We met in Pittsburgh in 2016 through mutual friends and quickly became each other’s best friends. We moved to a smaller, more rural area during COVID for a slower pace of life and to be closer to family. We got married in 2023 at a beautiful outdoor venue, surrounded by lots of friends and family. We balance each other very well. Ryan is the organized one who keeps the house running smoothly. He loves baking and always makes sure there is a sweet treat for dessert. Justin loves to work on the house and does most of the cooking.
A typical day for us is pretty simple - and we love it that way. We both work in healthcare and walk our dog and exercise in the morning. In the evenings, we make dinner together and eat dessert while watching TV. We always play Wordle and a mini-crossword before going to bed. On the weekends, we enjoy being outside - skiing, biking, kayaking - but also like to make short weekend trips to New York to see plays or visit friends.

We are both lucky to come from loving, supportive families, and one of the reasons that we chose to live where we do was to be close to them. Ryan’s parents and their partners are just fifteen minutes away, and we see them often for dinners and to cheer on Ryan’s nephews at their games. Ryan has lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins nearby, so there’s always someone to call for a cookout or a get-together. Justin’s parents live in Virginia but visit often. They’ll find any reason - helping with a home project, going antique shopping, spoiling our dog, Maple, or just to spend time with us. Both of our families are excited about this adoption and have built a real community of support around us. Your baby will have no shortage of people ready to love them.

Family traditions are a big part of who we are. We’ve held onto many of the ones we grew up with - summer and fall beach trips, picking out new Christmas tree ornaments, and celebrating birthday weeks instead of days. We’ve also started building our own traditions: making soups on cold winter nights, canning tomatoes from our garden, and picking out a Christmas tree for our front porch. We can’t wait to share all of these with a child and to watch new traditions take shape around who they are and what they love.

We live in a small college town in Pennsylvania, two blocks from a variety of restaurants, local shops, bookstores, and art studios. The town hosts seasonal festivals throughout the year, and the nearby university gives the town a fun, youthful energy. Our neighborhood has kids of all ages, and there’s a park just a few blocks away from us. We are in one of the top school districts in Pennsylvania, which was important to us when we moved here.

Our house was originally built in the 1800s, and we’ve spent a lot of time together renovating it. We have a garden in our backyard where we grow tomatoes, squash, lettuce, herbs, and other vegetables. We have two cats: Crooks, who loves to lay in laps, and Emmie, who is a bit more skittish. Our dog, Maple, loves to run around in the back yard and play ball with us. All of our pets have been around our nephews and do great with kids.

Even before we met, both of us knew we wanted children. As our relationship grew and we became ready to grow our family, we knew that adoption was the right path for us. We want to open our hearts and home to a child already on their way into the world. We are excited to become dads. We can’t wait for the everyday moments - morning pancakes, bedtime stories, playing in the yard, going to the park. We are also excited about traveling with them and showing them new places. We look forward to sharing our traditions but are also excited to watch them grow into their own person and discover the things that make them unique and special.