About us

We met in college and have been together ever since. We have been married for 18 years and a happy couple for 25. We still celebrate the anniversaries of both our first date and our wedding each year! We are excited to grow our family through open adoption. Our daughter Sophie looks forward to loving and playing with a new baby. She will be a devoted and caring big sister. We are all ready to welcome a new baby to snuggle and love and share first words, first steps, and other milestones together. Guiding our children as they grow means giving and getting love, creating opportunities, and sharing hugs and cuddles and being there for the triumphs and the disappointments along the way. Being parents is our most important role in life and we are fully dedicated to helping our children to grow up to be compassionate, confident, independent and loving adults. We are so excited that open adoption can create the opportunity for us to parent another child.

Vlad by Jessica

Vlad is a warm, caring, and supportive husband who’s always cheering me on. He has a fantastic sense of humor that makes me laugh out loud. Vlad’s career as a lawyer allows him to support our family and be an involved Dad, too. He’s home for dinner, playtime, and stories every night. As a dad, he is patient, loving, and enthusiastic - playing Calico Critters and Apples to Apples with equal joy. He also enjoys a good bike ride – whether it’s a long distance cycling event or just a fun family ride. I’ll always be grateful his parents had the courage to leave the Soviet Union and start a new life in the United States.

Jessica by Vlad

Jessica is a warm and devoted mother and wife. She organizes awesome birthday parties, play dates, and arts and crafts projects, volunteers at school, and cooks delicious family meals. Jessica is a wonderful mom to Sophie and I can’t wait to see her loving and nurturing our next baby. Jessica’s career as a professor means she can teach Family and Women’s History in the mornings and be at home as a hands-on mom in the afternoon. She also has the flexibility to work from home and of course has summers off to spend with our children. In her spare time she enjoys writing and is so passionate about babies that she’s just certified as a volunteer doula.

Our Home and Community

We love to hang out in the kitchen baking (Vlad and Sophie make amazing chocolate chip cookie bars) and cooking, at the dining room table doing crafts and playing games, or, on school days, homework. In the back yard, we grow lavender, sage, and strawberries. Just two blocks is a fantastic playground where families gather on weekends. We can't wait for our little one's first family picnic and Sophie is excited to show him or her how to make it across the monkey bars. We share our bright and sunny home with our cat Augie and our dog Sadie. Augie is the friendliest cat. He is gentle with kids and famous for taking walks with us. Sadie is our sweet terrier mix puppy. She loves Sophie and will be a lively first friend for our next baby. Our warm community of family and friends is ready to welcome our newest family member. Jessica’s sister and her family live close by and we frequently get together for the zoo and other adventures. Every other week, we have a family dinner with Vlad’s parents, whom Sophie calls Babushka and Dedushka. Jessica’s father, Grandpa Bob, lives in Palm Springs, where we visit often. They are all so excited to become grandparents again! Weekends find us hosting play dates, going to the playground, a matinee, a museum, or the dog park and sharing dinners with family and friends. We always make sure there’s plenty of ‘at home’ time for drawing, reading stories, and cuddling on the couch. We love helping Sophie explore her interests and we can’t wait to help our next little one find his or her favorite things to do as well!