For us, parenting is about guiding a child through life with unconditional love and healthy boundaries. Each child is different, and we've found that each stage of life is also different, so we're always adjusting to make sure we're doing what's right for that child in that moment. We have learned the intricacies of when to hold a firm boundary and when to be flexible, while continually reminding them we love them no matter what they do (or whatever giant mess they make!).

We have already learned so much raising Ruben (age 5), who is delighted at the thought of having a younger sibling. As we both have rewarding relationships with our own siblings, we're especially excited about helping our children form that unbreakable bond with each other. We are looking forward to welcoming another child into our family through adoption and learning about their unique needs. One of the most magical things about being parents is getting to watch a child discover the world for the first time and grow into their own person. We are honored to have the privilege of providing a safe, supportive, healthy home where our current and future children can grow and thrive.

Our family puts each other first. We value meaningful communication, connection, curiosity, and integrity. We know life is complicated, and when in doubt, we choose kindness toward ourselves and others. We acknowledge and work through hard things in addition to celebrating joys and milestones in our lives. We volunteer in our community because we want to foster a sense of belonging, trust, and helpfulness in our world. Since we both have career backgrounds in the conservation of the natural world, it probably goes without saying that we highly value connecting with and caring for nature. We are mindful of our impact on the world and try to make choices that are good for the planet and equitable for the people who live here. We do our best to live in the moment, whether that is making each other laugh over dinner, gathering with friends, collecting roly-poly bugs in the yard, or cheering each other on to the top of a challenging hike. Our family traditions highlight our priority of spending time together (especially over food!): nightly family dinners, Friday night pizza night, tamales for Thanksgiving, General Tsao's chicken for Christmas, weekend adventures and summer camping trips. Those traditions are a mix of old and new, and we're looking forward to creating and reforming new ones as our family grows.

Adventures can be big or small, but they always share an element of the unknown, and they rarely follow a plan. Recently, we were planning to go cut a Christmas tree for our living room in the National Forest nearby, which is something we do nearly every year.

However, this time one major obstacle after another presented itself. After plan B and plan C didn't work, we were all feeling pretty disappointed that we wouldn't be getting a tree that day. After a few tears and hugs, we realized that this was still an adventure, and we still had each other, which is what we really needed to have a good time. We turned the morning around by building a mythical snow creature in the garden, drinking hot cocoa, and cooking a big meal together that we would have otherwise not had time for.

Many of our adventures happen locally and nearly every weekend. We are grateful to live in an area surrounded by seemingly endless public land with ample opportunities to hike, camp, hunt for edible mushrooms, fish, draw, or just relax and appreciate. Our adventures also include at least one yearly road trip to the ocean, Puget Sound islands, or mountains... or in the case of our trip to the Olympic Peninsula this past summer: ocean, mountains, and a temperate rainforest all in one week!

Our commitment to a strong, supportive family applies to our extended family as well. Our families have known for a long time that we've been wanting to adopt, and they are over the moon excited that we have started the process. Both sets of grandparents are eager to welcome this new family addition and start showering them with love and attention. Your child will also have doting aunties and uncles who are always ready to play and tell stories. We are both close with our families and travel to see them at least once a year, and they come to stay with us, too.

Olivia's parents like to stay a whole month in the spring so they get a chance to delve into Ruben's daily routine and join us on wildflower hikes. In between visits, we make sure to keep in touch with everyone through video and phone calls, cards, and gift packages. Aaron and Olivia both have cousins with little kids, so there are plenty of playmates during big family reunions.

We live in a brick house with lots of houseplants - it's often filled with sounds of cooking, creating, laughter, and living room dance parties. Our long backyard is packed with flowers, fruit trees, vegetable and herb gardens, hammocks, and a climbing wall. We love to start summer days by collecting raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries for an extra-fresh addition to our breakfast.

We love the friendliness and support of our community - we run into people whenever we go for family walks and end up having impromptu visits and playdates with friends. There are many young families in the area and we know lots of people with young kids and babies. Our favorite park (one of many!) is a block away and has a big climbing structure, a bike pump track, a bike path, and a skate park near a beautiful river that we can swim in to cool down during the warm summer months. Nearly everything is within walking distance - downtown shops and restaurants, schools, doctors' clinics, two grocery markets, a farmers market, a museum, a bakery, a library, and more. There is also a public outdoor pool with fountains and a slide. Nearby there are thousands of acres of public land where we can explore and enjoy nature.

There are several local parades each year, one of which goes right past our house. We love to go to the County Fair with friends to eat cotton candy and ride the Ferris Wheel.

Thank you so much for getting to know a little about our family and for your consideration. We are so grateful to be considered for such a difficult decision in your life. We want you to know that we would love your child unconditionally and appreciate and support them in every way we can. We have dreamed of being a family of four for quite some time and would be truly honored to be that loving family for your baby.

Our names are Olivia and Aaron, and we have been married since 2016. We met when we both worked as Botany Interns for a seasonal position in Nevada and ended up living together while also working together. After that job, we spent several months traveling in South America together. We spent so much time together that we joked we'd dated for the equivalent of 10 years within that first year and a half before we got married. We have very different and complimentary personalities, and alongside our shared values and love of nature, that helps our relationship work well. We have a very collaborative marriage, based on mutual respect, support, and continual growth as a team. We challenge each other to grow as individuals and as a family and will continue to model this love and support for our children.

We have a 5-year-old son named Ruben, who is curious, kind, and creative and so, so, so ready to welcome a baby into our home. Ruben currently goes to a great daycare just a few blocks away for a few days each week where he loves playing with the other kids and learning. We're lucky to have such a great daycare that reflects our values (and even has a garden!), but we are also excited for Olivia to be able to stay home with your child for at least the first year.

We have considered growing our family through adoption since before Ruben was born, and after a series of miscarriages that also caused a decline in Olivia's health, we knew it was time to commit to adoption. We did consider remaining a family of three, but in the end, we all wanted a bigger family. We both have fulfilling relationships with our siblings, and we want that for Ruben and his sibling, too. We are now in a good place to fully commit to growing our family through adoption.

We are excited about having an open adoption and would love to get to know you. We respect your difficult decision and want to have a healthy relationship with you when you can give it. We look forward to communicating in a way that works best for you, such as writing letters with photos, sending emails or texts, video chatting, and occasional visits. We also understand that life can be difficult and unfair at times, and we hope to provide a stable, consistent source of reassurance with updates.

We believe that it is healthiest for the child to know their birth family and their culture of origin, and we want to make sure that is a key part of their story from the very beginning. We would like to create a picture book that can tell their story in a way that they can absorb, even when they're a baby. It will be a cherished story with their birth mother/family honored at the center. We know that this will need to be an open and welcome topic throughout this child's life, revisited and applied to whatever stage of life they are in. You will always be an important figure in this child's life, no matter the life circumstances.

We want you to know that whatever you choose, we respect your decision to do what's best for you and your baby. Thank you for considering us as a potential family for your child.

Aaron & Olivia