Well, I feel like a big dummy... We have been so scared of our 8 m/o little girl hurting herself, that we were only allowing her to play while in her play pen, the rest of the time she was either in her walker or in our arms... Come to find out, if we babyproofed our home (or at least some of the rooms in our home) we could allow her to crawl around the house and explore freely without worry. Obviously, we always have an eye on her and never leave her unattended, but it has opened a new world to her and to us now that she doesn't have to be held hostage in a tiny play pen. She will crawl around and follow us around the house and watch us cook or even just explore her surroundings... so nice to allow her some freedom and it has given us more freedom as well... just thought I would share. Thank you to everyone for the kind replies