Albert and Robert

We are Albert and Robbie, a designer and anthropology professor living in Pasadena, CA. We both share a love of family and friends and are driven by curiosity and care for the world around us. We are grateful to have grown up in tight-knit and supportive families that nurtured our interests: museum days with Dad and painting lessons with Mom for Robbie, days spent inventing and playing games with his sister for Albert. We look forward to welcoming a new member of our family, sharing traditions, and making new ones to reflect their identity, interests, and passions.

We know that you are making a difficult and courageous choice and are full of respect and gratitude that you would consider our family as a home for your child. We promise to offer them safety, comfort, and stability but also to build a creative and nurturing life for them. Your child will not just have us, but two supportive extended families, a community of friends, and an excited group of cousins and neighborhood playmates. As an interracial couple, we also know how important it is to understand and celebrate where we come from. You will be an important part of our family, and we are committed to having open channels of communication between you and our family and will always honor your story in our life together.

We look back fondly on how magical our childhood moments were, because of the unconditional love from our families and loved ones. They shaped who we are by creating safe, nurturing environments where we got to learn, play, imagine, and create.

As our siblings and friends started their families, we’ve joined in their journeys creating their own safe, nurturing environments. Some of our greatest joys are being uncles and honorary uncles, where we get to build relationships with our nieces and nephews and see them grow into their own.

We want to adopt because we want to create and participate in these moments with a family of our own. We love the richness and beauty of life, and would be honored to do this with your child.

Walking by our home, you might see us in the yard gardening with our dog, Acorn, smell a new recipe for dinner, or hear the sounds of music or laughter. We love to explore our city and the world, but for us it all begins and ends at home. We’re proud to have created a house filled with creativity, curiosity, fun, and love. And we hope to raise your child in this environment. We value family rituals, from “big” ones (summer family gatherings in Michigan or trips abroad) to “small” ones like our daily family walks.

We both love what we do. Robbie is an anthropology professor who teaches college students, writes, and curates museum exhibitions. They’re all ways to learn about others’ experiences and understand the world from new perspectives. Albert is a designer who trained in architecture and now designs web and app experiences for small businesses. He loves how his work helps people improve their day-to-day lives through easier ways to get things done and in meaningful ways. We both work mostly from home, something that keeps us connected as a family and will allow us to be present for your child.

When we’re not working, we take family walks in new parts of town, spend time with our friends and honorary “nieces” and “nephews,” or visit exhibitions, the nearby botanical gardens, or new restaurants. Robbie loves to cook, garden, read, hike, and learn new ways of making, from ceramics to print making. Albert found a creative outlet with his own side project of leather goods and accessories (including party hats!). His hobbies include running, tennis, yoga, watching procedural TV shows, and, when there’s a piano, playing like he did when he was a kid.

When I first met Albert, I was struck by how immediately comfortable I was. Albert is steady and caring, but he also finds humor and fun in life’s smallest moments. Without fail, people comment on how he makes deep and genuine connections, knowing how to ask just the right question to make a conversation meaningful. Albert is incredibly dedicated to the people in his life, whether family, friends, or co-workers and is always there to talk something through or help when people are in need.

While he is serious about the people he loves, Albert also has a silly side. He loves a cheesy rom com or Korean soap opera and is always on the hunt for his next favorite food to satisfy his sweet tooth. He finds possibility in things, making Christmas decorations out of fabric scraps or inventing the perfect game to keep restless kids happy at a family gathering,

I know that Albert will create a supportive and creative environment for your child, finding joy in the little things and creating a life where they know they are loved, cared for, and secure.

Robbie is one of the most deeply curious, grounded, and caring people I know. I noticed that even on our first date, when he described his work and interests. What I found interesting was how they were all excuses to learn about things that were new to him. They spanned history, art, literature, TV, movies, and more. And I was excited because he clearly showed his love and respect for knowledge. Even to this day, many of our friends and family basically say, “let’s ask Robbie.”

In addition to what he knows, our first conversations showed how deep his love is for his family and friends. For me, that was a big green flag because the way he talked about them seemed at the core of who he is. He keeps his circle tightly connected.

Over the years, I’ve found that while his curiosity, groundedness, and caring are key qualities, there’s so much more to him. My most joyful moments are seeing Robbie in his “goofy” state, when his imagination and personality truly come to life. He reads bedtime stories to his nephews in all different voices; sings made-up songs with our dog, Acorn; has the silliest and cleverest conversations, where everyone ends up giggling uncontrollably. In short, Robbie is able to make magical moments happen with those around him. It’s one of many reasons why I am so excited to be a parent with him.

We count ourselves so lucky to have found a home in a small, tight-knit neighborhood in Pasadena with the excitement of Los Angeles minutes away. We share a love of architecture and when we first saw our mid-century post and beam home four years ago, we knew it would be a warm, cozy, and unique space for our life as a family. Our house combines the feeling of a modern cabin with big windows that look out onto downtown Los Angeles and our yard, where we garden and where Acorn loves to play and bury his toys. Our nieces, nephews, and friends’ children have already discovered a lot to do in the house’s nooks and crannies.

Our neighborhood is full of kind and generous people, many of whom have become friends. Acorn has been our ambassador in the neighborhood, and we have gotten to know so many neighbors through daily dog walks. We now have neighborhood dinners, gatherings, and doggy play dates. Many neighbors have young children too and your child would have plenty of friends and places to play nearby. Beyond the neighborhood, we can quickly get to the mountains for hikes, art and children’s museums, botanical gardens, pools and parks, and a great variety of restaurants.

While our families live in Illinois and Texas, we are very close and make every effort to see each other often. Our families have different personalities and interests (Robbie’s family are doctors and artists, Albert’s scientists and academics), but they all share a deep commitment to family as well as curiosity and generosity toward others. We love the joyful chaos of having multiple generations of family gathering together, and often host our families for Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays together. We have three siblings (each married), four nephews, and two nieces (one is on the way!). It’s always a riot when we get together.

We are also lucky to have a community of friends in Los Angeles that have truly become members of our family. We’ve known some since childhood (Robbie’s four best friends from middle and high school have all landed in Los Angeles); others we know from school and our first days in Los Angeles nearly twenty years ago. We’re grateful to have these long relationships, even more so as we have become honorary “uncles” as this friend group has grown. We know that your child will have many people who care for them deeply along with an eager group of friends, who are excited about the prospect of our family growing too.

Our Favorite Family Traditions:

• Every summer, we visit Robbie’s parents in northern Michigan to spend time with extended family on the lake: going on ice cream outings (Albert’s favorite), reading and doing puzzles on the porch, and cooking dinner after trips to the farm shop. Their community has a kids camp, and we would love for our child to make memories there with cousins and generations of family friends, like the annual July 4th parade, kids Olympics, and swimming and sailing.
• Albert’s family loves to travel together. So far, we’ve taken family trips to Finland, Italy, and Taiwan with his parents, sister and her family, and close family and friends. We love seeing where his parents grew up and exploring new places as a family. We wander and visit different landmarks, try new foods, and explore the neighborhood on foot. These moments bring us together as a family and have left us with valuable memories.

Both personally and professionally, we are committed to learning about and celebrating the many ways that people live. Robbie’s work as an anthropologist has taken him to China, France, Germany, and Mexico, and his teaching helps students understand themselves and others from new perspectives. Albert’s work as a designer has taken him to Spain, France, and China, and he works daily with team members in Europe, Australia, and India.

As an interracial couple, we have valued the process of learning from one another’s experiences and being reflective about our own cultures and backgrounds. Albert’s family’s roots in China and Taiwan are very important to us, and influence how we live, cook, travel, and celebrate family traditions.

Regardless of your child’s identity, we are excited and committed to helping them understand their identity. We will ensure that they learn about their story and see themselves in our family life and in their community of friends, family, and mentors.

We met Acorn, our dog, when he was 8 weeks old. From the beginning, he was a trooper, riding shotgun on our 90-minute drive home. He immediately explored his new home. We grew with him. He’s now four years old and a core part of our family life, bringing sensitivity and fun to our home dynamic.

Over the years, he has taught us patience, introduced new ways of communication, and shown us new ways of experiencing the world. We explore the outdoors more, play games together, and have wonderful, quiet moments.

Acorn has easily fit into our life with family and friends. He’s playful with friends. He’s sensitive with kids. And we know that he would be protective of new additions to our family.

• We throw fun and funny birthday parties. When Albert finally agreed to let Robbie get a Costco membership, he threw him a surprise party… in the Costco food court. For Albert’s last birthday, we asked everyone to bring their favorite snack and ended up with quite a collection!
• Our families are serious about Christmas. One of our favorite collections is of ornaments. Some of our favorites are from our travels in Michigan, Finland, Italy, Mexico, and the Netherlands. Others are mementos of relatives and friends.
• We agree on many things, but less so on TV. Robbie is in for historical dramas, British DIY shows, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings. You’ll usually find Albert engrossed in a Korean soap opera or police procedural.
• We will travel for architecture! Design is something that brings us together as a couple and we’ve been known to travel a few hours out of our way to see an amazing building.

We imagine this is a big decision for you to make and we would be honored to care for your child. Fundamentally, we would create a safe, secure, stable environment for your child. Beyond that, our commitment is to nurture your child through our varied interests, as well as those from our family and community who are all excited to contribute to this journey.

Our dream is to help our family members, hopefully including your child, become the best versions of themselves and build good values that help them find success and fulfillment in their lives. We promise to commit ourselves to following your child’s natural curiosities, helping them learn knowledge and skills, and build meaningful relationships. Through daily routines, family tradition, and special occasions, we want your child to have meaningful, positive memories they can look back on and feel special and supported.

We would love to keep open communication with you, so your child has a connection to where they come from. We want you and your child to continue your relationship together through updates and visits and are committed to helping them understand their identity and adoption story.

Regardless of your decision, we want to thank you for reading our story and considering our family as a place for your child. We would be honored and grateful to grow with them and to provide a safe, secure, fun environment where they can learn, play, and develop into the best version of themselves. Our goal is to make sure they have a fulfilling life, filled with family and friends, following their own interests, having enriching experiences, and making meaningful memories.