We love being parents and sharing our lives with our son, Vincent. However, the road to parenthood was not easy for us. Before we got married, we knew that it was possible that we might have fertility problems. When we were unable to conceive naturally, we started seeing a fertility doctor. Less invasive treatments were ineffective, and we eventually turned to in vitro fertilization (IVF) using an egg from an anonymous donor. Although Vincent arrived safely in 2020, the doctor strongly advised Shannon against getting pregnant again. Completing our family with an adopted child seems a natural fit for us. We will already be having conversations with our son about the unique circumstances of his birth, since Shannon is his mother, but not his genetic parent. We will greet our adopted child with the same love and open arms that we have for our son.

Vincent, now four years old, is excited about the prospect of being a big brother. He asks us lots of questions about what babies can do and picks out toys and books he wants to share. Preparing for your child's arrival in our home – decorating the baby's room and talking about how the new baby will change our routines -- has been a great experience for all of us because we've been able to do it together. It feels like the baby is a part of our family before he or she has even arrived.

Vincent will be a great big brother. He's got a goofy sense of humor and lots of energy. Outside, he likes to help Mom and Dad dig holes and plant flowers and add to his collection of cool rocks and sticks. Inside, he helps us cook; he can identify lots of ingredients and spices by sight, even though he can't read yet. He loves for us to read books to him about everything from trains and excavators to Cinderella. He frequently brings his toys and books into the baby's room to play by himself. It's like he's just waiting for the right playmate.

We met on the dance floor at a jitterbug swing dance event, and for a number of years, dancing was the core of our leisure time. We don't dance much anymore, but we still love to when we can. Nowadays, we are more likely to look forward to running/walking a 5K together.

We love tabletop gaming. We have a shelf in the living room with over 45 board games and puzzles. Daniel has been playing role-playing (Dungeons & Dragons-style) games with some of his friends since he was in grade school, and Shannon just joined a new board gaming group.

We love to travel. On one of our favorite vacations together, we went hang-gliding and hunted for shells on the white sand beaches of North Carolina. Shannon loves theme parks, and we had a great time seeing the Star Wars attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Closer to home, there is a lot to do in our city. We have a world-class zoo, a botanical garden, and a great symphony. We also do lots of events connected with Vincent's school. There's fun and holiday-themed events like Trunk-or-Treat, Shannon volunteers to work the book fair and as a lunch assistant, and Daniel volunteers to serve food at fundraisers.

We also both love to play the piano. We plan to get Vincent and your child involved in piano lessons, if they show interest. If either child does play, we will likely study alongside them, and the house will be filled with music.

We have several family members and friends in our circle who are adopted themselves or who are adoptive parents.

Two of Shannon's father's cousins are adopted and one of Daniel's cousins and his wife have adopted two sons from Korea.

Shannon talks to her Aunt Katie about once a month. Katie was adopted in the 1960s in a closed adoption. She located her birth mother some years ago and they have built a positive relationship. Katie is aware that we intend to adopt and she will be available to offer her love and an adoptee's perspective as we move forward.

In addition, one of Daniel's bosses, who he interacts with frequently, adopted both of her children as a single parent. Both of her children are of a different race than her, and one of them has special needs. One of their recent holiday cards included a family picture; their smiles were radiant. It was plain to see how happy adoption has made them as a family. Their experience has been an inspiration to us.

Finally, our son's daycare says they have several other families enrolled whose children are adopted. We look forward to connecting with them as we move forward.

We live in a suburb of a large Midwestern city, about 25 minutes from the city center. Our house is a three-bedroom ranch house with a nice yard. Our favorite rooms are the living room and kitchen; whenever we have people over, that's where people end up. There are seats at the counter so our guests can talk to us as we cook, and we can watch the kids play in the living room.

The baby's room has the best view in the house, onto our backyard, and a small wooded area. We see deer, hawks, owls, and the occasional fox and groundhog in our yard. The neighborhood is a quiet place with tree-lined streets, sidewalks and minimal traffic. We see dog-walkers and kids playing outside all the time. Our favorite park is about 10 minutes' drive away, with playground equipment for younger and older kids and a fountain that Vincent likes to run through in the summertime.

We chose this neighborhood in part because it is in the best school district in the area. As an added bonus, we've been happy with the daycare center we've found for Vincent, which is about three minutes' drive from our house. In addition to having an older brother, the baby will have lots of kids on our street and in our neighborhood to play with.

Both of our parents live within 15 minutes' drive of our house. The baby will see both sets of grandparents at least once a week. In addition, we each have one sibling in town, who have families of their own. We see them for birthdays and holidays, and sometimes just to hang out. The child will have a cheering section at whatever activity they may get into and will have lots of people there to see them blow out their birthday candles.

When there's a problem, our families are there for us. This has been especially helpful because it means we have great baby-sitters when daycare closes early, we're juggling household events, or emergencies happen.

Our families love holidays. Daniel's favorite holiday is the Fourth of July. His dad taught him to grill, and the guys all work the grill together. The table will be full of hamburgers, brats, roasted vegetables, and several kinds of BBQ sauce. Shannon's favorite holiday is Christmas. Her family loves to decorate a big tree and wrap gifts. Shannon's sister will put together a holiday playlist. We'll enjoy looking at each other's gifts and have a buffet lunch, with fruitcake, butter cookies, and chocolate peppermint cookies for dessert. But first, on Christmas Eve, we follow Daniel's family's tradition of driving around to look at Christmas lights with our son.

Our extended families are aware of and supportive of our adoption plan. They can't wait to meet the latest member of the family!

Hi, we are very happy that you have decided to learn more about us! We are honored that you are considering entrusting us with the precious little life you are about to bring into the world.

Let us tell you a bit about ourselves. We met on the dance floor in 2012 and have been married for about nine years. Shannon is an attorney at a large law firm, practicing banking and securities law and supporting underserved communities through her pro bono work. Daniel is an environmental scientist who works for a utility company. Both of us are fortunate to have jobs that allow us a measure of flexibility. We both work from home about 2 days each week and can take time off for vacations and to cover household responsibilities. We own our home. We don't presently have pets, although we remember our two cats fondly and look forward to adopting new pets into our life, once we're settled in with the baby we hope to adopt. We have one son, born in 2020, after four and a half years of fertility treatments, using an egg from an anonymous donor. He is the light of our lives and we'd love for him to have a little brother or sister. He asks us several times a week when the new baby is coming.

When we got married, we talked about and hoped for 2 or 3 kids, but we knew it was possible that we might have fertility problems - and we did. Getting pregnant was much harder than anyone would have thought and carrying a child also turned out to be more dangerous for Shannon than we had expected. Because of that, we decided not to attempt to get pregnant again and to instead grow our family through adoption.

We imagine that this must be a time of great stress and uncertainty for you. Every day moves you closer to one of the biggest decisions you will ever make: will you choose to parent, and if you choose not to, who will be the best parents for your child? We're sure that you will make the right decision for yourself and your child. Have faith in yourself, and you'll find the right answer in your heart.

In our experience, being parents is a balancing act, steadied by certain core principles that drive our lives:

Everything else is a process of discovery, a daily adventure that we take together.

As you move forward, please remember that choosing to place your child for an open adoption does not mean the child disappears from your heart, or from your life. We'll send pictures and letters as the child grows. We should talk about a schedule for emails and phone calls, if you're interested. At least once in the child's first five years, we'll arrange a face-to-face meeting with you, if you're open to it. We promise you that the child will be raised to know your name, to honor your choice in placing him or her for adoption, and to think of you with respect. If the child is from a different ethnic or racial background than ours, we are prepared to forge relationships and learn how to connect the child to that part of their heritage.

Adoption is a lifelong commitment. When you're ready, we look forward to meeting you and to talking about the kind of future we all hope to build for this child.

Daniel & Shannon