Greetings to all of you in the world outside my house. Actually, I have come to think of you in capital letters: "The World Outside the House," because these days that seems like a destination far, far away that I have vague memories of visiting. For me, life is a series of three-hour cycles centered around feeding Kate, and that doesn't allow for a lot of venturing out of the house or even very far from the couch, where most of her meals take place. But it's OK, because I'm pretty sure nothing as cute as Kate is happening outside of the house. And I have heard rumors that eventually, babies start developing interest in activities other than eating.

In the meantime, some of the people from the outside world are coming and going from my home to help out while Kate is so little. On Monday, my mom, Kate's Gam, left to go home to Mississippi after three weeks of cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and generally just pampering us. We were so sorry to see her go. Kate and I both cried. But we're not left entirely to our own devices yet, as Dan's mom, Kate's Grammy, has arrived to spend the next couple of weeks with us. Here she is soaking up some of that first grandbaby love:

And for the grandparents and others who can't be here right now, here are a few pictures of Kate doing her morning stretches on the couch after a nice big meal. This first one looks like she's practicing some sort of Baby Power salute.

Kate shields her eyes from the flashing cameras of the paparazzi: