Hello, we are Jeff and Trevor (and Ethan)! Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about us as we begin to grow our family.

We met in 2005, while attending school in Wisconsin, and started dating right away. What can we say – we had an instant connection! Shortly after finishing school, we moved to the Washington, DC area for new jobs, and we’ve been here ever since. We were married in 2012 on the beach in San Diego, California, where Trevor grew up. We also had a wildly fun reception at the San Diego Zoo – complete with a cheetah! 

In 2020, we were blessed with the arrival of our son Ethan, who came to us through adoption. And now we are ready to grow our family again with another child. Ethan is SO excited about the possibility of becoming a big brother! Since our first years of dating, we have always known that adoption would be the pathway to building and growing our family, and we cannot wait to welcome another beautiful child into our home.

What immediately drew me to Jeff was his kindness. Whether we are having a date night, watching a family movie night at home, or hanging out with our friends and family, I can always count on Jeff to be gentle and caring in the way he interacts with others. Jeff has dedicated his career to working for an environmental non-profit where he makes the world a better place every day, while also providing for our family.

The moment I knew Jeff was the one for me was when we were moving to DC together. We were driving a U-Haul from Wisconsin filled with everything we owned, and it broke down not once, not twice, but FOUR times! The way we worked together and made the best of an awful situation solidified what a special person he was. That definitely continued to play out as we parent together and he shows that he's an amazing father each and every day. I’d say he’s a keeper!

Favorites:

• Movie: The Sandlot
• Book: Perks of Being a Wallflower
• TV Show: Schitt’s Creek
• Food: Warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies
• Activity: Hiking
• Musical Artist- Ludwig Goransson

When we first met, it didn’t take long for me to learn that Trevor is full of joy. Trevor is the kind of person who loves to randomly sing and dance, ham it up for an audience, and make the people around him laugh. Trevor loves Christmas, family traditions, sappy romantic comedies, and sitcoms. And when Trevor loves a catchy song, he REALLY loves it! He’ll listen to that song over and over and over again.

What you need to know most about Trevor is that he has an incredibly soft heart. It’s why I adore him so much, and it's part of what makes him such an incredible dad. With his soft heart and joyous eyes, Trevor is there to cry happy tears whenever there’s a first step, a first day at school, a graduation, or even just a random Tuesday when it feels good to be a family. I can’t wait to be with him holding his hand through it all.

Favorites:

• Movie: Dirty Dancing
• Book: Marley and Me
• TV Show: Modern Family
• Food: Tacos
• Activity: Board Games
• Musical Artist- Celine Dion or Dolly Parton

Meet our son, Ethan - our sweet, joyful, curious, and kindhearted son who fills our home with laughter, love, and excitement every day!  Ethan came into our lives through adoption in 2020 and he is truly the light of our lives. He has a big imagination and an even bigger heart. Whether he's pretending to be Spiderman saving the day, swimming in the pool or catching bugs outside, Ethan is one active little boy!  Ethan will be starting Kindergarten soon, and at preschool his favorite parts of the day are playing outside with his friends and showing off his groovy moves in dance class.

Ethan often talks about wanting to be a big brother and he can't wait to share his world with a new sibling. Ethan is incredibly loving, kind, and patient, and we can't wait to see him become a proud and protective big brother. When the time comes for us to finally welcome another child into our family, they'll have the most amazing big brother waiting and ready to help teach them, show them the world, grow up together, and create lifelong bond of family memories.

Favorites:

• Superhero: Spiderman
• Book: Green Eggs & Ham
• Food: Ice cream
• Holiday: Halloween
• Activities: Legos, puzzles, and costumes
• Other Favorites: Dinosaurs, astronauts, swimming

We live in northern Virginia, in a beautiful home at the end of a dead-end street surrounded by a forest preserve on the back and side. Our favorite part of our home is our deck overlooking the backyard and the beautiful views of the woods. We are grateful that we have a backyard that has tons of room for grilling, gardening, playing outside, and for one of Ethan's favorite pastimes - catching bugs! Our kitchen is a central part of our home. Whether it’s Sunday morning pancakes, or make-your-own pizza night, cooking together as a family is a big part of our lives. And it's wonderful having a fireplace for those cold winter nights and during Christmas.

We live in a friendly, diverse, close-knit, residential neighborhood with lots of kids who love to ride bikes and play together. We have a big, carpeted basement in our house with tons of room for kids' toys and running around. It's always easy to have friends over for play-dates! We have a wonderful park a few blocks from our house, complete with a playground, basketball court, and pavilion. It's a great place to live, and a wonderful home for our growing family.

Family is very important to us! Whether it’s vacationing with Trevor’s nieces and nephews or hiking with Jeff’s mom and stepdad, family is central to everything we do. Every year we travel to spend the holidays with family. Trevor goes all out for the Christmas season, and we love playing the role of Santa Clause. While our family is spread out geographically, we keep in close contact through FaceTime and regular phone check-ins. Our families adore Ethan, and they are ecstatic about the possibility of having a second little one running around. 

We have a wonderful group of friends that live nearby that love us, serve as an extension of our families, and provide continuous support. Many of these friends have adopted children themselves. We have a wide variety of close friends eager and ready to help lend a helping hand as we expand our family.

We love to travel and be active outdoors and have adventures as a family. Some of our most memorable trips as a couple have been our honeymoon in Tahiti, hiking the Grand Canyon, and fall road-trips to New England. Since Ethan joined our family, he has joined all of our adventures! Ethan has gotten to hike the Rocky Mountains, ride ponies, explore beaches in Hawaii and California, and find all sorts of family fun in Wisconsin. Closer to home, our weekends are often filled with trips to museums, the zoo, the aquarium, and farm trips to pick strawberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, and more!

In his free time, Jeff loves to be active by working out at the gym or going for a run. He is also an avid reader and always has multiple books started. Trevor is a big fan of board game nights with friends and loves to relax by working on jigsaw puzzles (no joke!). Trevor also likes to listen to podcasts. Some of his favorites are "My Favorite Murder," "Radiolab," and "Unlocking Us with Brené Brown." Of course, Ethan's interests keep evolving as he grows, but he is consistently obsessed with Legos, puzzles, reading books, dressing up in costumes, and doing anything involving superheroes. And Ethan can't wait to share all of it with a little sibling.

Thank you for taking the time to look at our book. We hope that we have given you a good idea of who we are individually, as a family, and what our lives are like. We promise to provide a nurturing environment to learn, a safe and healthy place to grow, and a rich family life filled with unconditional love. 

We hope to have an open relationship with the birth family, but regardless of the desired level of contact, we will always remind a child of the sacrifice their birth parent(s) made so that they could have a wonderful life and family.

We wish you all the love and support as you make this brave decision about what is right for you and your baby. Thank you!