We understand on a deep personal level how beautiful it is to create a family through adoption. Noah's mother adopted his older sister domestically; Noah's sister-in-law was adopted internationally as an infant; and one of Noah's best friends from childhood was adopted as an infant as well. We are so lucky to have these loving people in our lives to encourage and support us through this process. Talking with them has helped us better understand the complexities of adoption, and we are ever grateful to them.

We also know that adoption can raise unique challenges for a child. And so we are fortunate that as our child grows up and faces questions, he or she will be able to ask these friends and loved ones questions about adoption or what they are going through. These special people have always been there for us, and we know that they will be there for our child as well.

We believe that honest conversations create trusting relationships. We are committed to creating an open and encouraging environment for our child to question, explore, and make sense of their own adoption story and background. We plan to make a life book to assist our child in this process, and would like to involve the birth parents as much as they want to be involved. We understand that our child may have different questions as they grow older, and we are committed to being by their side as they develop their own unique identity. We are committed to maintaining open relationships with our child's birth family and understand the importance of talking about our child's birth parents in a positive and respectful way. We want our child to be proud of where they come from, and we want him or her to understand that they are loved by many people.

Because we are from different cultural backgrounds, we are sensitive to cultural differences and will affirm them. We think that one of the best ways to affirm cultural identity is to expose our child to a variety of people and places. Fortunately, this will be easy in Washington, DC. We live in a dynamic neighborhood with families from all types of backgrounds around us. Our circle of friends and colleagues is diverse - in terms of nationality, ethnicity, religion, and race - we believe that a community of friends who share our child's cultural and racial heritage is important for our child to feel rooted in that community. In DC, we can easily take advantage of relevant exhibits, cultural festivals, events at embassies, and will engage with groups and organizations that affirm our child's cultural/racial background.

We are also strongly committed to raising a multicultural, bi-lingual child. We want our child to visit family in the U.S. and Europe and to be comfortable navigating both cultures. Of course, this will just be one aspect of our child's identity; there will be many others. But we will work hard to ensure that our child sees and experiences the richness of both of our cultures. We know that we will have much to learn if our child comes from a different cultural or ethnic background. It will probably be challenging sometimes, but we are excited to explore and embrace our child's cultural identity together.

Noah grew up next to a lake, and his childhood was filled with lake- related activities, including ice skating, boating, and swimming. He learned how to swim at the same time he learned how to walk! Noah was involved in other activities too, from team sports like basketball and soccer to modern dance and karate. Some of his strongest memories as a child are of spending a few weeks during each summer at the ocean with his family. They packed picnic lunches, played beach games, splashed around in the waves, and just spent lazy afternoons together.

Szilvi grew up in a tight-knit community with several other families with children who played together regularly. She was active in handball, playing violin, step-dance, acting, poetry competitions, and handcrafting. Szilvi's family shared dinner together every night - a tradition that she wants to continue with her child. Like Noah, some of Szilvi's strongest memories are of spending family vacations at the beach, playing and laughing with her parents and friends. Szilvi's family had a close group of friends with whom they went on vacation, and together they hiked, barbecued, and played incessantly.

Washington DC - We live on a tree-lined street in a dynamic, diverse neighborhood. We are right next to Rock Creek Park, an enormous park that cuts through the whole city, where we love to go for walks. We are also next to a recreation center with a playground, community garden, and tennis and basketball courts. The playground has a “pirate ship” theme and our friends’ kids’ love it. There are a number of families with young children of all backgrounds and ethnicities in the neighborhood. Our neighbors are very friendly and we get together for cookouts in the backyard or hikes through the park.

We regularly go to the Smithsonian museums, which are free and offer endless adventures for kids (and for adults!). We make picnics to eat on the national mall. There is also a vibrant art and music scene, and we love to listen to live music and see local art installations.

We live in a big brick house. There are 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, a large kitchen and dining room, a living room, a sunroom, an office, and backyard. Our favorite spot is the sunroom: there are windows on three sides and it’s the perfect place to drink a coffee, eat dinner, or just relax. We also love to spend time in the backyard—gardening in the summer and sitting around the firepit in the winter. We grow roses, lavender, sunflowers, tomatoes, and we hope to experiment a little more each year.

We both have small, tight-knit families and spend holidays, vacations, and sometimes long weekends together. Noah's parents still live in his childhood home next to a peaceful lake in a small town. Noah has an older sister (Mya) and a younger brother (Ari), and two nephews and a niece and we cannot wait for them to meet their new cousin! All of us regularly spend Christmas with Noah's family, laughing and cooking together: burritos for breakfast and veggie lasagna for dinner!

Szilvi's family is from Budapest, Hungary, where she grew up, and we regularly travel to Europe in the summer to see them. We go for walks with Szilvi's mom (Nelli), sister (Mirtil), and niece and nephew, eating delicious Hungarian pastries and admiring the beautiful architecture. While Szilvi speaks perfect English, Noah is still learning Hungarian, and he takes every opportunity to practice with Szilvia's family (sometimes embarrassing himself!). Though on different continents, our families have visited each another, bringing us great joy to see them experiencing a different culture and developing deeper connections. We celebrate our American and European heritages, and are proud of our unique cross-cultural extended family.

This will be our first child, and we cannot wait to start a family. We have a lot of love to give and are committed to creating a nurturing, supportive, and fun home for the child to grow up in.

We are both public servants who believe in serving others. Noah is an attorney for the federal government and Szilvi is a data scientist and sociologist. We are problem solvers and love learning new things. We care deeply about our community and our world, and want to raise a child who is caring and kind. We hope to fuel the child’s love of learning, reading to them and encouraging their imagination.

We met 15 years ago and spent many years in a long-distance relationship. Being apart, we developed excellent communication skills and a deep understanding of one another. We got married 6 years ago and are deeply committed to one another. We have a stable, loving relationship that is built on trust, and we are ready to welcome a child.

We are from different cultural backgrounds: Szilvi is from Europe and Noah is from Massachusetts. We know that appreciating one another’s background and identity takes patience and work. But our relationship is strong and interesting precisely because of our differences. We welcome the opportunity to add to the diversity of our family, and to affirm the child’s background and culture. We look forward to widening the child’s perspective by traveling to meet family and friends across the United States as well as in Europe. And we are committed to exploring how to celebrate what makes us different as much as what makes us the same.

We want to nurture the child’s sense of self-esteem, exposing them to different activities so that they can identify their interests and passions. As children, Noah was a dancer and Szilvi played the violin, and we want to encourage the child to express themselves through art or sports or music. We both had fun and playful childhoods, and we want to pass that joy along!

We are both extremely close to our families. They are fully supportive of our decision to adopt, and excited to be adding another baby into the mix! We have a young niece and nephew (ages 2-and-a-half and 6 months) who will be absolutely thrilled to have a new cousin to play with.

We cannot imagine how difficult this time must be for you, and the complex emotions you are facing. Whatever decision you make, we admire your strength and courage. We are sure you will make the decision that is right for you.

We think it is important for the child to have a strong connection with his or her birth parents, and we will regularly send letters and pictures. We are also open to keeping in touch, such as through email or social media, in order to nurture the relationship. And we are open to arranging visits when the time is right. Whatever happens, we will commit to you that we will always honor you with our words and our actions. We promise to give the child a nurturing, safe, and compassionate home.

As you consider adoption for your child, we hope that learning more about us gave you some comfort or peace of mind. If you would like to meet or talk as you go through this process, we would welcome that opportunity. We are thinking of you.

Noah & Szilvi