Hello! We are Dave and Mary! Thank you for choosing to hear our story and learn more about us as prospective parents. We are extremely grateful for your time as you explore all options for your child.

Our story begins 10 years ago as sophomores in college. We realized after meeting, we lived two blocks away from each other our entire lives! However, Dave went to private catholic school and Mary went to public school—but, we met at the right time in our lives. The commonalities continued from there and we hit it off! We loved going for walks, getting coffee, going to local sports games or theater productions, and grabbing brunch or dinner! We got engaged after four years and married in the Fall of 2017. The fun has never ended and we love exploring life together! It has been extremely rewarding to grow together and build skills necessary to become successful parents.

After we got married, bought our home, and adopted our dog, S’mores, we knew we were ready to start our adoption journey. We have always known adoption would be our plan and we would not have biological children. Being adoptive parents in an open adoption, of any level, has always been our dream, and we cannot wait to welcome a beautiful child into our hearts.

As a kid, I was always playing “teacher,” both as a dance and classroom teacher. It is surreal to now be a first grade teacher at the local school for the Deaf. I am extremely grateful for my career and my support system of girlfriends at work who have become extended family. I feel lucky to have a career that will allow me to put my family first and spend more time with a child. I cannot wait to share my heart, my skill of American Sign Language (ASL) and everything I’ve learned over the years with a child. 

Dancing and musical theater has always been a huge part of my life. I started dancing at the age of seven and started teaching as soon as possible. I continue to dance and teach and would love to share this passion with a child. Growing up, I also tried various sports. I think it is important for a child to explore all interests and hobbies. Regardless if it is dance or something else, I will always support a child in their interests and can’t wait to be their biggest cheerleader. 

After becoming an aunt and a godmother, it made me even more excited to have a child one day. I feel so blessed to be so close to my niece and nephew and to be able to cheer them on as they complete milestones. I cannot wait for them to have a new cousin to love. 

Growing up, I explored interests through toys, games and activities that had me think critically. I also explored the world around me through art and sports to try and give direction to everything I did. This has made me a critical thinker, and led me to want to become a soldier in the Army. I like to think that I have practical and logistic thinking, but that I also try to be sincere, transparent, and gentle with those that I love. Today, I am a logistics captain in the Army Reserve, where I command a water purification company. On the civilian side, I work as an environmental certification technician, where I test and certify cleanrooms and air filtration systems.

Balance in career and family is very important to me, and I want to be there for a child, cheering them on in whatever interests they explore. I want the opportunity to guide children in the direction that allows them to healthily explore what they want to, while being who they want to be. 

In my free time, I enjoy playing computer games, doing tea and coffee tastings, and watching and attending different sport events. I love collecting hockey pucks and sharing the stories behind them. People say I am a kid at heart, and I couldn't agree more! One of the most exciting moments in my life was becoming an uncle. I love having nerf gun wars, playing games, reading and building Legos with my nephew and niece. I can not wait to share that fun and my hobbies with a child and go from “Uncle” to “Dad.”   

We live in an inviting home, which we bought as a flip, with new updates. We have enjoyed making it our own by adding photos of our family and friends on the walls and pictures drawn by our niece and nephew on the fridge. We love decorating around the holidays, adding more lights each year! Our favorite rooms are the living room where we play games and the kitchen where we cook together.

Buying a home in the neighborhood where we grew up was an easy decision for us. It is 10 minutes from Mary’s parents house, so Grandma and Grandpa will always be close by for family fun! We love living within walking distance from a park with multiple playgrounds. We’re excited to be able to walk our dog and take a child to play! Additionally, our neighborhood is close-knit. Each year, we have a block sale, a holiday light stroll, trunk or treat for Halloween, and an Easter egg hunt!

The best part about living in Western New York, besides being close to both our families, is living in a big city with a small-town feel. It’s the perfect place to raise a family. We cannot wait to take a child to the Children’s Museum, to see a local sports game or simply to have a bike ride or picnic together.

You know that saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”? Well, that’s how we feel when it comes to our families. Both of us were raised around our siblings, cousins, uncles and aunts and grandparents. We were raised with love and cannot wait to pass these same special relationships on to the next generation.

Mary’s parents love spoiling our niece and nephew on her side, and they have a finished basement that is a playroom, with a play kitchen and countless toys, like the way it was when Mary grew up. Her dad also has a boat and loves taking the family out and teaching everyone how to fish! Dave has multiple cousins who have grown their family through adoption and his family is super excited for us. Both our families will continue to grow as Mary’s two siblings and Dave’s cousins plan to continue to have more children. We are also super excited to add to this growing family! 

The best part about our families is that we all live close, and everyone is good friends. That means awesome cookouts, over-the-top Thanksgivings and Christmases filled with presents and treats. As a whole, we are a loving group of people that cannot wait to welcome another child into the family.

With each season comes new traditions and as a family, we love to keep those traditions alive by passing them down from generation to generation. We cannot wait to share these special moments with a child. 

Winter: We love celebrating the holidays! We kick it off searching for the perfect Christmas tree and decorating the house. Then, we always make our annual gingerbread house! We also host a Christmas Eve celebration every year and have family over to celebrate Dave’s birthday! The holidays are such a magical time, and we cannot wait to share them with a child. 

Spring: We start by celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, eating the traditional foods with family. We are excited to share Dave’s Irish traditions with a child. Then, we love doing an Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa’s for our niece and nephew! This is Mary’s chance to share her Polish traditions of sausage and pierogies with a child. 

Summer: The highlight of each summer is going on hikes with our dog and enjoying some sweet treats! We can’t wait to bring a child along on our adventures! 

Fall: We love the fall, which is why we got married during our favorite season! We go pumpkin picking, carve pumpkins and dress up in fun costumes! We can’t wait to plan a family themed costume! 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for taking the time to look at our book. Thank you for bringing this beautiful baby into the world, for being brave, loving and nurturing. It is hard to put into words the appreciation we have for your consideration and the amount of respect we have for you. We desire so much to be parents. We dream and talk of it often and can not wait to start this journey with him or her, and you.

If we are chosen as adoptive parents, we promise to give your baby everything we have to offer—love, acceptance, support, a healthy lifestyle, a great education, a large extended family and more. We hope that someday we will be able to meet and that we will stay in contact throughout the child’s life. Regardless of the level of openness that you prefer, we will always remind the child of their birth mother’s love. We are excited to share stories so that the child will never wonder where they came from and will have amazing self confidence and a sense of identity. 

Our heart’s burst as we write to you because we cannot wait until the day this happens. We wish you all the love and success as you explore what is right for you and your baby.