I LOVE SEEING THIS. I'm a tarantula mom as well, i'm exited to see someone else posting about this! And also motivated to post on the subject 😌.

Hey, great job with that enclosure! It's definitely better than my first one.
My adult Grammostola rosea also mostly sits in the open but since I provided her two hidings and an altitud gradient she does use them both and she explores her enclosure far more. A half coconut shell and a piece of bark is what I used, the coconut is her favorite, it's super cute to see her little but peeping from the coconut hiding at night 😆.
Of course temperament and preferences varies amongst individuals and species.

Feeding hasn't been my favorite either but I find dubia roaches far easier to keep and feed. With runners I accidentally smushed a couple with the tongs bc they are so fast 😭, but not with dubias. Now I have a small colony, they have become my pets too which, on the down side, makes extra harder the feeding time.

Keep up the nice work, nice to read you around!