1. Start with a very simple, small project--nothing larger than a baby quilt.

2. Try to choose a pattern with just a few fabrics. If you choose something too complicated it can be overwhelming.
This book by Ursula Reikes is my favorite book for baby quilts:

3. Choose the right batting. I love the needle punched batting that's available just about everywhere now. (Hobby Lobby and Walmart carry it in my area.) This batting is thinner than some I first used and it's so much easier to stitch through with a regular sewing machine.

4. If you are going to quilt your project yourself be sure to purchase a walking foot for your sewing machine. I tried to quilt things in the past when I did not have a walking foot and was disappointed by the puckering on the back of the project. The walking foot has feed dogs on the foot which enables all the layers to go through the machine at the same rate and really helps to eliminate wrinkling and puckering. These feet are rather expensive (about $100 for my machine) but they are worth every penny. Some of the newer machines come with a walking foot.

5. Choose a very simple design for your quilting too. You can stitch in the ditch, use tape to make lines, use clear thread, etc.

6. Don't expect perfection from your first project. Look upon each quilted item as a learning experience. Try a new technique, tip, or tool with each new project. There are many books, classes, and websites which contain a wealth of information to help you learn. I learned a new tip recently about using a post it note as a seam guide:

7. Have fun! Quilting is a wonderful way to express your creativity and to get to play with color, pattern, and fabric.

I surprised myself by already finishing the quilt for my new little grand-daughter. It's not really a baby quilt but it does match the colors in her room. Because of the size I didn't think I would finish quilting it before her arrival this month. I made it from a kit and I used spray adhesive to "baste" the layers together before machine quilting. I followed the directions in the kit and quilted it in rows of straight stitching about 1 1/4" apart. Some rows were horizontal and some were vertical. The quilting went very smoothly and I will definitely try the spray adhesive again.

Here's a picture of little Miss M's quilt:

Would any of you readers who quilt like to add some advice that you think would be helpful for a new quilter?

Becka

Don't you love it when you find a recipe that utilizes things that you normally keep on hand and it turns out tasting really good? I ran across a recipe like that recently and it's going into the permanent file. I found this recipe on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook website. It uses cabbage, chicken, onions, and noodles. I used Ramen Noodles since that was what I had on hand. My kids always give me a hard time for changing recipes but I tried to stick pretty close to the original when making this. I cut down the proportions since it was just the two of us and added a dash of sesame oil at the end of the cooking time for a little burst of flavor.

Here's the post with the original recipe. I used one large chicken breast, about 4 cups of cabbage, and two packages of ramen noodles. I cooked the noodles and then added them on top of the other ingredients as the recipe details. It was really good and I will be making this one again.

I forgot to mention in my most recent post that Sonia J. was the person who was the first to identify the "mystery ingredient." I'm sorry to have neglected that important information about one of my astute readers. I do appreciate all of you who participated.

Becka

The mystery ingredient pictured above is cardamom pods. You can also purchase ground cardamom. This spice is used in Chai tea, some sweet breads, and in Indian cooking. I have a Christmas bread recipe that instructs you to put the pods in the milk used in the recipe and then warm it and let them steep for a bit to infuse the milk with flavor.

I have never tried authentic Indian food. I discovered recipes for Garlic Naan and Kheema a couple of weeks ago and since I had all the ingredients on hand decided to make them. We had purchased some frozen garlic naan at Trader Joe's a while back and both of us really liked it. This recipe was good, but I think I made it a little too thick.

Rob liked the Kheema right away. I was skeptical at first but it's the kind of dish that grows on you. I will make this again, especially now that I have a little jar of garam masala in my cupboard. To make the spice blend from the cardamom pods you have to open the pods and then grind the little black seeds (similar to large black poppy seeds). I used a mortar and pestle but you could use a spice grinder if you have one. The directions for the Garam Masala follow the recipe for the Kheema. The advantage of making your own blend is that you can control the heat and leave out any spices that you do not care for. You might want to look around Heather's recipe blog. She has many frugal recipes and some great organizing tips.

So, if you are looking for something new and different for dinner you might want to try this simple dish.

Becka

Do you know what these are? I plan to post that recipe soon, but I'll give you a chance to guess first.

In the meantime I tried a new recipe for supper tonight that Megan had made for us while we were up visiting her family over Christmas and we really enjoyed it. I saw the recipe posted on another blog and decided to make it this week. The recipe for this soup uses kale:

I had never eaten or used kale before this. It seems to keep its bright green color better than many green vegetables and it's not bitter like collards. (I have never been able to develop a liking for collards, sorry Cathy.) You could probably substitute baby spinach for the kale if you would prefer.

I'll be looking forward to see who is the first to identify the mystery ingredient.

Becka

I have finished up a couple of little girly projects, including:

Two more pink blankets:

A mesh bag for all the little socks that tend to get lost in the wash. (When Megan was a baby Rob came home from work one afternoon and when he changed clothes he discovered he had worn a shirt with a baby sock in the armpit all day.) I saw the idea on Pinterest but there were no instructions so I just had to come up with my own spin-off.

This little "toy" is like one I made for Ryan that he has really enjoyed playing with. It's just two pieces of flannel with a piece of crinkly plastic cut from an empty baby wipe container sewn inside. Babies seem to love hearing the noise from crinkly things. Ryan kept wanting to play with the baby wipe container so I thought I'd make him a toy from an old one. The plastic is a little hard to stitch. I found that it helped to put strips of tissue paper on top of the plastic and then it was much easier to stitch.

My dear husband got me a big bag of shelled pistachios last week so I made a batch of these cookies. They are really tasty and are a pretty Christmas cookie with the red cranberries and the green from the pistachios.

I have a question for the quilters who read my blog. I am using a spray adhesive to "baste" the layers of my quilt together this time. Have any of you used this technique before? So far it seems to be working very well.

Becka

For several months now I have seen recipes on the internet for making English Muffins. In fact, my friend Carrie had a post about making English Muffins recently. I think her recipe is the same as mine. (I'm not the Mrs. L she mentions though.:) I remember making these many years ago using tuna cans for shaping the muffins. I found recipes on Pinterest using canning rings for shaping the muffins and also read about just cutting them out and not using any rings. I decided to go for the simpler route and try not using the rings. The muffins turned out surprisingly well and I was pleased that I didn't have to purchase or come up with some kind of rings! I actually combined several recipes that I have found. Here is what I used:

English Muffins

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp. honey
2 tsps. salt
3 1/2-4 cups flour (I used half bread flour and half white whole wheat)
2 tsps. yeast
3 Tbsps. soft butter
cornmeal

Mix together the water, milk, honey, and salt. Add 2 cups of flour and yeast. Stir together. Cover and let rise for an hour. Add the butter and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Roll or pat out dough about 1/2 inch thick onto a surface coated with cornmeal. Cut into circles with biscuit cutter or tin can. Let rise until doubled--about 20-30 mins. Cook on a hot (350 degrees) skillet or griddle until they are light brown. Turn just once. These freeze well. Cut or pry open with a fork before freezing for ease of use. These are delicious hot of the griddle or skillet!

Here is a picture of the risen muffins ready to go in the skillet:

Here is a picture of the finished muffins:

They turned out quite tasty. I have made them a couple of times now and we have really enjoyed eating them. They are a bit more tender than the store bought version. The only tricky part is getting the temp of the skillet correct--it's sort of like making pancakes. You have to fiddle with the heat to get the temperature of your skillet just right. The ones pictured above were a little dark, but still pretty tasty. If you have an electric skillet or griddle that might be a good solution.

Becka

I made several people these sets of kitchen towels and dishcloths:

I also made some Christmas themed insulated mats that can be used under casserole dishes:

Rob knitted flower headbands for Nora and Megan:

He also knitted a couple of shawls that are going to be worn in a campus production of Fiddler on the Roof this spring. Here's one of them:

I made a jungle themed quilt for Ryan but unfortunately forgot to take a picture of the finished quilt. Here's a picture of the layout:

I made these little fleece sleep sacks for Ryan and the new baby girl:

I made another one of these wreaths from an old hymnal:

Jan, one of my faithful readers from Iowa sent me this delicious cookie recipe in a lovely Christmas card. I had some of the little Christmas cupcake liners which fit into the mini muffin tins and decided to use them even though I did make them after Christmas. These cookies are quite tasty and would also work for Valentine's Day or for a shower or tea.

Cherry Miniatures

1 3 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (I used almond extract)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
(plus more for decoration)
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used pecans) (almonds might be good too)

Glaze Ingredients:
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
approximately 1 Tbsp. cherry juice

Cream softened cream cheese and butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add combined dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir in cherries and nuts. Place rounded teaspoons of dough in miniature muffin pans that have been greased or lined with miniature cupcake papers. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 mins. or until lightly browned. Remove from pans and allow to cool. Make glaze and spread cupcake tops with it. Decorate with cherries. Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

To make glaze:
Combine sifted powdered sugar with enough of the cherry juice to make a glaze.

Keep this in mind for your next event when you need a pretty, dainty little cookie.

Becka

I've been taking down and putting away Christmas decorations this week and that made me think about a couple of candle tips that might be useful at this time of year. I have a pretty Christmas tea light burner that has a tea light underneath and you put a scented wax disk in the top and it melts. The first year I used it I was concerned about how to remove the wax. It would be very hot and possibly dangerous to remove it while it was melted and it seemed like a pretty messy job to chip out the wax after it hardened. I read somewhere that if you freeze candle wax it is easily removed. It truly is! I just stick the burner in the freezer for a bit and the wax pops right out very easily. This also works for taper candles which have wax melted down into the holders.

Another tip concerns old candles. I had a set of decorative candles on my fireplace mantel for a number of years and they got rather sticky on the outside. I thought I was going to have to throw them out when I read a tip about cleaning them with rubbing alcohol. I tried this using quite a few cotton balls to clean the candles and was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked.

So, if you are facing some candle clean up perhaps these tips will be helpful. I hope all of you are having a wonderfully blessed new year.

Becka

If you are tired of Christmas turkey or ham, I would recommend that you try this recipe. I found it on a delightful blog written by a woman and her daughters. The casserole is similar to lasagna, but easier to put together, in my opinion. I have made it a couple of times and we have really enjoyed it.

I have changed the recipe just slightly, so I will post my version here. Do go read Leila's original post to find out why she calls it Egyptian Lasagna.

Egyptian Lasagna

6 oz. medium egg noodles
2 cups cottage cheese
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
dash of garlic powder
dash of black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. ground beef

Cook noodles, drain, and place in greased 2 quart casserole dish. Brown and then drain ground beef. In food processor process cottage cheese, cornstarch, and about 1/2 cup of the cheese. Spread the cottage cheese mixture on the noodles. Add a layer of meat and the spaghetti sauce, seasonings and then top with the remaining cheddar.Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let rest for 10-15 minutes and then serve. Can make ahead and refrigerate or freeze. Can add cooked spinach. This amount serves 5-6.

Here are a couple of pictures of the process:

Spreading the cheese mixture on the cooked noodles:

Adding the sauce:

Becka

After visiting with Aunt Nana we drove on to Bowling Green, Ohio and visited with Rob's mom for a few hours and then drove on up to Michigan. We drove back down for a day during the week and were able to spend time with Rob's mom, sister Deb, and brother-in-law Dan. While we were at the nursing home we even got to see Rob's mom's pastor when he popped in for a visit.

On Sunday we went to Meg and Jim's church and were able to hear the new pastor for the first time. Their church has been without a pastor for quite some time so it was a blessing to see how the Lord has provided a new man who seems to have a great heart for the people there. The morning we visited they presented a cantata. The story was about a man who was sick in the hospital and his life was described by different people who visited and told how he had showed God's love throughout his life. The main characters in the play were George and Ethel and were portrayed by Dave and Joyce W. We thought it was very fitting because this couple is extremely kind and gracious and have been a great blessing to many people, including us.

We had a very good time with Meg, Jim, and Drew. Megan spent the last six weeks as a long-term sub teaching 4th grade. I went to school with her the last day of school (just a half day) and helped with the Christmas party and helped her clean up her room for the teacher who will begin teaching full-time after the new year. Here's a picture of her playing a game with the children:

In the morning while we were in school and Jim was at work, Rob and Drew hung out and went to Tim Hortons for a mid-morning snack, McDonald's for lunch, and the park to play. After a quick lunch, I got to accompany Megan to her doctor for an ultra-sound and got to see pictures of baby girl. Her doctor has scheduled her for a C-section on Valentine's Day if all continues to go well. Rob took Drew to the golf course where Jim works and then went to a nearby town to the funeral home to visit with a family who recently lost a grandmother. He taught the grand-daughter this past semester and had previously taught both of her parents when they were in high school. While at the funeral home, he was able to see a number of friends we had known years ago when we lived in the area.

Tuesday evening we were all invited to the home of some friends for supper and an evening of good conversation and games. Here we were playing a new game called Bezzerwizzer, which was a lot of fun.

For two of the days while we were up there Rob was very busy painting the nursery a lovely shade of pale green. Nora and Topher are up there this week and she is going to do some decorative painting on one of the walls. I'm sure Megan will blog about it in the future and I will try to remember to post a link at that time. I think it is going to be very cute.

We drove home on Friday (Christmas Eve eve) and after a good night's rest we got ready for the local families to visit on Christmas Eve. Mark and Katie were the first to arrive and they brought this little Santa with them. He had just woken from a nap and wasn't his usual cheery self. He later cheered up and thoroughly enjoyed playing with the boxes and wrapping paper.

Nora and Topher came and brought their two dogs who spent most of the evening in their crate watching the festivities. We are keeping one of the dogs while they are up in MI this week. Sorry for the blurry photo.

Christmas day it was just the two of us and the pets. We had just one service at church in the morning. It was kind of nice to have all the festivities over with and just to have a quiet day to contemplate Christ's coming to earth.

I have one other update that has nothing to do with Christmas. I finally tried the home made sauerkraut a couple of weeks ago. I had made approximately two quarts of it and used half of it to make this recipe. I am happy to report that it tasted like sauerkraut! It really wasn't difficult to make--probably the hardest thing in my small kitchen was to find a place to let it ferment at the correct temperature. We had a pretty warm fall and it was too warm in the garage and we don't have a basement so I just let it sit out on the counter.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and will enjoy the final days of 2011.

Becka

We have been keeping busy visiting with family and friends for the past week and have been thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I'll try to post a few details from this week after Christmas.

Maybe you are all ready for Christmas, but just in case you still need an idea for an easy treat this recipe might be a good one for you to try. These peanut clusters are delicious and are easy to prepare. I got this recipe from a student many years ago.

Crockpot Peanut Clusters

16 oz. dry roasted peanuts
1 lb. white almond bark
1 bar of German Sweet Chocolate
2 cups of chocolate chips

Coarsely chop the almond bark and German chocolate bar and place in a crockpot with the chocolate chips. Turn on low and heat for 50-60 mins. After this time elapses stir the chocolate to combine and be sure it is thoroughly melted. Stir in the peanuts. (I like to put them in a sieve and shake out all the nut dust before adding them.) Drop the candy by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or parchment paper lined cookie sheets or trays. Refrigerate each tray briefly until the candies harden.

These candies are delicious and are one of our favorite Christmas treats.

I hope you will all have a wonderfully blessed Christmas and look forward to the coming new year.

Becka

We thought it was quite funny that Drew brought three Curious Georges with him on his recent visit to our house. We kept finding them all over the house. I even got to sleep with one of them one night. Here they are on the couch reading with Jim:

Nora and Topher have added a new puppy to their home. This is Amos who promises to become a very large boy in the future. Drew loves him and has even bought him a Christmas present.

Over Thanksgiving vacation while Ryan was visiting with his other grandparents he got his first two teeth. Since then he has also developed another skill--he can now clap and seems to delight doing so. This can be somewhat of a problem while his grandma is trying to feed him.

He is still not quite crawling. He pulls himself along on his stomach and spends quite a bit of time on all fours doing yoga poses. Here he's dusting our entry way.

Becka

Fudge Puddles

Cookie Dough:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Chocolate Filling
2 cups chocolate chips
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and peanut butter. Add sugars, egg, and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Blend well. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour. Roll into 48 1 inch balls and place in mini muffin tins. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-14 mins. Cool in pans for 10 mins. and then remove to racks to cool.

When cookies are cool make filling: Combine chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until chips melt. Spoon into a gallon size ziploc bag. Seal the bag and then clip off one of the corners. Pipe filling into cookies. Can garnish with chopped peanuts if desired. Cool. These freeze well. Leftover chocolate filling is delicious warmed and served over ice cream or pound cake.

Becka

There's a little gem of a place here in Greenville that we look forward to visiting each winter. It's a place called Gerald's. For those of you who are familiar with this area it is at the site of the former Kash and Karry grocery store. Gerald's opens every year on the first of October and stays open through about the first of February. They specialize in candies, nuts, candied fruits, extracts and flavorings and a few other odds and ends that one might purchase for Christmas baking. They have lots of samples to taste and the ladies who work there are very helpful if you need any baking advice.

Here are a few pictures of the inside of the store:

They carry a wide variety of extracts, flavorings and coloring. Anybody need a quart of red food coloring? They have it.

They have lots of candies, including a good selection of sugar free candies.

They have a variety of nuts and candied fruits in bulk:

They also have a nice selection of tins that you can purchase and fill for gifts:

Do you have any special shops you like to frequent at Christmas time?

Becka

Several weeks ago Rob and I were out shopping and saw this lovely nativity set and purchased it to replace a small one we have used for many, many years. I'm trying to find the best spot to display it. I think I like it best here on top of the piano.

I mentioned in my last post that I had tried a new pie for Thanksgiving--this Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie. One of my faithful readers, Deb from Virginia, asked if I would post the recipe. A few years ago while I was on an unexpected delay at the Detroit airport one day I purchased a copy of Midwest Living magazine and this recipe was in there. I ran across the recipe in a burst of organization a couple of months ago and put it aside to try this fall.

We all enjoyed the recipe. I did not make the nut pastry or the nut topping since our other pie was a Pecan Pie and one of our family members does not care for nut desserts. It does sound good though and I would like to try it some time.

Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

Nut Pastry (recipe follows)
Pie Filling:
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup whipping cream

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2 Tbsps. soft butter
2 Tbsps. flour
2 Tbsps. brown sugar
Sweetened whipped cream or Cool Whip for topping

Prepare nut pastry or pastry of your choice.

Prepare filling:
In medium bowl combine pumpkin, 1/2 cup brown sugar, apple butter, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Whisk in the two eggs and the egg yolk. Blend in the whipping cream. Pour into prepared crust.

Loosely cover the edge of the pastry with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 mins. Remove foil and bake 20 mins. more. Meanwhile combine the nuts, butter, flour and the two tablespoons of brown sugar. Sprinkle over the pie and bake for 15-20 mins. more or until the pie tests done with a knife.

Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate before serving. Garnish with whipped cream.

Nut Pastry
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts
8-10 Tbsps. water

Stir together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender. Stir in the nuts. Sprinkle in the water a tablespoonful at a time until dough forms a ball. Divide into two portions and chill for about an hour if possible. Roll out dough to fit 9 inch pie plate. The other half of the dough can be used for another pie or to make decorative cut outs for around the edge of the crust.

Becka

Nora and Topher are hosting the meal this year. It's rather nice to have adult children who can share in the meal preparation. Megan, Jim, and Drew are on their way and hope to arrive by late this evening. Mark, Katie, and Ryan will be celebrating with her family this year, but we all plan to get together for at least one meal before Meg and Jim head back home.

Rob and I drove up into the mountains about a week and a half ago to get one last bushel of apples before the orchards closed for the season. When we arrived at our favorite place they were actually giving away pumpkins and squash. We picked out a large hubbard squash which I split with Nora. Have you ever eaten hubbard squash?

They are huge and rather hard shelled (Rob cut it in half for me with a saw!) but delicious. I cooked my half and used some of it to make this soup.

Corn and Squash Soup
6 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp and diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups mashed cooked squash (butternut, acorn, hubbard, etc.)
1 can cream style corn
1 cup evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste
minced fresh parsley for garnish

In a large soup kettle cook bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Reserve 1 Tbsp. drippings. Saute onion and celery in the drippings until they are tender. Stir in the flour. Stir in the broth. Bring to a boil and then cook two minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat through and serve. Makes 4-5 servings.

I hope all of you will have a very blessed day of Thanksgiving.

Becka

You can often find nice big heads of snowy white cauliflower at a good price in the fall and winter. If you get tired of eating raw cauliflower, this soup is a delicious alternative. I have been making it for many years following a recipe from an old Farm Journal cookbook. One year after Rob had dental surgery I tried pureeing it in the blender. We actually prefer the creamy consistency of the pureed soup, so now I do it the easy way with the immersion blender.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small flowerets
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup chopped onion (one small)
2 Tbsps. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk (can use evaporated skim)
1 1/2 cup cooking water from cauliflower
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
fresh chopped chives or parsley for garnish, if desired

Cook cauliflower until tender. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of cooking water. In soup kettle melt butter and cook onion until soft. Add flour and blend in. Slowly add broth and simmer until mixture comes to a boil. Add cooking water, milk, and cauliflower. Bring back to a boil. Puree at this point, if desired. Add cheese and allow to melt. Serve up and garnish with chives or parsley. Enjoy this delicious soup!

Becka

With this bounty on hand we've been eating egg dishes such as scrambled eggs and deviled eggs and this week I remembered this colorful quiche recipe from Taste of Home magazine. We still have green onions in our garden and I have the last of the cherry tomatoes in the garage so it was a perfect recipe to utilize things on hand. The cornmeal crust is quite tasty, but you could use a pre-made crust to make things easier.

Years ago when I was teaching home economics I went to a demonstration put on by the South Carolina Egg Board showcasing eggs and how versatile they are. They even blindfolded one audience member and had her prepare an omelet to show how easy egg cookery can be! Eggs are very versatile and nutritious. They also can be prepared quickly and can be used in place of meat or to add protein to meatless or nearly meatless dishes such as Fried Rice or a chef salad.

Do you have any favorite egg dishes?

Becka

Typical scenes at our house these days:

There are several diaper changes:

There's lots of play time in the exersaucer--a favorite!

There's generally some rocking--sometimes Grandpa gets to enjoy this.

He loves to play on the floor and is just on the verge of crawling.

Sometimes he plays on the bed although this is a limited activity now that he's nearly crawling.

Eating is a favorite activity, especially when it involves carrots or squash.

Can you tell we are having lots of fun together?

Becka