Hi There! We are Andrew and Brett from Los Angeles, California. We can only imagine what you must be feeling right now with so much change and so many choices to make. We hope that you get a sense of who we are and what life might be like for your future child if you choose us. Since we met, we've talked about wanting to be dads together. We have created a fun, beautiful life and we cannot wait to add a little one to complete our family. Thank you for checking us out and hearing our story!

We both come from close-knit families and have always imagined continuing this tradition in being parents. We feel strongly about the importance of adoption in building families, having witnessed adoption stories in our family and friend circles. We have so much love to give and are so excited to begin this journey!

We met in 2016 at a mutual friend’s Labor Day party in Los Angeles. We chatted for hours that evening. We learned we both grew up in Pennsylvania and immediately felt a shared sense of east coast mentality. Brett suggested we see the 1991 cartoon version of Beauty and the Beast for our first date at Disney's El Capitain movie theater. This sense of whimsy and fun connected us and is at the core of our relationship. On our second date at Brett's home, we cooked dinner together and have been inseparable ever since. We married in 2019 and (fun fact) our mutual friend who introduced us performed the ceremony! Our life together is a balance of work and spending time with our loved ones. Every year we celebrate the holidays in Pennsylvania with family. We love hosting brunches, coordinating movie nights out, and day trips to neighboring spots in California with friends!

I am originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and also grew up in New York City. I am the middle sibling of three kids, and I am often the peacekeeper in my family. I grew up with a love for the performing arts and took singing, acting, and dancing lessons at our local youth theatre. I attended a performing arts high school in NYC and went on to study theatre at New York University. I had many adventures within my performing career—touring in musicals, acting in plays, and dancing on cruise ships! I eventually found my way west. In between performing jobs, I worked as a "manny" to children here in Los Angeles and also taught theatre class at a preschool. I recently switched career paths, earning my graduate degree in Clinical Psychology. I am now an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in a private practice, and I am also a middle school counselor. I am a natural listener and caretaker, but also have a creative, silly side with children. I love kids, and I am so excited to be a parent with Brett and experience this new role.

When I met Andrew I knew he was different and special. On our first date, I could see that he is smart and sensitive, with a passion for life. Andrew’s heart is big and encompassing. I see how he cherishes his family and friends and it inspires me. He is a thoughtful and patient person-such a wonderful combination!

They say we choose people to balance us and fill our gaps, and I definitely did this with Andrew. Andrew’s mother had a medical scare a few years ago and it was inspiring to see how he swooped in to help her. He’s dependable, wise beyond his years, and so loving to anyone in his orbit. All that gooey stuff aside, Andrew is also a mash-up of funny, earnest, and adorable. He’s my person. I’m lucky we met and that I didn’t mess it up!

I grew up in a loud and energetic family, so I will for sure bring that to our household. I move through the world in a playful way and some might describe me as silly! I was always the kid that could draw and knew from an early age that I wanted a career in the arts in some way. While in school for graphic design, I started dabbling in makeup. Turns out my calling was to be a makeup artist. I leaned into that and now work full-time in Hollywood doing makeup for actresses. In 2007 I started a line of brow products, where I get to use my training in drawing and design. I've always loved kids, and I'm 'Uncle Brett' to many of my friends' little ones. On our first date, Andrew said that he wanted to be a father. After getting to know him I thought, "This is a man I want to be a parent with!" I consider our friends as chosen family and take those connections seriously. I look forward to Andrew and I being parents alongside our friends and family who have started families of their own.

Brett brightens every room he enters with his open energy and wittiness. He puts others around him at ease with his sense of humor, which always comes from a sense of playfulness. I love that he makes me smile and laugh (especially in moments when I need it), but I also love that he shows up for life's serious moments. I remember after our first meeting, I told my best friend I had met a handsome guy, yet more importantly, he had "kind eyes.” I love that he is so caring and thoughtful with our friends and family.

He is the ultimate organizer of social gatherings and movie nights, connecting people together! Brett also has a strong work ethic, which I respect so much. He understands the balance in working hard and also enjoying life. I love that he is so silly with our nephew and our friends' kids. I know he will encourage our future child to explore and follow their passions, as he did. He is so looking forward to starting our family together and being a father!

Our house is on a tree lined cul-de-sac. We have a true sense of community on our little street and regularly socialize with our neighbors, many of whom have kids and doggies! We have a fenced-in backyard with plenty of space for our future child to run around and play in! Andrew's happy place is gardening on weekends while Brett watches TikTok's on his phone (haha). We love to go for long walks around our neighborhood with our pup Jordache or go to parks nearby. Andrew is the cook of the family and enjoys whipping up creations in the kitchen. He makes his Grammy's homemade apple pie every year for Thanksgiving! Though not a cook, Brett does bake one thing that's a crowd pleaser: his Nam Nam's chocolate chip cookie recipe (Shhh...the secret is milk chocolate chips and sea salt). As we are both creatives, we draw from our environment. We love interior design, mixing modern and contemporary with retro flea market finds! A perk of living in California is our proximity to so many beautiful destinations! We are twenty minutes from Malibu's beaches and a couple hours from Big Bear's Mountains or Palm Springs' deserts.

He is super friendly, playful, and a snuggle-bug. Fun story about how our fur-baby Jordache came into our life! During the pandemic, Brett's cousin fostered a dog from a local shelter. She soon realized the dog was pregnant and watched YouTube videos on how to mid-wife the birth of the 4 tiny puppies. When we heard the news, we rushed over to meet them and one in particular fell in love with us. Andrew dreamed of having a dog his whole life, so Brett surprised him by secretly coordinating with the rescue to bring him home.

We are both from Pennsylvania originally and our families mostly still live there. Andrew comes from a close and talkative Italian family, who love making big meals together for holidays and gatherings. Brett jokes that his Jewish upbringing was similar to Andrew's Italian roots, with family events centered around homemade food. Andrew's mom and stepdad have a big house in the Poconos, where we gather for snowy holidays in December with Andrew's siblings and their significant others. Andrew's dad and stepmom are close-by in Pennsylvania, so we see them too! Andrew's parents and stepparents cannot wait to be grandparents to our future child and shower them with tons of love!

Brett’s parents have passed, but he is close with his siblings. Brett's brother, known for his dad jokes, loves to plan visits to Los Angeles, and his flight attendant sister is always jetting off to different cities. Andrew's younger brother is a film editor and lives in NYC. Andrew's older sister, brother-in-law, and nephew are bi-coastal, so we spend time with them in our neck of the woods a bunch! We're lucky we get to see our 3-year-old nephew often for cookie-making and movie nights with his uncles! We are close with our cousins (and each only have a few), so they feel like additional siblings! One of Brett's cousins was adopted, and he grew up valuing her story first-hand.

We're glad you made it this far, and we want to thank you for taking the time to read our story. Know that it was written from the bottom of our hearts. "Real talk" (as Brett likes to say), sitting down together to write this was a truly wonderful experience. Although we have discussed becoming dads countless times, putting into words our hopes and dreams made us realize how much love we have to give. We want you to know we understand the weight of this decision for you. We often describe our pairing as two puzzle pieces that fit. Maybe our puzzle pieces fit with you as we extend the puzzle?

We look forward to the privilege of getting to know you and your story. Our hopes is that we may support and guide each other through this next step in the journey with open hearts and minds.