Laura and Patrick

Hello! We are Laura, Patrick and our 2-year-old son, Wade. Thank you for reading our letter. We live in a sunny beach town in the Los Angeles area and are a laid-back, fun-loving family. Wade joined our family through adoption when he was born. He is the light of our lives—a sweet, goofy and clever little guy. It is an open adoption, and we feel very fortunate to have a great relationship with his birth family. We cherish our roles as parents and are hoping to expand our family through open adoption once more.

We met in 2014 at a 4th of July party in Brooklyn, NY, where we were both living at the time. Laura was drawn to Patrick’s wit, kindness and ability to put others at ease. Patrick was drawn to Laura’s sweetness, poise and sense of humor. After a couple of years of dating, we got engaged in November 2016. We moved from New York City to Laura’s native California in early 2017 and got married in April 2018 at a community arts center surrounded by all our loved ones.

Laura grew up in the LA area, and her immediate family members live nearby. Patrick was raised in a suburb outside of Chicago, where his immediate family still lives. We try to see Patrick’s immediate family regularly, allowing Wade to bond with his cousins, who are close in age. Our families have completely embraced Wade and are thrilled about the idea of welcoming another child into the crew.

We live in a charming neighborhood within a large, vibrant coastal community. On typical weekends, you can find us heading to the beach, visiting a children’s museum or the zoo or hanging out with family and friends. We have two dogs, Percy and Pandy, who keep us all entertained. We both work in financial services, Laura in corporate social responsibility and Patrick in compliance. In her job, Laura enjoys playing a key role in driving her firm’s commitment to creating positive social impact. In his job, Patrick appreciates being in an exciting environment that leverages his training as an attorney and allows him to focus on protecting his firm’s customers.
 
Since early in our relationship, we have been interested in pursuing adoption as the path to expand our family. Patrick has three close family members who are adopted, and we are at a point in our lives where we feel well-equipped to welcome another precious family member. We would be honored to provide a child with the best upbringing we can and share our love with them. We think that Wade will be a fabulous brother who will adore and protect his younger sibling.

Pursuing an open adoption is important to us, as our child will benefit from having a better understanding of their origins. We look forward to building a solid connection with our child’s birth family, including connecting with our child’s birth parents through in-person visits so that our child can spend meaningful face-to-face time with their birth family members. We would also love to connect via video calls and by sharing photos, videos and updates via email or text.

To learn more about us, we invite you to explore our digital photobook. We have obscured our son’s face from the online version for privacy but welcome you to request our unedited photobook by contacting OA&FS.

Warmly,
Laura, Patrick & Wade