Andrea & Chris

After 15 years of living in New York City, Chris convinced me to take a chance on the suburbs as we start our next adventure! We spent the last few years in a townhouse before recently purchasing our dream home on Long Island. Our house is in a beautiful cul-de-sac neighborhood with a dozen or so family homes. We see kids outside playing in the snow and love walking Baci around to meet all the new neighbors. When we were looking for a house we wanted enough space for growing children and entertaining. We are the couple known for hosting dinner parties and gladly accept the favor returned when our friends invite us out for days spent on their boats. We completely lucked out in finding our home, which has an enormous property with the cutest tire swing, deck, and pool area. We can't wait for the weather to turn warmer so we can host summertime pool parties and bbq's. Chris’ family and friends all live within fifteen minutes of us. We are right by the water and love taking family walks to nearby parks with Baci. My friends and family visit often from the city. We can’t wait to bring a child into our family and nurture them as they grow up here. We imagine summer dinners in the backyard, boating on Long Island Sound, hosting Thanksgiving dinners, unwrapping piles of presents on Christmas morning and bedtimes with teeth brushing, snuggles, and reading by the glow of a nightlight.

First and foremost we are a family that loves being on the water. Chris loves boating, and doing anything outdoors. He is particularly obsessed with the Yankees and we spend many afternoons at the stadium. Chris watches the game intently while I snack on cotton candy. My hobbies include trying and creating new recipes, hosting dinner parties, and writing. Together, our shared hobby would absolutely be traveling. Before we met, Chris had done an impressively small amount of traveling. One of our first conversations included me convincing him to get a passport. We took our first trip together only three months into our relationship. We flew down to Key West, visited the Ernest Hemingway House, took a boat to a private island, and truly fell in love. Through the years we've taken countless trips, spanning from touring the White House at Christmas time, walking through the English countryside in 100-degree heat to get to Anne Boleyn's castle (which was closed by the time we got there), truffle hunting in Tuscany during our honeymoon. We share a joy in seeking out new experiences, visiting new places, and trying new things. We can't wait to travel with children. We hear it's totally stress free :)  

Baci is our one-year-old cockapoo. After years of Chris wanting a dog, last year on his birthday we drove five hours to go pick her up from a breeder in a neighboring state. We got her in the car and within ten minutes of our drive home she had vomited, peed, and pooped. To date, she has made up for that terrible smelly drive home in spades. She is super playful, loves to yank her leash to play with any children in the neighborhood, loves to wake us up with wet kisses and give big sad puppy eyes at the dinner table hoping for scraps.

When it became clear that we could not have a biological child, we weighed our options. There are lots of ways to add to our family, but adoption felt right. We discussed adoption early on in our relationship when discussing our future. It has been something we have both considered throughout the years and truly feels like the way we are meant to build our family. While Chris is not adopted, he has been wholeheartedly welcomed into his best friend Sean's family. We equally consider Sean's family our family as well. We spend Christmases with them. We go on family vacations with them. We may not be biologically connected, but they are an extended part of our own family. We are thrilled to be growing our family through adoption!