Michael and Patrick

Wow! Can we take a second to acknowledge everything that we’re about to experience together? This journey has been so extraordinary for us already, and we can only imagine what you are experiencing. We want you to know that we are ready to share this journey with you and to do everything that is necessary to ensure the wellbeing and happiness of your baby.

We have a very personal relationship with adoption, as Michael himself is adopted, and has his own relationship with his birth mother and biological brothers, who remain an important part of our family. That said, we know that your baby’s story will be their own and we plan to offer them a safe, loving, supportive, empathetic home to grow up in.

We know that you have a profound choice in front of you, and if you choose us we will honor that and be forever grateful for the gift you gave us: our family. We’re in this together, and it’s important to us that we have an open dialogue with you. But in any case, the dialogue we have with your baby about you will always be centered around the incredibly loving choice you made that helped us start our family. You and your baby are at the center of this, and always will be.

The truth is your baby is already loved so much – not just by you and by us, but by the many family and friends who make up the incredible, diverse, spirited, and loving community your baby will grow up in. We are so excited to welcome your baby into our hearts, and to love them for the rest of our lives.

Both of us have always known that we wanted to start a family. We explored the options that are available to us, including surrogacy. In part because of Michael’s own experience with adoption, and in part because of how much we connected with the community of support that comes along with adopting, we quickly knew that adoption was the right path for us to start our family.

We know that adoption is a journey – for you, and for us. And we are both nervous and excited to be on this journey because we know that, in the end, we get the share our love and our lives with your baby.

We have a very lively home. We laugh and play together a LOT. Because we both work, dinner together is an important part of our routine and we make it a priority to share our evenings with each other – jokes, stories from our day, future plans, and the latest episode of our favorite shows. Outside our home, we enjoy going to the theater, concerts, baseball games (go Giants!), the movies, or just taking a walk together around our neighborhood.  We also spend a lot of time with our friends and family, and we seem to always have a trip, get-together, or game night planned that we can look forward to.

Michael is the co-founder and CEO of multiple technology companies and works from home 100% of the time, which affords him lots of time to play with our dog, handle errands, or wash the dishes while Patrick is at work. He plays in several competitive sports leagues: kickball, pickleball, and flag football to name a few. He is also sober, and has been an active part of the large, thriving, sober community in Los Angeles for many years.

When I fell in love with Michael, I quickly realized that one of the many reasons was because I knew that he would be an incredible father to our children. I am lucky to have inherited a niece and several nephews from Michael’s family. His energy, excitement, and participation in their lives has always brought happiness to us as a couple. Even though they are all a plane ride away, he is eager to make the trip and be present in their lives while they grow up. Michael has this ability to connect with his inner child so effortlessly, and add humor, play, and connect with all children in our lives. He is an empathetic man who shows deep compassion for his neighbors, not just family members. And he is intrigued by new and different parenting styles that keep us open minded about our own parenting journey. Michael provides so much for our family already, but I am so excited for what blessings will come from raising a child together.

Patrick is deeply compassionate, curious, highly motivated, and has a generous sense of humor – all of which are qualities that will make him an amazing father. He is a role model, trusted confidant, and friend to our nieces and nephews and I have always admired how authentically Patrick connects with the children in our lives.

Patrick has helped us build a life together that is centered around our large and diverse family and “chosen family.” From cooking Sunday dinners at home for his parents and siblings, to planning trips and holidays that bring both of our families together, he always makes sure that family is at the top of our list of priorities.

Patrick will love your baby with every ounce of his being, because that is who he is. He loves fiercely, and he loves forever.

We live in a beautiful neighborhood in the heart of Los Angeles that is close to so much of what we love about living in LA. Michael plays a lot of sports, and we are close to several parks where he can throw the ball around. Our neighborhood is very walkable, and we’re just a few steps away from some of our favorite shops, cafes, markets, and bakeries. There are also a lot of young families in our neighborhood, and we can’t wait to be one of the couples pushing a stroller down the block!

We’re also very close to Patrick’s work in Beverly Hills (here’s to a 10 minute commute!), which is also a very family-oriented community.

One of the best things about living in LA is that you can be at the beach, or on a hike, or strolling the promenade, in less than 30 minutes. The city has so much to offer!

Both of our moms are big, loving personalities and are the matriarchs of our family. And our dads are the kindest men who have always put their families first, and have taught us a lot about being good fathers.

Patrick has one brother and a sister-in-law. Michael has two sisters, both of whom have young kids. All of our siblings are so different but have blended so wonderfully together as our families merged, and we value our time with each of them. And, Michael is adopted and four years ago we met his two biological brothers, adding two new goofball siblings to our family, along with a wonderful and curious 10 year old nephew, and his birth mom. Also, we’re excited that Patrick’s parents recently moved to our neighborhood in Los Angeles so they can be hands-on grandparents!

Michael is bi-racial, and was adopted by a multi-racial family where each person’s experience of race, culture and, in Michael’s case, adoption, was openly and supportively discussed. This experience has helped him understand the nuanced experiences that a mixed-race household has, and provided him with language to describe and relate to those experiences.

We deeply value the unique perspectives that different backgrounds provide and we understand that part of our role as parents will be to support our child as they explore how they relate to their own identity, whatever that may be.

In the summer of 2023, we adopted the most wonderful, gentle, playful, and loving Shih Tzu named Simon. Simon has added so much to our lives, and brings joy to everyone who has the pleasure of meeting him (including our neighbors’ children, who are obsessed with him). Being “dog dads” has also enriched our relationship, offering us new ways to spend quality time together, to communicate, and to make decisions together.

Our family is incredibly blended and diverse, and because of this we have many different traditions and ways of celebrating each other throughout the year. We love the holiday season in particular because that’s when we gather together: our VERY large Thanksgiving involves everyone bringing a favorite dish to share and hours of backyard games (we call them the Family Olympics). Christmas, on the other hand, we celebrate the entire month of December. Between the Christmas parties with friends, tree lightings at The Grove, preparing home cooked meals, decorating our home and the Christmas tree, we feel a bit like Santa’s elves. Our favorite holiday tradition, though, is delivering presents to families in our community (which we do instead of gifts for the adults in our family). We often think about what these traditions will be like once we have a family of our own, and we are so excited to share them with your baby.

We recognize the profound decision you are making, and can only imagine how you might be feeling right now. We are ready (and eager) to go on this journey with you in whatever way feels comfortable and authentic to you. Whether you want to stay connected with us over the years, or want little or no contact at all, we honor the choice you’re making and we promise to honor it in how we love and communicate with your baby. What we know for sure is that being your baby’s parents will be the most important, most precious, part of our lives. And you will always be the hero of this story – the person who made the most selfless of choices in order to allow us to start our family and to give your baby a home in our hearts.