Introduction
Dear Expectant Parent(s),
Hi, we are Brandon and Doug! We really appreciate you taking the time to read about our story and learn more about us as prospective parents.
Our Story
As common as it is, we originally met on a dating app, but we like to think that our story really began when we first met in person. Our first date lasted over eight hours, and from that point on, it was pretty obvious we were both in it for the long haul. We spent the first year of our relationship getting to know one another, traveling locally to museums and nature preserves, as well as farther to places like Disney World and Nashville. After that year, we got our first apartment together, just in time for the pandemic to lock us in.
We continued to build our lives together, buying our house in 2021, getting engaged by early 2022, and marrying later that same year in an intimate ceremony with our close friends and family. The best addition to our family so far (besides each other) was our wonderful puppy, Ellie, whom we rescued just a few months after buying our house.
Following these major milestones, we feel that our lives are established, and we are excited to grow our family. Being two men, we knew that our family-planning options were limited, but from as early on as our first date, we both shared the dream of building a family and raising children. Now ready to take those steps, we are so excited to welcome a child into our lives through open adoption.
About Doug, by Brandon
When I first met Doug, I noticed two things about him: he was brilliant and he genuinely cared so much.
After receiving an undergraduate degree in imaging science, he went on to get an advanced degree in software engineering, combining his love of light and photonics with programming and coding. He’s passionate about what he does, and you can always hear the excitement in his voice when he discusses a project he’s been working on or a challenge one of his colleagues comes to him with. While I don’t always understand exactly what he is talking about when he gets into the specifics of light particles and software programming, I am reminded how brilliant my husband is and how happy I am that he has a vocation he loves.
I haven’t met anyone who had a bad thing to say about Doug. When my family first met him, they instantly loved him for his sense of humor, his attention to everyone in the room, and his compassion. It is easy to recognize that Doug is someone who cares about people because he makes you feel special in something as simple as a conversation. It is this care and compassion that makes me so excited to see Doug become a dad, who will embrace a child’s passion and make them feel like the most considered person in the world.
About Brandon, by Doug
Without a doubt, my favorite thing about Brandon is the passion he puts into both the mundane and the momentous parts of our days. Whether it’s a simple walk with our dog where he vividly summarizes the book he’s just finished reading, or the morning of our wedding where we cried laughing when an extra order of tables and chairs was delivered to his parents’ house, Brandon has never failed to make every moment of our life together feel special.
Brandon has known from as young as five that he wanted to work in education. As a teacher and a mentor to students, Brandon made sure to meet students at their level, taking the time to hear and validate their goals and help guide them along the best paths to success. One of his favorite lessons to teach, Brandon loved helping his students write truly unique college admissions essays about anything from Star Wars to Shakespeare that highlighted his students’ passions.
As a student himself, Brandon never feels as though he’s learned enough about things like ancient cultures and mythology. He earned an undergraduate degree in classical and ancient studies as well as a Master’s in Education, and has returned to school to pursue a second Master’s in Global History.
Watching him work towards his own passions, and supporting those of his students, is one of the things that makes me most excited to see Brandon become a father. I know absolutely, in the same way that he did for us, that he will bring so much joy, laughter, and meaning to any child’s life.
Our Home
We were fortunate to find a beautiful home in a small, wooded town, continuously ranked among one of the best in the state for its education and career opportunities. The second we moved in, we knew we had joined a strong, tight-knit community, with neighbors who welcomed us, and who are always there to support or help or to offer the odd tool in home improvement and construction projects. We set out to find a home that could provide a safe environment for kids, and that’s exactly what we found. Whether going to the town-wide festivals and fairs, attending the local library’s read-a-thons and book sales, or walking through the parks and forests, it was easy to become part of this community, and we are so excited to raise a child with everything our town has to offer.
Our three-bedroom home is on a corner lot, surrounded by dead-end streets and paths into the adjacent forests. As many of the neighborhood kids can attest, it’s a perfect place to ride bikes, play basketball in the streets, and walk the wooded trails.
Inside, we wanted to make our new house into our home and have tried our hand at light home improvement projects. Whether it is putting in hardwood floors, building our backyard deck, or replacing some windows, our construction and planning skills have certainly been put to the test, but we can happily report that each completed project has only helped us hone our DIY abilities and made it feel more and more like our forever home.
Our Family
Growing up, our families were always there to show support at school events and sports games, and we have made sure to do the same for our nieces and nephews. Whether it be ballet recitals, baseball and football games, or project fairs, we are the loud uncles who cheer on our family and dress in team colors to make sure they know we’re there for them.
Living an hour away from Brandon’s family, we’ve made it a tradition to get everyone together every Sunday for a big family dinner. Every week, his mother cooks too much, and we complain that we are completely stuffed, but everyone has dessert anyway. For Doug’s family, who live five hours away, we plan bi-monthly weekend trips to his parents’ house, just a few minutes away from his sister and nieces, where we spend day-trips with the kids and help his parents with any to-do lists they have.
When we told our families that we were beginning the adoption process, everyone was so excited to welcome a new addition to the family. Although our families are already planning the Disney trips, maybe the most excited out of everyone are our nieces and nephews who keep telling us how eager they are to add another cousin to their shenanigans. Though we knew they would be, it has been so reaffirming to watch our whole “village” prepare for us to grow our family.
Our Hobbies
One thing that we bonded over early in our relationship was our love of reading. Although generally preferring different genres (with Doug preferring science fiction, and Brandon mostly reading history texts), we share a love for fantasy and classical literature. In fact, it was book recommendations that really helped get us to know one another and break the ice early in our relationship. On a trip through Massachusetts, we made sure to make a stop at The Mount, the historic house of Edith Wharton, one of our favorite American authors.
We made it a goal early in our relationship to travel the world. Although far from over, we have been able to travel both nationally, going from Niagara Falls to Maine, hiking across the East Coast, and hopping down to Disney World, as well as internationally, crossing the border to Montreal, driving across Iceland, and flying over the Alps to Italy. We have so many more countries and sites on our list, and we are so excited to have our next journey include our growing family.
Closer to home, we spend the better part of the warmer seasons tending to our outdoors gardens and flower beds. When we first moved into our home, the previous owners left behind a blank canvas that we have been able to paint with dozens of flowers, some of our favorites being the roses and daisies that seem to thrive in our yard. Each year, we eagerly await the return of spring to watch as all the hard work of the previous year pays off in a colorful collection of new buds and blooms.
Thank You
We want to thank you for taking the time to learn about us, our lives, and the hopes we share for a child.
As parents, we promise that your baby will never know anything but love and will have a warm, nurturing home, a wonderful education, a supportive and welcoming family, and that their needs will always come first. Excited as we are to become parents, we are so much more excited to meet and see the person the baby will become, with all of their unique quirks, passions, and habits.
Letting our adoptive child know their story, where they came from and how they became a part of our family, is extremely important to us, and we will be certain to honor whatever level of openness you prefer.
Thank you again for reading through our adoption profile, and we wish you the best in considering what is right for you and the baby.
Sincerely,