Adopting Vaughn in 2019 was one of the biggest moments of our lives. Bringing him home from the hospital brought us joy ... and, truthfully, a little bit of nervousness as new parents. Now that we are confident parents, we know that one more child will make our family complete.

We believe in being honest with our children, and we've already discussed Vaughn's adoption in age-appropriate language with him. We use books, TV shows, and stories about famous people who were adopted to explain. We will do the same with your baby.

Our goal is to share as much as you would like with your child throughout the years. Your child will know you made this decision with love and desire to help us create a family. We will make sure he or she knows how much you love him or her and gave us the BEST gift ever!

We will follow your lead on how much or how little you wish for us to share with your baby as he or she grows. If we engage in an open adoption, we will humbly accept your input on what aspects of your life you'd like to share with us and your baby. We can do that through visits, phone calls, or video chats. The most important thing we will let your baby know is that the choice to make an adoption plan was a very loving one. We will also focus on how special it is to have an adoptive family and a birth family - that's double the number of parents who love your baby and want the best for him or her.

Our favorite vacation spot is most definitely the beach. Before Vaughn was born, we would go away to the beach once a year. We also went on two pretty exotic vacations to the United Arab Emirates and Thailand. Now that we have one child (and soon two) we usually go to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for a week in the summer, but this year we are trying something new - Virginia Beach.

Dima definitely loves having an ocean view from the hotel, and Vaughn definitely loves having a pool, but Ryan loves both. It's so nice for everyone to get a solid week of relaxation and family bonding. Vaughn loves to jump into the deep end of the pool, so he has to be looked after constantly.

We love walking on the boardwalk, going to arcades, getting ice cream, and taking boat rides.

We also like taking several other short weekend trips during the year. We typically try to go see our friends in Brooklyn each year, and sometimes we go to New England for a long weekend. Ryan went to college in Chicago, so he would like to show the kids around the places he used to hang out when he was a student.

Hopefully, your baby will love the beach and other trips as much as we do. If not, maybe he or she will teach us something new about ourselves. We're definitely open to adapting our traditions so everyone in the family can enjoy themselves.

We have talked about adopting children since our very first date. Before Vaughn was born, we were eager to welcome a child from any racial or ethnic background. Since Vaughn is multiracial, it is important to us to continue the diversity within our family.

We feel equipped in our racially diverse suburb to teach our children about their own and different cultures through the many festivals, books on diversity, and the varied movies we enjoy. Any child placed with us will be taught the importance of being an ally to people of all backgrounds. Vaughn is enrolled in a very diverse daycare with children and teachers of many different colors and backgrounds. He loves it there!

Vaughn has already started asking if he's Black and we are white. We explain to him that he is mixed race and that his skin is beautiful. We talk about how we love his skin, but also all the other wonderful things about him - his sense of humor, his athleticism, and how smart he is.

We have learned so much about how to raise a child of color in the last three years with Vaughn that we are assured we can nurture your baby to grow up confident and strong. We plan to do the same with your baby as he or she grows.

We bought our dream home on two acres near Pittsburgh in 2021. We are in a top-notch school district. We have a big playroom with train tables, tunnels, and toys. Vaughn is excited to have a sibling to play with in their special play space. We also have hills for sledding and a pond with Koi fish and frogs. It's not unusual to see deer, bunnies, and turkeys walking around the grounds.

We love Pittsburgh because our family is close and there are so many attractions for kids. We look forward to taking the kids to the Carnegie Museum, Blueberry Park, and Steelers football or Penguins hockey games.

While we live on a private road, the one other family here we have as neighbors are delightful. They're quiet and keep to themselves. Their children are older, high school age, and they're all very athletic. They always wave when we play on the front lawn.

We have plenty of parks and playgrounds close by. We take Vaughn to soccer every Saturday morning at a big park with a lake nearby. We take him to swim class on Sundays, then we usually hit a playground, amusement park, or museum.

Vaughn's favorite place to play is at the "Super Playground" in the city with big wooden battleships and swings. He also rides his bike around the big reservoir there while we walk and get some exercise on the weekends.

We are fortunate to have great friends and family close by. Dima's mom lives in our home in a garden apartment we set up for her. Ryan's parents live 10 minutes away, and our son Vaughn has lots of cousins and aunts in the area. Ryan's best friend lives five minutes from our house, and visits with her little girls for play dates all the time.

We get everyone together for winter and spring holiday parties. Ryan has two older sisters and an older brother. We see them at least once a year. Dima is an only child but has a half-brother he communicates with via email in Ukraine. At Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, Ryan whips up a big meal and decorates so our friends and family can get together.

Our family is pretty silly and we all have a great sense of humor. Lots of time is spent doing tickles or Star Wars play with Vaughn. Ryan's dad can spend hours in the family room playing a pirate. Dima's mom loves outside time with him, too.

Everyone in both of our extended families is very supportive of our adoption plan and is eager to meet our new little one!

We can't imagine all the thoughts and feelings you must be experiencing right now. We want you to know how much we care about you and your baby. Our promise is to provide a loving, stable home. We will encourage your child to be adventurous and curious about the world.

We will inspire your child to go after his or her dreams and reach farther at each new beginning. We want to uplift your child at every possible moment so that he or she can become a treasure to the world we all share. That is why education is important to us, and we promise to provide this foundation.

We have been married for almost seven years, and have been parents to our first son, Vaughn, for three of those years. We met online and spent our first date at a lovely French restaurant in DC followed by a night of dancing. Ryan is the Director of Operations for an arts and community development nonprofit that provides studio and gallery space to artists. He is also involved in urban planning projects such as mobility enhancement and playground design. Dima is a software developer for a very large software company based in Germany. He loves solving problems, and he believes that his love for software engineering came from playing video games at an early age. Dima works from his home office every day, so your baby will have someone around the house at all times to look after him or her until he or she is ready to begin socializing and learning at the very diverse daycare where Vaughn is enrolled. Dima's mom also lives in our house in the basement apartment we set up for her. She will provide a lot of love and extra security for your baby.

Our circle of family and friends is multicultural and multilingual, so your baby will grow up with a broad understanding of how the world works through travel, storytelling, and love that comes from the community we've surrounded ourselves with. Our house is a vital part of many people's lives (our parents, our friends, our extended families), and whenever anybody visits from out of town, they stay with us because we have an abundance of space. There is no doubt your child will grow up feeling loved by many different wonderful people. Ryan's two best friends live within a ten-minute drive radius, and Dima's friends from Europe and around the country come to see us often. Having a home filled with cultural diversity and energy has been a very positive influence on our son, and we promise to carry on these traditions with your baby.

We believe in raising well-rounded children - we love taking Vaughn to his swim classes, soccer classes, and track and field classes, as well as arts festivals, the symphony, the zoo, and on our travels. We believe in raising all our children to seek out the good in the world and enjoy the good things it has to offer, while understanding someday they will have a role to play in making the world a better place. Our active lifestyle has really benefitted Vaughn, and we're sure that we can provide a rich and wonderful life for your baby, too.

We pride ourselves on what a loving and warm home life we've created, and we simply cannot wait to share it with another baby. Vaughn is also thrilled to become a big brother.

You have our solemn promise that we will care for your child with love, patience, and kindness always. If it is your wish, we would love for the baby to get to know you as much or as little as you're comfortable with. Either way, we will send letters and pictures to you so that you can watch as your baby grows. We do this regularly for Vaughn's birth mother and promise to continue to do this for you and your family, too.

Thank you for considering us!

Ryan & Dima