We always knew that adoption would be our plan for starting a family. Ashley found out in her teen years that she would not be able to have biological children. Instead of dwelling on the news, she instead focused on the positives of building a family through adoption. When we grew serious in our dating relationship, we discussed building a family. Mike was enthusiastic about the adoption journey and we both knew that it was meant to be.

We adopted Leo at birth and we have an open adoption with his birth parents. We are so lucky that they made us a family! Leo is a thriving toddler who giggles, jumps, and dances through the day. He loves trucks and pretending to cook in his play kitchen. Last Christmas he received a sled and enjoys playing in the snow with our Golden Retriever, Sophie! Leo's middle name is Timothy, which is in honor of his biological father and his late grandfather. We think it was pretty special that they had that name in common!

Becoming parents has been the best adventure of our lives. We love him with our whole hearts and we are so excited to grow our family through adoption again. Adoption is respected and openly embraced within our families. We know that our journey is only possible with your selfless decision. We hope to take that journey together.

We have an adorable Golden Retriever named Sophie. She is our furry family member! Sophie loves to be pet and cuddled. She goes with us on walks to the park and loves to play fetch in our backyard. Her loving personality makes her the most wonderful family dog. She lets Leo cover her with blankets and chase her around the house with toy trucks without breaking her sweet disposition. Sophie even comes with us on the boat! We get quite the laugh seeing her floppy ears blowing in the wind, but she looks so happy out on the water! We know that Sophie will lovingly sit next to a new baby and welcome them to our family!

About Ashley:

About Mike:

We live in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Our community is very safe and welcoming. Our neighborhood has lots of young families, and is very close-knit. We have food truck events, summer block parties, and even Halloween Boo-grams! We have a neighborhood park and field for kids to play and walking/bike paths nearby. Our local elementary school is right down the street, and since Ashley teaches there, she knows many families and students in the neighborhood. Our town has a historical downtown, lots of restaurants, and hosts old car show nights throughout the summer. We also have highly rated schools and many community events!

We love our home! We recently built our two-story home that sits on a beautiful meadow and overlooks the neighborhood park. Our home has 4 bedrooms, so we have plenty of room to grow our family! We even picked out our nursery - a cozy, sunny room that faces a beautiful maple tree in the backyard - right down the hall from big brother Leo! Our favorite room in the house is our kitchen. Mike is always making something delicious, and we have an open floor plan so that you can still socialize when in our spacious family room. Leo loves having a loft playroom for all of his toys. We love to relax downstairs with a fire crackling in our fireplace and spend family time together. Even our dog, Sophie, loves our home - she is always taking warm naps in the sunroom!

We are both so fortunate to come from wonderfully fun-loving families and friends.

Ashley's brother and sister-in-law live in Florida, turning frequent visits into fun vacations. Ashley's mother lives in Alabama, but often travels for long visits and stays for all holidays. As a retired music teacher, she loves to teach Leo about musical instruments. We spend most of the summer at the family lake house in Alabama swimming and boating together! Ashley's late father passed from cancer, but his legacy lives on with the whole family vacationing and traveling together multiple times a year in his honor. From Aruba and Hawaii to Italy and Michigan...we love to see and experience new things together and live life to the fullest.

Mike's parents live locally. Being Italian, Mike's family loves to cook pasta and enjoys eating big meals together. Mike also has a younger sister who lives nearby. We love to attend Chicago Cubs baseball games together. Leo loves spending time with his grandparents and playing with his Auntie. We recently attended a local holiday festival together to try out Belgium hot chocolate and pick out holiday ornaments.

We come from a close-knit group of friends. All of us grew up together and we have cookouts, birthday parties, and love watching our kids grow up together.

Adoption runs in both of our families and everyone has embraced our adopted son with open arms. Our family and friends are so excited to see our family grow!

Hello there! We are Mike and Ashley, and we are so happy that you are taking the time to learn more about us! It is clear that you are already making a hard, but beautiful, decision to consider adoption. We know that you must already have so much love for your child, and we are honored to know that you would consider sharing that love with our family.

Speaking of love, it is exactly that which brought us together as a couple. We met over 13 years ago, and had our first date over coffee. Mike was smitten with Ashley right away, but Ashley was won over while watching Mike interact with her young cousins - his childish excitement and sweet attitude showed her that he was going to be a wonderful father someday. Our wedding was such an exciting day, and we are proud to say that we've been happily married for over ten years. We celebrated our milestone with a trip to Seattle where we toured coffee shops just like the one on our first date. We truly are best friends, and we both feel that adoption was always the path meant for us. Unlike other couples who travel the long road of infertility, we knew before getting married that adoption was going to be our way of building a family. Adoption is even a big part of both of our families!

A few years ago we knew we were ready to begin our family and started the adoption process. We were chosen by amazing birth parents who made our dreams a reality. When we met at the hospital during our son's birth, our hearts were opened with unmeasurable love. Parenting truly has been our very best adventure. Our son Leo is now a thriving toddler and we are ready to grow our family. Our hearts are ready for another child and Leo is ready to be a big brother! Knowing that both our children will have the bond of adoption makes us so proud and happy. We believe we are loving parents who had a lot to offer a child. Ashley is a teacher, who has great hours, summers off, and works close to home. She is such a loving mother who is the rock of our family. Mike is completely family oriented - making dinner each night and spending time making us all laugh.

Our families and friends have been so supportive about our adoption journey. They were thrilled when our son was born and they are excited for us to add another member to our family. Our family and friends provide us with a strong support system so that our child will feel connected, welcomed, and part of our circle. Adoption is something to be embraced, and we are so excited to raise our children alongside a huge network of people that already love them.

With love, hope, and respect,

Mike & Ashley