chubby feet.

He had picked a pair that had flashing lights, but unfortunately they just weren't able to encompass his fat little clodhoppers. (for those of you not native to the midwest, "clodhoppers" are what you wear on your feet when hopping over clods of dirt while walking through a fresh plowed field on a farm)

Kevin loves to walk around, holding onto someone's hands. I think he prefers it to crawling because it gives him better access to all the interesting items on low tables. I wonder if he'll be the first of our kids to walk before the age of one.

Frabjous Day!

Today we had such absolutely gorgeous weather it would have been wrong to not go out and enjoy it! We spent some time at the park jogging, walking, helping Gloria overcome her fear of the big pole, timing Danya on the monkey bars, and watching Kevin dig his feet into the mulch.

Danya learned how to swing hard enough to skip a bar on the monkey bars to cover more distance faster. She may beat her 8 second record soon! Gloria finally slid down the pole all by herself! Daniel jogged all the way around the playground, including the uphill section. I tried it, but only managed to keep jogging for a minute before feeling like a heart attack was imminent. I'll stick to fast walking for now! It was definitely a "frabjous day"!

Retail Therapy

I think they call it "retail therapy" when women shop to deal with stress. In my case, I haven't been feeling well this weekend. This afternoon Daniel suggested we go out to eat for lunch at Applebee's. Let's just say it wasn't our best dining experience ever.

So after that frustrating event we decided to stop by Kmart to look for curtains and maybe a new shirt for me. Since I've lost weight, I got rid of all my oversized clothes and now have very little left to wear. I came home with:

one new shirt, two outfits for Kevin, a new fleece Tinkerbell blanket for Danya's room, a Cars pillowcase for Kevin, two new pillows, a pair of shoes for Kevin, the Cars movie on DVD for the kids...

and no curtains. We are having some difficulty choosing kitchen curtains. We also shopped for but didn't find a new wedding ring for Daniel. His ring snapped in half the other day. This "retail therapy" stuff is expensive. I think in the future I should stick to cleaning my house when I'm stressed, worried, or sick. That's a tried and true method and doesn't cost anything.

A Fascinating Man

The kids all decided to watch their dad while he was putting new string in the weed eater the other day. They were totally absorbed by him. They also watched for quite a while as he whacked down the forest of weeds that was taking over our back yard. Poor Daniel, he had to do the whole thing with the weed eater. He says once he clears out some of the rocks and things he'll be able to use the lawn mower for some parts of it, so it will go a little bit quicker. In the meantime, his shoulders really got a work out. He said the next day that he won't do that again on a Wednesday. That's the day of the week that he doesn't get to sleep except for a tiny nap, because he starts his work week that night. Poor guy. (but the yard looks good!)

The Green Room

We've added a few details to the green room. I found bedding on sale at Target. I also got a nice green, brown, blue, and white striped curtain at Walmart. The gray desk I picked up at a garage sale for $10. The stool came with it. We're going to repaint them both and put a new fabric cover on the stool. You can't see the desk well in this photo, but it looks similar to Kevin's blue desk, except it has drawers on both sides.

We still need to buy new blinds. The current ones have a hole in them, but the replacement ones I bought are too short. Also, if we wind up with boys in this room we'll replace the lamp shade. I'm still looking for a good picture to hang on the wall by the lamp. I think the room feels like it's ready enough that the kids could use it now, though.

Waiting at the Library

This is sort of the extent of the "kids' area" at our local library. There are a few racks of books and a table. I'm hoping that soon they will get the funding they need and everything will fall into place for them to expand.

We were waiting here yesterday around 4:30pm because it was Tuesday and Fazoli's Kids Night doesn't start until 5. We're trying to limit ourselves to only eating out on that night (because of the $1 kids' meals) and on Sundays after church.

The girls each got two books, and I found two for Kevin. I love the Usborne books in the "touchy-feely" series like "That's Not My Tractor!" When I handed "That's Not My Dinosaur!" to Kevin he just laughed excitedly and started feeling the textured spots on each page. They are board books, and Kevin seems to instantly know where he should feel them.

Thankful for Freedom

We were driving back home from the field trip yesterday in the rain, sleet, and snow surrounded by wall to wall traffic and crazy drivers, like the lady in the 15 passenger van who honked at us because we didn't move fast enough for her, when I just had to thank God.

I saw these two buses ahead of us full of school kids, headed home, still stuck on the buses a full hour after school had let out. I thought about their parents and how they must feel, worried that their kids weren't home yet, worried that there are no seat belts in those buses and the roads are slippery. I just had to thank God that my children were safe with me in our vehicle, buckled up and trying to giggle and whisper quietly in the back because their baby brother was asleep in front of them. Thank God we have the freedom to homeschool.

Please pray for the families in Germany who are being denied that freedom right now and are in some very scary circumstances.

CU Discovery Center

We went with Danya's homeschool charter school in the rain to Colorado University in Boulder. There in the Space Grant Discovery Center we went on an interactive tour to learn about different aspects involved with the Mars Rover.

In this picture the girls are testing solar panels with different wattage light bulbs. They also got to participate in some battery experiments, learn about binary code, and play with pixel blocks while learning more about digital images.

At the end they watched a video about the Mars Rover. Then we stood on the bottom floor looking up while the 5th and 6th graders dropped their Lego constructions. They had to use Legos to protect a light bulb wrapped in aluminum foil just like the Mars Rover was wrapped up to protect it from impact when it landed on Mars. Only one light bulb survived and still worked. It was great watching all the exploding Legos as each one hit the ground!

Livable Living Room

When I was eight I called the living room the "parlor", and I called the couch the "sofa". Whatever you call it, it's finally done. The upstairs bedrooms are also finished. I'm thinking about moving the bench that you see against the wall in this photo, because the room feels crowded over there. I also want a much bigger picture, or possibly a group of pictures on the wall over there. What matters though, is that the whole room is clean and neat, and just feels good to relax in.

We also recently hung some new blinds and curtains around the house. I'm still searching for the perfect curtains to hang over the back sliding glass doors in the kitchen. If I choose yellow, it may seem like too much yelow since the walls are yellow. I'm sort of looking for something with yellow mixed in. Feel free to send me ideas!

Laugh It Up!

Kevin's so funny! He finds amusement in the smallest things like splashing water, messy icecream, and silly faces or noises. Yesterday he took a bath with Gloria sitting on the side of the tub. There was only a couple of inches of water in there, but he went to town splashing and laughing that hard gut laugh of his. Gloria would scoop water into a cup and splash it against the tub wall and Kevin would just explode laughing! He even whined if she took too long before doing it again.

Yup, he definitely rules the roost here. He has moments of quiet time playing by himself, facinated with a car while he makes "vroom vroom" noises. Mostly, though, he expects to be held, fed, or entertained at all times. He'll whine and scream if we aren't obeying him fast enough. We're trying to teach him not to scream for food. Instead we're teaching him to do the "more" sign with his hands. So far he's only done it a few times. I think he's confused because it seems similar to when we tell him to "clap, clap" his hands. I'm praying he figures it out soon.

A Little Too Far

Here's Daniel and Kevin starting our ill-considered walk the other night. Do you see that pinkish purple tree in the top corner of the photo? That's the tree in our front yard.

We headed out on our family walk around 6:20pm or so, thinking we could walk to Sam's Club about 2 miles away with three kids and make it home before bedtime at 8pm. HA! Clearly we were overly optimistic. Daniel turned back after we'd been walking for about 45 minutes and weren't even close yet. He went home and came back with the van. By the time he caught us, the kids and I had gone 1.7 miles and STILL couldn't see our destination.

He drove us to the store to get a pretzel, which was our reward/goal at the end and to see if they had any art supplies, which they didn't. They also didn't have any pretzels left at the snack counter. So we bought in bulk. Ah, the joy of Sam's Club. We bought 82 pretzels in one box for around $30, including salt and cinnamon/sugar packs. We've been eating 4 a night and they are still overflowing our freezer. It's a good thing Dan finally got the extra fridge/freezer cleaned and assembled or we'd have no room for anything else!

Bible Boy!

Kevin found our bible in the living room, pulled it down, and started thumbing through it. We can tell he has a real "hunger" for the Word of God because after he finished examining it he attempted to eat it.

We totally understand his interest in scripture. After all, Psalm 8:2 says "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise..." He's probably looking up some good verses to turn into his next sing-song monologue as he rides in the van. Maybe he'll be the lead vocalist in a Christian rock band when he's older! Rock on, Kev!

Matthew 4:4 "Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

Body Art at YOUR AGE?!

Gloria is learning about the human body for science right now. She got to participate two years ago when Danya was doing this same topic, but now that she's older she'll probably understand it better and learn more. We'll cover it again in a few years in more detail. It's all part of the plan laid out in The Well Trained Mind by Wise & Bauer which we are following as much as is appropriate.

The girls had so much fun being traced on the floor, then decorating and cutting out their bodies. They placed them all over the house; at the table, on the couch. They would sit next to their paper person and say, "Okay, guess which one is the real me!" Of course, we'd pretend we couldn't tell at first. Finally we taped them up on the wall in the stairwell to look like they are walking up the stairs.

Why Christians Should Homeschool

I've been reading this amazing book. For the first time I've read a comprehensive explanation of the biblical reasons for homeschooling, the actual mandate from God that tells us that we have the authority and responsibility to educate our children and protect them from anti-Christian environments and teachers. I've never felt more strongly that homeschooling is not just a preference, but a command from my Creator who has gifted me with children.

Some verses this book discusses:
Psalm 127:3-5 "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate." (My children were given to me, they are arrows that I must make sure are made sharp and straight and strong. I cannot entrust their molding to craftsmen (teachers) who do not follow God's design plan!)

Did you know that the only time that God's children were educated by the government was when the children of Israel were dominated by a heathen nation? (for instance Joseph, Moses, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, & Daniel) Mark 12:17 "Then Jesus said to them, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.'" (God never tells us to give our children to Caesar [the government]. They belong to God.)

Ezekiel 16:20-21 "Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?
21"You slaughtered My children and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire." (I will be judged severely if I don't meet God's standards for raising my children. I cannot and will not give them to a system [government school] that rejects God and teaches idolatry to a humanistic religion. I would be disobeying God if I forced them to "pass through that fire" as children.)

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (To obey God's command to teach my children His word constantly I cannot send them away for 6 or more hours a day. His word must be included in every aspect of their lives and in every subject they learn. We will be taking every subject and "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" [2 Cor. 10:5])

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." Isaiah 54:13 "All your sons will be taught of the LORD; And the well-being of your sons will be great." Luke 6:40 "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher." (Together I and the Lord should be my children's teachers. If they are trained by an anti-Christian school and teachers, they will be like those teachers.)

Jeremiah 10:2a "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen" (My children should not be "socialized" in an anti-Christian government school with children who are not Christian either.) 1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." (My children's primary friends that they spend most of their socialization time with should be other kids being taught God's values. In public school they will be more likely to be influenced negatively than to influence others positively.)

Psalm 119:99-100 "I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts." (the results of a God centered education.) 3 John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." (This is why I will homeschool)

Finally, for those times when Satan tells me that public school would be easier, or when someone tries to make me doubt what I know to be right: 1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Galations 6:9 "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." (I won't give up! My children's future, their eternity, is worth it!)

Most of the ideas in this post came as a direct result of reading The Heart of Homeschooling by Christopher Klicka. I recommend every Christian parent read this book!

Curriculum at a Glance

Last night I gathered up our main books for homeschooling so that I could plan out our work for the next week. This morning I stacked them up in the living room after we finished our homeschool work for the day. Now, this is by no means ALL the books we use, but it represents the most frequently used books. There are two new additions since yesterday we received the activity book that goes along with our history book "The Story of the World" and "The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia" which we'll be using mainly for it's awesome reference section at the back right now.

At the moment we are learning about:
History: Ancient Greece and Greek mythology. The girls can name all the major Greek Gods/Goddesses and tell you something about each one. We are also reading a longer version of the Odyssey.
Math: Danya is learning her 3 times tables. Gloria is working on place value.
Grammar: Abbreviations and initials, also penmanship
Bible: Romans 5:8 for Truth Quest at our church.
Civics: They've almost got the entire preamble to the Constitution memorized!
Science: Danya is studying storms for Earth science and Gloria is studying the human body.
Art: This semester we are learning about the Impressionists. This week is Manet.
Music: They are studying types of instruments and learning to play the trumpet.
Languages: Spanish and American Sign language. We're also going to start learning Greek.

There's always a few other little things, but that is our core curriculum at the moment!

Blooming

Spring is here and in full bloom! We've had mild weather for a few days now. My flowers have bloomed all over the front yard. My tree has burst into vibrant purple. I wake up to the sounds of birds singing outside my window every morning. The girls actually unpacked their shorts. The icecream truck comes by every afternoon. Yes, Spring has most definitely come to our neck of the woods!

Growing Wild!

Part of the girls' graduation gifts included packs of wildflower seeds and gardening tools. They each picked a sunny spot in the yard to plant their seeds and had a blast getting dirty. Thanks for the idea, Christina!

Our yard is growing a little wild lately, too. It's such an odd shape that it would be extremely difficult to mow it. Daniel needs to get out there with the weed eater, but we haven't remembered to buy string for it yet.

I was thinking today that homeschooling allows my children to grow somewhat wild and free also. For them almost every day involves the freedom to explore and play and do whatever interests them. School work gets to be a small part of the day finished by lunch time and then their day is theirs. It's like that feeling we used to get as kids on Saturday mornings or during summer break when we'd wake up knowing that the whole day is ahead of us just bursting with possibilities. My kids are so blessed!

It's All in Your Head

I took Kevin to the doctor for his 9 month check-up today. They gave him two shots and said he was very healthy. They measured him, too. He is 29 1/2 inches long, 25 lbs, and has a head circumference in the 97th percentile.

Yeah, he's got a big head. All our kids do. I tell them it's because they have such big brains. They get it from me. Most hats don't fit me or are tight on my giant noggin. Daniel, on the other hand, has a very petite melon.

We celebrated the girls' graduation finally today. They made cupcakes and we gave them some little gifts from the "dollar spot" at Target. The plastic sunglasses we gave them were too small for their heads. But they fit Daniel as you can see in this photo. Maybe I need to stop saying that big heads are due to big brains, because if the opposite is true too...

Got Fiber?

Why is this child eating the table?

1. He needs more fiber in his diet
2. Two cheese sticks, a bowl of cereal, two cups of water, and a stack of mini pancakes wasn't enough for breakfast
3. His new upper teeth are too sharp and he's filing them down like a hamster
4. He hopes to grow up to be a beaver someday
5. He's an Elliott...weirdness runs in the family

Vote for the best answer in the comments section!

What everyone wants to know

Friends and family keep asking us how the new house and adoption processes are going. The answer is two fold. One, that we are slowly getting the last of the boxes unpacked and little projects like re-caulking the bathtub done. Two, that we are trying to be patient because we cannot hurry the government.

We've got all the bedrooms done except that we need to hang two more curtains. At least the boxes are unpacked and the floors are clean finally. The living room still has a little clutter, but I can't really claim that is entirely moving related. The kitchen feels about 90% done. We still have a chunk of counter top missing. We're going to have to just give up on our contractor ever coming back and try to cut the thing ourselves. Also, the base boards aren't done yet. I know it's just trim, but it will make a difference to me.

We have two doors that aren't done in the basement, because the guy we paid to do it never came back. I think he will if we just call and harrass him, but we've been trying to be nice about it since he just got a new job.

As far as we know, child services hasn't gotten our FBI background check back yet. But they haven't returned our calls either, so we don't actually know for sure. Once again, we may just need to be more persistent in that area. We'll let everyone know as soon as we have anything new to tell on that front. Please keep praying with us. We're also praying God's protection on the kids he has planned for us, although we don't know who they are yet. He knows!

In the mean time we are feeling more at home, the girls are claiming their territory with chalk drawings all over our front yard, and we are checking out local amenities like the library.

Home Cookin'

We've been trying to eat a little more at home lately. Recently I've experimented with a few new meals like tuna wraps and bar-b-q brisket. I made a chicken stew with diced potatos and carrots yesterday. So far everything I've made has been a surprising success.

Honestly, I didn't think the girls would like the tuna wraps. It was just a wheat tortilla with diced tomato, herb and garlic tuna, and grated mozzarella cheese in it. It didn't look much like this picture of a tuna wrap that I found online. The girls raved over the wraps! They said we have to make it again sometime when Daddy is awake so he can try it, too. Hopefully we'll get into the habit of making more meals at home. We're trying out recipes that can be expanded to feed more people since we're expecting our family to grow soon by a few more mouths.

Eggs-tra Easter Photos

Here are a couple of extra Easter photos, just because they are cute. One is of the girls dying eggs. The other was taken during our egg hunt in the front yard. Some of the places we hid the eggs:
in the mailbox
in a tree
in the exhaust pipe of the van
in the flowers
in the rocks
in plain sight (the most overlooked of locations!)

10 Reasons NOT to give a baby a bunny

1. He'll end up wearing most of it.
2. Wipes won't be enough, you'll have to give him a bath.
3. He'll puke most of it onto his clean clothes after the bath.
4. Seeing that may make you revisit the bunny you ate, too.
5. He'll "share" by smearing his chocolatey hands all over you.
6. The chocolate will get smooshed down into the cracks of your new kitchen floor.
7. Everyone else will conveniently "not see" the mess and you'll end up on your knees scrubbing the floor with a wet sponge.
8. Your older kids will accidently step in it and track the chocolate throughout the house.
9. Everyone else will conveniently not see the mess and you'll have to clean that, too.
10. The baby will cry because you don't have any more chocolate bunny left.

Counting our Chickens...

Today we bought and assembled new bunk beds for the kids we hope to adopt! Maybe we are 'counting our chickens before they hatch', but we see it more as being prepared and hoping for the best. Daniel and I are looking forward all the time to having more little chickadees in our nest!

We keep talking and dreaming about what it will be like to have a larger family. We bought a membership to Sam's club and spent a day comparing prices to see what is worth purchasing in bulk. We are going to attempt to do our shopping once a month. We're going to put a big metal rack out in the garage next to the extra refrigerator. It will be an extra pantry, so that we can keep more of our frequently used items on hand. We figure we'll basically be doubling our grocery budget with that many extra kids!

The bunk beds look great and smell strongly of pine. We'll hopefully be able to purchase the mattresses next pay day. The girls lifted one side of the top bunk and set it on top of the bottom bunk! I wasn't there to help because I'd gone to get dinner. Daniel said he didn't think they could lift it, but they proved they are super strong girls! I wonder whether there will be girls or boys sleeping in these beds soon?

Happy Easter 2007!

This year is a special Easter because it is the first year that we've celebrated since Danya became a Christian! We've had lots of talks about her faith and obedience to God lately. I love that she has a heart felt need to know God more. She loves that she's figured out that if she asks me to read the bible to her, I never say 'no' or 'not right now'.

The kids are wearing their new Easter outfits in this photo that I took this morning before church. Originally I had bought the girls cute fluffy white skirts and 'peasant blouses'. Unfortunately, I bought them too big. That's what I get for not having them try them on sooner. So we got them new dresses at Kmart yesterday.

This morning the three of them woke up to Easter baskets filled with surprises and giant 1 pound chocolate bunnies. Then they searched the living room for plastic eggs filled with candy, erasers, and tiny "Lisa Frank" notebooks. Even Kevin found an egg that was hidden at ground level! Then we drove to church in the snow. Yup, it was snowing on Easter! Right now the girls are finally getting to color their eggs at 8 o'clock at night. We're going to crack the died eggs this week and glue the pieces to a cross for an art project. Daniel says it has multiple meanings: Christ's body was broken for us, for one.

Happy Easter! He is risen! God is good!

Nine and feelin' fine!

Nine months old and already Kevin looks like a little man! Here he is in his Easter outfit, tie and all, holding his nine month old sign. We took this at the last minute trying to get ready for church this morning. He didn't really want to cooperate, so this was the best of the photos we managed to get while he squirmed and snatched at the sign.

This little guy has changed a lot lately. He's crawling all over the place, diving fearlessly from a sitting position to the floor. He's got four teeth coming in on top and uses them on everything and everyone! His latest word is "hat!" He still doesn't say "mama".

He eats all kinds of solid foods now. He still hasn't managed to drink from a straw. He can walk sideways while holding onto something. He also broke the laptop. He snatched the "alt" key off and it won't go back on. His feet are too big to fit in any shoes. They are just some seriously fat feet. It's not the width, it's the top to bottom. Baby shoes just weren't designed for solid guys like Kevin.

What's really fun is his quick mind! He understands so much of what we say. He knows what "kisses", "bang bang", "swing", "no", and other words mean. You can show him once how to do something, and he'll imitate it. Danya showed him how to comb my hair instead of eating the comb, and he immediately started trying to comb my hair and Danya's!

The only real irritating thing he does is fight us when we try to put him in his car seat. He'll arch his back and scream at us. Once he's buckled, though, he chats happily and chews on his toys. I also wish his naps were longer. Some days he's out for an hour, other days he takes 10 minutes to recharge and is ready to go again.

Graduation Gifts and a New School Year

Aunt Toni sent the girls graduation gifts that were also "house warming" gifts this week. Danya is finishing first grade this month and Glory has completed Kindergarten. We are going to do a review next week to assess where they're at academically. Toni sent Danya a new doll for her collection and Gloria got her very first, very own, dollhouse.

The girls were both super surprised. Gloria was quick to tell Danya not to worry, that she would let her play with the new house. They haven't decided yet if Danya's new doll or the one that came with Glory's house will be the doll that they call "Aunt Toni".

As for graduation, we may make a special dinner at home and have everyone dress up, maybe have a special dessert. I'm trying to think of something inexpensive to do at home that the girls will think is fun and unusual. In the past, for reviews, we've had scavenger hunts that require the girls to use alot of skills and information that they've learned. We had a spelling test this week with words taken from the books they've been reading. Danya actually laughed when she saw the list and said, "Mommy, 'poison' isn't a hard enough bonus word." It came from a science book about Snakes by Dorling Kindersley .

I still think it's strange to classify the girls as first grader and Kindergartner when they are both so clearly above and beyond that. Really, though, they are at various levels for each subject, like Gloria doing second grade math, Danya ready for third grade math, and both of them reading well above grade level. I'm not sure where I would place them in science, an we are finishing up Ancient Civlizations in history right now. We are currently reading about the Greeks. We read part of the Odyssey where Odysseus encounters the cyclops and they are making masks and writing a play about it to perform at our own version of the Olympics tomorrow. We'll have athletic contests like a long jump and races, but also poetry reading and an art show to go along with the play. We've been reading more about the ancient Greeks in our Children's Encyclopedia. As we enter this next year we will move on to learning about Medieval Times. We've got a great year ahead and it will be even more fun as we add more kids to our family!

Kevin's Room

Mechanic on duty! Kevins car room is starting to look like a garage! We've finished what we can for now until we get a little more funding and free time. This week we added silver pegboard around his room and hung the last piece on the wall. We're going to put some hooks on the wall piece and hang tools from it.

We also got him a "Cars" poster. Eventually we'll get him a couple of posters of actual cars, to hang around the room. We've got alot of ideas for his room. Since he may end up sharing it with a new brother we're trying to keep the theme boyish, not babyish. This is the first room totally completed in the whole house!