Toys

Over the last few months our home's decor has been shifting. Our living spaces were once filled with the baby chair, the swing, the playpen and other places where we could put Madeline down. But now that Madeline can sit and play on her own, those furniture-like devices are giving way to toys.

From stuffed bunnies and dragonflies to colorful stacking rings to frog rattles, we have toys in just about every room of the house, ready at a moment's notice.

It's kind of nice, not only because the toys take up less space than the furniture but because Madeline is so much more portable. Instead of carrying her chair from room to room and strapping her in while we work in the kitchen, for example, we can just plop her on the floor and give her one of the many toys that's invariably lying nearby.

And, even though she's moving around plenty these days, we're enjoying her limited range now before she really starts to crawl. Then I guess the playpen will come out once again.