Welcome! Meet:

Andrew + Kaitlyn

Scientist / Physician

Arizona

Caucasian

Christian

All About Andrew & Kaitlyn
Why Adoption?
Gallery
Family and Home
How We Met
Advice to Future Child
Perspectives on Open Adoption
Favorites

All About Andrew & Kaitlyn

Hello! We are Drew and Kaitlyn from Chandler, AZ! We live in a wonderful neighborhood with our son Cameron and our 3 pets. We have chosen adoption because we are unable to have another biological child but we greatly desire the opportunity to love and raise another child in our home. Our son is very excited about the possibility of becoming a big brother! We have cherished all the milestones our son has achieved so far, and we can't wait to experience those all over again- first giggle, first tooth, first step, first word, and on. We dream of raising our children in a loving and secure home where they can pursue their goals and thrive as healthy and successful adults in the future. Thank you for taking the time to learn about our family!

Why Adoption?

We have chosen adoption because we are unable to have another biological child but we greatly desire the opportunity to love and raise another child in our home. We feel our family remains incomplete and we recognize that there are many children who are in need of a stable and loving family. All children are a gift and we hope to be blessed with another in the near future. We are prepared to love and nurture them and provide the support they need to grow into an independent and confident adult.

Family & Home

We are fortunate to have a beautiful home with room to grow. We have a large pool in our backyard, as well as a dedicated play room with plenty of games and toys. Our neighborhood has a playground and is full of many young families. We live in one of the best public school systems in Arizona, and our son will be attending Kindergarten just down the street. Our community has been a wonderful place to raise our family.

Kaitlyn's parents, Donna and Gary, recently moved to Arizona to be closer to our family. They lived in Indiana for over 30 years, where Donna worked as a physical therapist and Gary worked in heating and air conditioning. Donna is known for her ability to knit and sew thoughtful homemade gifts and her delicious sourdough bread. Gary is the ultimate handy-man--able to fix and build practically anything. We are so thankful they chose to move close to us and Cam is so excited to have grandma and grandpa nearby!

Drew's parents, Liz and John, live in Indiana where they raised their two sons. Liz is a retired nurse and John is a retired police detective. They are wonderful grandparents to their 3 grandchildren. Drew's brother Dan and his wife Brittney live in Georgia with their 2 kids, Harrison and Caroline. Cam loves playing with his cousins! Even though we live far apart, we make it a priority to get together once a year for the holidays.

How others describe me

How Kaitlyn describes Drew: Drew is an amazing dad and devoted husband. His accomplishments as a cancer biology research scientist are extremely impressive, having published in numerous journals, and he takes great pride in his work. His most important achievement in life, though, is being a dad. Drew is always ready to play with our son, sometimes in ways I wouldn't dream of doing myself (tackling and wrestling for example). It's critical for dads to be actively involved in parenting, and I'm so thankful Drew is happy and able to do so. Drew is patient and kind, generous and helpful. I'm confident he will make a great dad (again!).

How Drew describes Kaitlyn: Kaitlyn is one of the most hard-working and generous people I know. She is able to balance working full-time as a physician with being a full-time mom and wife as well. When not taking care of her patients, she takes wonderful care of our family--making dinners most nights, maintaining a clean home, cheering on our son at sports events, and reading books to him at bedtime. Kaitlyn is the full package--smart, motivated, loving, and patient. I know she will make an excellent mom (again), because she already is one!

How We Met

Our story began in Indiana in the summer of 2010, just after Kaitlyn returned from a study abroad semester in Spain. Drew spotted Kaitlyn working in a research lab down the hall and was excited to learn she would be switching employers to join his lab. Our similar sense of humor and attraction for each other led to a friendship and relationship that lasted through senior year. Kaitlyn started medical school the next fall, and Drew proposed shortly thereafter. We were married in June 2012 in southern California. We lived apart for a year while working on our post-graduate training, Drew in a PhD program and Kaitlyn in residency, which was tough. Eventually, Drew was able to join Kaitlyn in Utah, and we were finally able to start the family we always wanted. Our son Cameron was born in 2018, and we quickly realized just how fulfilling (and challenging) raising a child can be.

We moved to Arizona in 2019 for work opportunities, and our son has flourished here. We have worked hard and sacrificed many things in order to live the life we are blessed with today, and we hope to be able to share this with another child in the future.

Advice to Future Child

Know you are always loved. Love comes first. Be kind and respectful to others. Smile. Be patient (it’s hard, I know). It’s ok to make mistakes. Learning often happens the hard way, but perseverance and forgiveness (of others and yourself) is important. Give your best, even when you don’t feel like it. Know your family always has your back.

Perspectives on Open Adoption

We are open to a wide range of communication with the birth mother. Much of how our relationship will look like will depend on the circumstances of the adoption and the birth mother. It remains in the best interest of the child to know who their birth mother is and where they come from, and we will foster that relationship as much as possible.

Favorites

Andrew

Favorite Movie: American Gangster. Denzel’s performance is legendary.
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Christmas because it’s full of memories and family-time. Our son gets very excited about Santa, which is really fun to watch.
Hobbies/Interests: I am very competitive in my fantasy football league (I won the championship last year) and enjoy attending professional sports events whenever possible. I also love snowboarding, drinking Sunkist (a slight addiction of mine), traveling, and tossing a football in the yard with our son.
Dream Vacation: If I could somehow combine snowboarding and a beach vacation on a private island, that would be my dream vacation. I’ve tried surfing, but it’s nowhere near as fun as snowboarding.
If I Could Choose a Superpower: flying—on land, in water, and in space. I’d go anywhere and everywhere I could possibly imagine.

Kaitlyn

Favorite Movie: Bridesmaids. It gets funnier every time I watch it.
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: I love carving pumpkins for Halloween. I carved a pumpkin large enough to fit our son with his feet and head sticking out when he was 7 months old and it remains one of the funniest pictures we have taken.
Hobbies/Interests: I love swimming in our pool on a hot summer day, snuggling with our son, See’s chocolate peppermint patties, family vacations, and soaking up as much Arizona sun as I can get.
Dream Vacation: I’ve traveled to Europe, South America, and all over the US. I love trips to Europe because the culture is similar but language and food are very different. Italy is my favorite so far. They have the most beautiful country and the food is amazing!
If I Could Choose a Superpower: teleportation–It would make commuting to work a breeze and I’d love to be able to travel all over the world at the drop of a hat!