Rocco and Katrina

We want to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and share our heartfelt feelings with you. We are Katrina and Rocco, a couple who have long dreamed of becoming parents. Our journey has led us here with immense hope and anticipation, and we are incredibly grateful for your consideration in choosing us to potentially raise your precious child. As we eagerly await the opportunity to welcome a child into our lives, we understand the weight of this decision for you. Your courage and selflessness in considering adoption speak volumes about the love you have for your child.

We promise to honor and respect your journey, and we are committed to fostering a relationship built on trust and understanding. When it comes to discussing you with your child, we believe in openness and honesty. We will talk about you with love and admiration, emphasizing the strength of your decision and the deep bond that connects them to you. It’s important to us that your child grows up knowing their story in a positive light, understanding the love that surrounds them from all sides. Please know that throughout this process, and beyond, we are here to support you in any way we can. You are not alone on this journey, and we are honored to be walking alongside you, with respect for your choices and admiration for your bravery.

We’ve both always dreamed of having children and since we’ve been a couple, that hope has blended into a shared dream of a house full of kids, love, and laughter. Unfortunately, we have been unsuccessful in having biological kids, but our desire to grow our family and share our love and lives with a baby lives on. Having so many wonderful memories from being part of our niece and nephews’ childhoods, we can’t wait to experience the joy of raising a child together. We are excited to begin the adoption process and look forward to that special day when our dream comes true!

We love a healthy balance of structure during the week and adventure on the weekends, with plenty of time for rest and fun. We both work during the week (Katrina from home full-time, Rocco in the office 3 days and from home 2), so weeknights are often cozy and low-key.

Weeknights at home usually look like:

• Cooking delicious dinners together
• Watching favorite TV shows and movies
• Playing with our sweet dog
• Tackling little home projects

But we always make time for one or two ballroom dance lessons each week – a fun hobby that we can do together! (We recently started learning Lindy Hop swing dancing which has been really fun!)

Weekends are for exploring and making memories. We’re always on the lookout for new experiences – concerts, theater shows, street festivals, and more. When the weather is nice we head out doors for:

• Scenic walks and hikes
• Kayaking or paddleboarding
• Cookouts with family

We are Pittsburgh Steelers fans and are lucky to have season tickets, so fall weekends often include game days at the stadium or watching on TV. We both also love magic, and we have an annual pass to a small theater called Liberty Magic where we get to have a date night once a month and see the latest magician touring!

We love to travel and see new places so it’s fun to plan our next adventure. We try to take one big trip each year and then plan some weekends away throughout the rest of the year. The past few years have led us to:

• New England
• Alaska
• Hawaii
• Germany & Switzerland

We both enjoy our professions and take our careers seriously, but we are of the mindset that we work to live, not live to work. So time together and with family and friends is a treasure to us. We would love nothing more than to make your child a key focus in our lifestyle and share each of these great experiences with them.

Katrina and I were introduced to each other by a mutual friend in 2019. From our very first date, I was enamored with her kindness and sense of humor. From the day I introduced her to my family, they were quick to point out that I had found a wonderful woman. Katrina loves animals (especially dogs) more than anyone I’ve ever met. When we travel we often go to zoos or tours to see the local wildlife which she enjoys so much. She loves being outdoors and has a true appreciation for all of the seasons. She enjoys skiing and sled riding in the winter, hiking in the spring and fall, and being near the water during summertime. Katrina has a big heart and is always helping anyone in need. She works incredibly hard and will be an amazing mother someday. She is great with children and I can’t wait to see joy in her eyes when we have a child of our own!

From the moment I met Rocco, I could tell he was a true gentleman, very kind-hearted, easy-going and focused on those around him. He is a great conversationalist who keeps me laughing – one of my most admired qualities about him. He is very supportive when a situation calls for such, but otherwise, he is silly and always looking for a reason to laugh.

Rocco embodies the qualities that my grandmother would describe as a “true gentleman.” He constantly opens doors for me, brings home flowers from the market, leaves me letters or cards (just because), volunteers his time to help out family and friends, and ALWAYS treats me with respect. My family loves him as much as I do, they always say I hit the jackpot. He is always willing to stop by and help whenever they need something, as they are getting older. He enjoys spending time with several circles of friends; I was amazed at the long-term friendships he has fostered over the years whether it be through work or socially.

But I think most of all, when I see him interacting with our niece and nephews he is at his best. He treasures every moment and is present in that moment. Regardless of the activity – if it’s jumping around on a trampoline like a little child trying to do gymnastic-like moves or engaging in a craft or science experiment (a favorite of ours), I see a glimpse of how he will be as a father and look forward to the day when that becomes a reality for us.

We live in a charming, family-friendly suburb just north of downtown Pittsburgh – part of one of the top-rated school districts in the region. Our neighborhood is safe, welcoming and full of families with children, dogs or both – the perfect place to raise a little one!

Our home is a comfortable 2-story, 4 bedroom house with a lovely patio and quaint backyard. On nice evenings or weekends we enjoy:

• Having dinner outside on the patio
• Taking walks around the neighborhood with our dog
• Enjoying the peacefulness of our wooded backyard

We are fortunate to have several parks within minutes of our home, filled with walking trails, playgrounds, ball fields, and picnic spaces. One of the parks hosts lots of fun events that we look forward to sharing with our future child, including an Easter Egg hunt, Summer Festival (with fireworks), movie nights in the park, a Halloween parade, and a Meet and Greet with Santa during Christmas time!

We have a sweet, playful dog named Penny (full name: Penny Lane). She is a 2 year old Cavapoo (King Charles Cavalier Spaniel / Poodle mix). She’s energetic, affectionate, and always ready for fun!

Penny loves:

• Fetching toys and balls (she’ll bring one to anyone who’ll play!)
• Daily walks and seeing her dog friends in the neighborhood
• Playing with kids – she’s gentle, excited, and can’t wait to have a child at home as her playmate.

Both of us were born and raised in Pittsburgh and we are fortunate to live very close to each of our immediate families as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins. We get to visit with various family members almost weekly and family dinners and gatherings are quite frequent. Holidays are exciting as we split time between both of our families and get to enjoy special occasions with so many loved ones! Rocco’s immediate family consists of his mom, sister (Erin), brother-in-law (Braden), and their two sons (Logan and Dylan). His dad sadly passed away in 2010, but is still very present in the memories and stories shared about him. We enjoy having family dinners, playing games, and going to our nephews’ sporting and school events. Katrina’s immediate family consists of her mom and dad, as well as her brother (Jeff), sister-in-law (Gina), and their son and daughter (Ayden and Arianna). Family get-togethers and birthdays are often celebrated with cookouts or picnics in the park. We love playing lawn games, going for walks, and doing other group activities!

Our family is a blend of diverse backgrounds and traditions. Katrina is half Cuban, as her mother was born in Cuba and immigrated to the US as a young girl. Her brother married a Mexican woman which has added more Latino culture into our family. While we do not speak Spanish fluently, we are building a strong foundation in the language; that combined with the fluency of other family members, our goal is for our future child to be bilingual.

In terms of parenting, our primary goal will be to help your child grow up to be a good person – virtuous in faith, hope, and charity. Loving them unconditionally, we will help them navigate life so that they can pursue their dreams and form strong bonds with friends and family. We will teach them to respect themselves as well as others – always remembering the golden rule of “treating others as they would like to be treated.”

As practicing Catholics, faith is an important part of our lives. We attend mass every Sunday and try to be active participants in our Parish. Rocco is a member of a men’s group that meets weekly, and we support the church and associated school in their social and fundraising events. Like many others, our journey towards starting a family has been very trying, but our faith has helped us to stay hopeful that the perfect child will come along at the proper time.

As we have only been together for 5 years, we are still creating our own traditions which we will incorporate with our future children (as well as creating new ones with them)! Annually, we go to different fall festivals to find the perfect pumpkin to carve and bake seeds. For Halloween each year, we get into the spirit by dressing up in costumes and sitting outside to pass out candy to the neighborhood kids. Christmas is a full season of listening to carols, decorating our house, baking cookies, and enjoying lots of time with our families and friends. We’ve started a tradition of traveling to a different city for a long weekend each December to experience the local holiday festivities. Katrina’s parents have a winter home in Florida, so each year we spend 2-3 weeks visiting them in January/February, as we are fortunate to be able to work remotely during that time. Each summer is filled with picnics, family reunions, and our favorite – watching fireworks on the 4th of July!

We want to assure you of our heartfelt commitment and promise to you that your child will be in excellent hands throughout their life. We promise to provide a loving, nurturing home filled with support, encouragement, and endless opportunities for them to thrive. Your child will be cherished unconditionally, surrounded by laughter, education, faith, and the warmth of a loving family. We will offer a life of stability and commit ourselves to the well-being of your child. And we will honor and respect you as their birth mother, making sure they know about you and their background.