Structural Engineer / Business Executive - Currently on Leave
Washington
Caucasian
We are Andrea and Max, and we live in Seattle with our cat, Oliver, and have been together for almost 20 years. We're easy-going people with big hearts. Our relationship is centered on a strong, equal partnership, shared values of kindness and openness, and a deep care for each other. We look forward to being parents and believe growing our family through an open adoption is right for us.
Andrea is currently on leave from her career as an executive in major Seattle-based tech companies, starting back in February. These roles offer challenges and opportunities to problem solve with folks across the globe every day. Max works as a structural engineer and has the joy of seeing his hard work benefit the community with the many buildings he has designed. We live in a lively neighborhood close to the zoo, several parks, and many schools and daycares. We love spending our time together making dinner, playing board games, cuddling with Oliver, and going on walks or out to eat. Andrea loves cooking, spending time with friends, reading, meditating, and swimming. Max is also a reader and loves to go skiing, play video games, and build Lego. We enjoy having people at our home – it’s often the hangout spot for our local friend group and we love hosting visits from our out-of-town friends and family.
We envision a family lifestyle that will be centered on the needs of our child, supporting them at each stage of their life. Initially, we plan to both take time off to be with our child full-time at home and hope to have one parent home supporting child care as our child grows. We look forward to family time and dinner together every day, lots of play and learning time, and many family activities like trips to the library or the zoo.
We dream about reading books, cuddling, and laughing together, while watching our child grow. We have a large, supportive group of local friends who have become like an extended family, with kids ranging in age from 6 months to 6 years, who we see every week. We are excited for lots of visits from grandparents, aunts and uncles (Andrea has two sisters, Max has two brothers), cousins, and our child’s birth family.
We decided that we would like to pursue an open adoption as a way to expand our family, with our child and their biological family. It has always been something we’ve thought about. We started our adoption journey in 2022, after we learned that we would not be able to have children biologically. Adoption has been part of our larger family story as far back as we can remember - Andrea has 5 cousins that are adoptees; and one of her cousins is a birth parent to two adoptees. We researched current information about adoption, and learned more about the experiences of adoptees as the focus, and what experiences are for parents as well. Based on what we learned, we discovered we were ready for an open adoption and believe that we have the skills and love to grow our family in this way.
We live in our townhome in a comfortable and lively neighborhood of Seattle. Our home was built in 2017 and has an open, spacious design. Our home is bright, sunny and cozy. We have lots of space for family time and a rooftop patio where we can see the whole city. We also have a kid's room ready to go with all the things necessary to welcome a baby home. We love living in the city with access to neighborhood restaurants, public transit, and city-wide events. We are walking distance from the Woodland Park Zoo, Greenlake, and several other wonderful Seattle parks. There are many daycares and schools within walking distance of our home.
We have many long standing friendships in Seattle. Our friends have become our extended family. We get to see them and their kids (there are so many!) every week, spending time having picnics, going to concerts, and taking trips together.
We have close relationships with each of our families. Andrea’s mom and dad live in Minnesota, and one of her sisters and her husband also live in Minnesota. Her other sister, her husband and two kids (ages 12 and 10) live in Virginia. Andrea talks with her sisters every day - they are very close. Max’s mom lives in Minnesota, and one of Max’s brothers and his husband also live in Minnesota. His other brother and his fiance live in Boston. Max and his brothers are great friends and really support each other. We love our parents, siblings and their partners, and of course our niece and nephew. Because we have been together so long, our families are also friends with each other. It is a blessing that everyone gets along so well. We get to see everyone a few times a year when they visit Seattle or we travel to see them, which is a priority to us. It's always tons of fun.
Andrea describing Max: Max is a deep, caring and somehow serious yet still incredibly playful person. He is a good listener, is thoughtful, and makes decisions with measure. He is sought for comfort, council and advice from friends and family and takes that role with pride. He is also still the biggest kid at heart, and is usually the first one to crack a smile at a joke (if he wasn’t the one to tell it), get on the dance floor at a wedding, or give the best hug when you need it the most. He is so loved and people feel 100% themselves around him.
Max describing Andrea: Andrea is a generous, compassionate, and enthusiastic person. She seeks joy for herself and others, succeeds brilliantly in her career, and is an amazing partner to me. Her relationships with friends and family are deep and rich with experience. She loves kids, animals, and a cozy book. She always has a seat open at her table, figuratively and literally, where she delights others with her bubbly and infectious laugh.
We both grew up near Minneapolis, Minnesota. We met in high school, became fast friends, and started dating right before college and have been together ever since – almost 20 years! We dated long-distance during college, Andrea attended college in Washington state, and Max attended college in Wisconsin. We spent lots of time on the phone, and got in visits whenever we could. After college, we both moved back to Minnesota, where we were close to family, and started graduate school and our careers. In 2015 we wanted to get back out west and moved to Seattle - finding our forever home!
We would advise our child to be curious, be kind, and to be yourself! This includes exploring, learning and taking advantage of what is around them to understand things and get creative. We would support and encourage them to get out of their comfort zone to grow, and trust that we are there for them no matter what. We would always expect that they are kind to those in their community, and look for ways to care for and help others - whether that’s through making friends as a child, or building support or sharing love with those around them as they grow up. This has led to a happier life for us, and we believe there is a bigger need for kindness in the world. We would also advise them to seek to understand who they are, and feel open to express that throughout their lives - knowing it is a journey! We will be there to support and love them 100%, all day, every day, exactly as they are.
Openness is important to us for both how our child relates to their own life story and how we maintain a relationship with our child’s birth parents. We want our child to have a continuing and open relationship with their birth parents. Our child’s relationship with their birth parents is important because we believe it offers a better chance for our child to know their family history and to understand their feelings about their adoption. We also hope by supporting their relationship and keeping our own trusting relationship with our child’s birth parents, that our child feels that our love for them is unconditional.