Aaron and I are ecstatic to share with you that our second son, Graham Forester Kennon-Green, was born through gestational surrogacy earlier this month. Unlike his brother, Dorian, who arrived at the full 40 weeks weighing 7 lbs. 5 ounces back in April, Graham arrived three weeks ahead of schedule at 37 weeks and 1 day, weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 ounces.
Fueled by a combination of reinvested profits (realized and unrealized gains, dividends, and interest), net client contributions, and new private client relationships, our wealth management business has recently found itself entrusted with more than $105 million in capital. This growth, combined with having a new baby and my desire to be able to walk to work in a matter of minutes, has resulted in an acceleration of our plans. Therefore, effective September 1st, 2021, Kennon-Green & Co. will be headquartered at one of the most beautiful buildings in the United States.
Aaron and I are ecstatic to share with you that our son, Dorian Alexander Kennon-Green, was born in mid-April. After a gestational surrogacy journey that began several years ago, it all paid off when he came into the world in perfect health, weighing 7 lbs. 5 ounces. As I have told friends and family, he was born with a head full of hair, and, to our great fortune and blessing, a temperament that is sweet and patient. It has been one of the great joys of our lives to get to know him.
As I write this message, it is January 2nd, 2021. Today marks the second day of the new year, the thirteenth day since the start of winter, and the 13,987th day of my life. The holiday weekend afforded me something I haven’t had in a long time: a moment of respite as much of the world shut down for celebration. Well-rested, I’m ready to jump into the New Year. Here is an inside look at some of the things going on in our home and business as we gear up for a post-pandemic world.
Merry Christmas! I hope all of you are doing well and that your celebrations were filled with happiness, laughter, and good food! For our part, this year marked the 20th Christmas that Aaron and I have spent together. Like every one of those other Christmases, it was one of the best days of my life (despite the unusual circumstances and challenges this year has brought). We decided that with the world feeling so uncertain, and the need to remain socially distanced from others, it would be the perfect opportunity to stay home, wear knitted sweaters and jeans, and enjoy a classic early-to-mid twentieth century dinner; pure, old-school comfort food that envoked a sense of warmth and safety, friends and family, prosperity and peace.
One afternoon last week, we decided to test a new Dutch Oven Tortellini Soup with Italian Sausage recipe while drinking eggnog and listening to Christmas music. It provided leftovers for several days, making our lives easier during the newest shelter-in-place lockdown in California.
Aaron and I are beyond thrilled that in a little more than four months, we will welcome our first child into the Kennon-Green family! Here is an update about the process and a few pictures of what we’ve been up to as we prepare for his arrival.
We started to see toilet paper (multiple varieties, sizes, etc.) as well as occasional bottles of Lysol appear at local stores, and beaches are once again full with people running, sailboats in the distance, and folks riding their bicycles. Many of the independent retail shops have reopened, and restaurants are beginning to accept diners, again.
Given that so many of our family and friends can’t travel to see us during this pandemic, Aaron and I wanted to share an early access glimpse into our asset management firm’s new home. It’s not the same as seeing it in person but it should at least give you an idea of where we will be spending a lot of our time in the coming years as we allocate capital and scale operations.
Along with 1 out of 2 Americans, including the entirety of the rest of the State of California, Aaron and I have been sheltering-in-place and practicing social distancing. Given that we spent a vast portion of our lives together living semi-retired, this is not a significant change for us. If anything, it feels like a return to our Missouri days, especially considering that after two years in the heart of Newport Beach, we decided not to renew the lease on our existing place and, instead, move up to Newport Coast so we can decide if that might be where we ultimately want to buy a house once our kids are born.
