23 weeks: large mango!

For some reason, babycenter.com didn't email me our weekly update this week, so I had to go on their website and hunt down our fruit or veggie of the week. Then I was confused, because to me a large mango still seems smaller than a spaghetti squash (last week's veggie). It seems that they're now switching back and forth between finding foods that are comparable in length and those that are comparable in weight. The spaghetti squash was based on length, the mango on weight. I'm not so sure about this. Babycenter.com, I'm a little disappointed this week.

We had a hectic week this week, which left less time than usual to focus on baby. Troy got back from a short trip to Baja Monday night, then we had his cousin, Kara, her friend, Chad, and their baby, Jax, visit on Tuesday evening, and my Aunt Peg and her friend, Corby, visit on Thursday evening. We had a great time with all of our guests, but were pretty tired by yesterday evening. We essentially didn't get up off the couch from 5:00 until 10:00 last night.

Sadly, right before we went to bed last night, we heard the news that Troy's Aunt Connie lost her battle with pancreatic cancer earlier in the evening. She had been fighting the cancer for almost a year, thankfully for most of that time without too much pain or suffering, and while going on with most of her normal activities. We enjoyed seeing her dancing with her daughter, Summer, at Summer's wedding in Tennessee in July, and playing with her grandson, Jackson, over Christmas. In the last month or so, Connie's health rapidly declined, and she passed in the company of family and friends yesterday evening. Troy has many beautiful memories of his aunt and I feel fortunate to have had the chance to get to know her over the last several years. She was a wonderful woman and we will miss her.

So yes, we've had some distractions from baby this week, but the little one never ceases to keep me aware of his or her presence. It seems an appropriate time to do some reflecting on the cycle of life, both with the news of Connie's passing and these constant reminders of this new life growing in me, as well as the changing of seasons and the first flowers of spring popping up to greet us. Although we can often predict what the passage of time will bring, such as the blooming of daffodils and tulips in our gardens, other changes are not so easily foreseen, so it's important for us all to remember take some time to slow down and notice what we have in this moment, before it is gone.