Hello (and Hola) from Berkeley, California! We’re Jason and Andy, and we’re so grateful you’ve taken a moment to get to know us. We’ve been happily together for over 16 years and married since 2004. Our biggest dream is to build our family, and share the love, laughter, and joy of our household with a child like yours.

You are showing so much love and courage in considering adoption for your child, and we’re humbled to be part of your search for the right family. Our home is bursting with love, and we promise to nurture, care for, and protect your child with everything we’ve got!

Our Story

We graduated from Georgetown University in the same year, but we didn’t meet until after graduation when a mutual friend hatched a fateful plan to bring us together. Her plan worked, and we’ve been a couple ever since. We got married in a small church ceremony in 2004, and continued building a wonderful life together in Berkeley, California.

 

Despite coming from very different family backgrounds—one from a traditional, midwestern family and the other from a family of Cuban immigrants—we share an amazingly strong connection that makes both of us feel complete. We’ve built our marriage on love, respect, and a healthy dose of laughter and adventure. We’re partners, we’re family, and we’re each other’s best friends. Now we can’t wait to be dads together.

 

Our community includes:

●      A big extended family that can’t wait to be a part of our child’s life. It includes four grandparents, and so many aunts, uncles and cousins that we’ve lost count

●      A tight-knit group of friends in the Bay Area and across the country, many of whom are starting families of their own

●      A loving church community that is warm, welcoming, and always looking out for us

●      A lovable Boston Terrier named Otis who is great at sniffing, snuggling, and making babies giggle

 

We’ve put a lot of effort into preparing to be parents. We have careers at flexible, family-oriented companies with very generous family benefits. We also own a kid-friendly home in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, near great schools and right next to a playground where we hope to spend many days playing with our child. We feel extremely lucky to be at a point in our lives where we can focus on raising a happy, healthy child. 

About Jason (by Andy)

Jason is a loving, devoted, and dependable partner.  While he is more introverted than I am, his warm heart and deeply caring nature make him the perfect partner for me. He is my constant source of support. He is responsible and practical, but also a lot of fun. After more than 16 years together, I cannot imagine my life without him.

●      Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska

●      Education: Georgetown University and UC Berkeley

●      Career: helping people use data to tell stories and make decisions

●      Favorite music: dance divas, from Madonna to Whitney to Lady Gaga

●      Favorite food: hot sauce (the spicier the better!)

●      His best family dish: Grammy Ost’s sugar cookies

●      Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving

●      Hidden talent: can solve just about any puzzle—whether it’s a difficult crossword or a broken kitchen appliance, he’s not afraid to jump in and figure it out

●      Guilty pleasure: Factory tours (he loves to see the big machines behind how stuff gets made)

 

Why Jason will make a great dad: I look up to Jason. He’s super smart, intensely curious, and I’m constantly learning from him. As a dad, I know he’ll foster this same sense of adventure and curiosity in our child, and I know our child will love him, learn from him, and look up to him just as I do. 

About Andy (by Jason)

Andy is happy and outgoing, the type of person everyone wishes they had as a friend. He is very giving of himself to others, and he is always upbeat and making the best of every situation. Any child raised by Andy will be a lover of music and food, and an explorer of the world around them.

●      Hometown: Orlando, Florida

●      Education: Georgetown University

●      Career: coaching people to be better communicators

●      Musical favorites: Motown and classic rock, from Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding to Paul Simon and Billy Joel

●      Favorite food: french fries

●      His best family dish: Cuban black beans

●      Favorite holiday: Christmas

●      Hidden talent: cooking meals out of thin air—I have looked in the refrigerator and seen nothing to eat, yet Andy can somehow come up with a full meal

●      Guilty pleasure: Karaoke (he’s really good!)

 

Why Andy will make a great dad: Andy is the kindest and most joyful person I have ever met. He has a light that shines from within him, and this light spreads to all those around him. It would be a tremendous gift for Andy to share his warmth and love—not to mention his fabulous cooking and silly songs—with our child.

Our Home and Neighborhood

We feel extremely lucky to live in South Berkeley, a diverse, culturally rich community just south of the University of California’s premier campus and the city’s downtown shopping district.

We own a comfortable, three-bedroom home with a big play room, a bright backyard, and an awesome park and playground right next door. Our kitchen is huge, and we spend a lot of time in there trying out new recipes and cooking together as a family. From our kitchen window, we can see the playground at Berkeley’s Greg Brown Park, which is often filled with happy neighborhood kids and families.

As a family, we hope to take advantage of everything our community has to offer, including:

●      Excellent, high-performing public and private schools

●      Great parks, playgrounds, and sports facilities

●      Museums, cultural centers, and libraries with great programs for kids

●      Fresh, healthy food from local farmers markets and great kid-friendly restaurants

Quick access to BART so we can go on adventures across the Bay Area

Our Promise To Our Child

Our home is filled with warmth and happiness. We promise our home will always be a place where our child feels safe and loved.

Education is very important to us. We promise to help our child learn, grow, and pursue educational opportunities from pre-K through college.

Our child deserves to be surrounded by as much love as possible. We promise to open ourselves and our family to our child’s birth family.

Every child should have the opportunity to explore their passions. We promise to foster an environment of curiosity, exploration, and fun, where our child will feel free discover what they’re good at and what they like to do. 

Thank You

We really admire the strength, love, and courage that has led you to consider open adoption for your child.  We are honored that you are considering us as the right family for your baby, and we will not let you or your baby down.

Thanks for taking the time to read our profile, and getting to know us. We would love to get to know you too!