2024 Annual Letter from Mike and Michele
This is my favorite post to write. I love going back through my photos and looking at what we did in the past year. If I didn’t take the time to look the letter would be one line long - we had a baby! Happy New Year, good night. But I’m going to look and see what else happened this year that was eclipsed by the arrival of baby Gilda.
We started the year in Pacifica with college friends, and we got to announce to them that I was pregnant holding sparklers and ringing in the new year, quietly, as per airbnb rules. Mike’s grandma Jane stayed with us for a few weeks in January. We baked, watched reality TV, played mini golf, and of course went to IKEA.
We certainly traveled less this year than last year, but I still got a few trips in. In February my artistic swim team took a weekend trip to Puerto Vallarta. The team had always talked about doing something like that, but we actually managed to coordinate eight of us leaving the country all at the same time, and we had a blast. Our two main activities were lounging on the beach and eating at buffets. May I recommend going all inclusive by a beach and staying on property if you have that many people traveling together? It made it so fun and easy! Mike met me at the end of the trip and we went to Guanajauto and San Miguel De Allende. We ate street tacos, took long walks, and admired the beautiful, colorful architecture. It was a fun and relaxing trip. Later in the year we went to Vancouver, Canada to celebrate our friends’ Ashley and Evan’s wedding. We cooked fun food in the weird giant airbnb mansion, rode in speed boats, went sightseeing, and basked in their love.
My main focus during the first half of the year was my work. I was lucky enough to help 21 people buy and sell homes last year, and almost all of that was before Gilda was due in August. There were a few weeks when I was running around like a mad woman, but for the most part everything fell into place really well. I don’t want to speak for the people behind those 21 purchases, but I hope that I they are loving their new homes, and it was an honor to facilitate big life changes.
Mike also had a big career year. It was his first full year running his restaurant - Wonderwood Springs. In that year they added a full food menu, and hosted weekly trivia, bingo, and music concerts. He also opened Wonderwood Mini Golf next door on 1/31. Mike’s version of nesting was opening a keychain library. It’s like those free little libraries, but with keychains instead of books. It was pretty popular, and people still send us cool trinkets from all over the world to add to the library. During the holiday season Mike opened a gift shop downtown called ‘Snow Day,’ and downtown Portland set up fire pits and snow machines outside to make it into a whole winter village. It was really fun to spend time there with Gilda and see all the happy families enjoying the festivities. Mike also launched his first line of stuffed animals, and Gilda loves her snail a lot more than it shows in the photo.
I know everyone knows, but I was pregnant 8 months of 2024. I started less pregnant and then got more pregnant. In the beginning I hated all food but was ravenously hungry, and ended feeling like a thanksgiving stuffed turkey, but in a cute bodycon dress. Pregnancy was mostly kind to me, and I got to continue swimming and working. Pregnancy lowlight was needing a root canal at 8 months and going on a liquid diet for two weeks. Highlight was nighttime skinny dipping in the Willamette River at 8 months pregnant for the Naked Goddess Swim. Without the very sweet photos Ashley and Anna took of me pregnant I’m not sure I would believe it really happened.
The last two weeks of pregnancy went exactly as I had hoped. Just as planning I watched 8 hours of Olympics per day, while texting my friend Marlena and snuggling our cats Audrey and Frankie. Major bonus was the USA Artistic Swim Team won the silver medal, the first medal for USA Artistic Swimming in 20 years.
Back to the biggest event of the year… the much anticipated arrival of Gilda Jane Bennett. She made her appearance on August 13th (my mom’s birthday) at 6:57pm, weighing in at 7lbs 9oz. From the moment she showed up she has been the center of our lives and taken over completely. When she first arrived she loved sleeping all day, going on bassinet walks, being swaddled, eating, and looking cute. Now that she is a little older she loves to smile, laugh, be carried around the house, have scarves dropped on her face, take baths, eat, and look cute. She has traveled to Mt Hood and to the coast, gone to a pumpkin patch and a corn maze, and enjoyed weekly farmers market visits. She met her grandparents, aunt and uncle, great grandma, and lots of friends. We loved spending her first Christmas and Hanukkah in Portland with her and family. Her latest skill is blowing raspberries, and she has been practicing all day and night. Baby stuff. We have a family shared album of photos of her and and as of 12/31 it contains 801 photos of her, all masterpieces.
I was so nervous to have a baby mostly because I’m scared of change and the unknown, have no experience with babies, and love sleeping. I didn’t think I would like this phase very much. The most unexpected part of this whole adventure is that it hasn’t been something I’ve had to push through, but have really enjoyed. She’s honestly so fun to be around! She laughs and smiles and stares deeply into your soul and appreciates your bad singing and terrible jokes. She doesn’t always let me sleep but she’s overall pretty nice to us at night, and it’s amazing what you can get used to.
Just as we settle into our lives as full time parents we are transitioning back to work. Gilda will be in part time child care starting in January, and both Mike and I will be easing back into work. I will cherish these 4.5 months Mike and I had at home with her together. I’m hoping some balance will feel good, but I know we’ll miss our little bean while we are doing anything other than looking deeply into her eyes and squeezing her squishy body. Two things we’ll continue to do on the daily, we’ll just also answer our emails now.
Hope you had a wonderful 2024, and that 2025 brings many blessings and adventures.
Cheers,
Michele, Mike, Gilda, Audrey and Frankie