Greetings from Pasadena, California! We are Eva & Dave. thank you for taking the time to read our profile. We know you face a unique challenge and want to make our commitment to you that we will center our lives around your child. Life took us through strange paths to find each other, and we believe life again will intervene to bring us the child of our dreams.
Dear Birth Mother...
Why Adoption
We knew before we met that each of us wanted a family, but we only wanted to do so with the right partner and not settle for just anybody. The search for each other took longer than expected, but it was worth the wait as we know we are a great team and our individual strengths complement each other. We both shared early in our talks that we had hoped for adoption to be part of our family planning even from childhood. We have family and friends with great adoption stories and were strongly impacted by those relationships. We feel so lucky to have finally found each other and to know that we want to raise a family together.
Our Story
We connected online upon Covid lockdown. Dave was stuck working from home and Eva was isolated in the chaotic medical world. Oddly, a computer glitch we still cannot understand placed Dave geographically closer to Eva than was true. But, as we like to say, everything happens for a reason. We had video calls every night for 2 months (7:30pm to be exact). Eva knew she needed to meet Dave with that level of commitment, so Dave drove 6 hours and the rest was history. With everything closed, we drove along the beach excited to be near each other and had our first meal on the dashboard of Dave's car. We knew we had something special as we were so happy during such a difficult period of time. We had a wedding with 10 of our closest family members in our local park. We made Eva's bouquet with flowers from our garden and delighted our neighbors by walking the neighborhood in our wedding garb after the ceremony. We joke we finally started dating 2 years later.
Meet Eva, by Eva
Eva was born in Pasadena, in the same hospital where she now works. She is the child of Greek immigrants, who came to this country to build a new life from scratch. Thus, she grew up with all the wonderful Greek stereotypes you can imagine and cherishes her background. Eva completed all her medical training throughout Southern California and is a cancer doctor. Her job has a lot of challenging moments, but she cherishes being able to help patients and families through such difficult times.
To combat the serious nature of her job and maybe due to her understanding that life can change at any moment, she takes pleasure in the lighter side of life. She is known for her random dance sessions while cooking in the kitchen. Eva will happily play with anyone on the basketball court. There is a reason her nephew as a toddler thought her name was "Party", and the name stuck. She is happiest enjoying an outside barbecue with her extended family and whatever shenanigans she can get into with the little ones.
About Eva, by Dave
Eva is everything I could have hoped for in a life partner. Her academic and professional accomplishments speak for themselves. Yet you will likely find her on the weekends helping our nephew with his jump shot or doing a new dance routine with our niece. She balances humor and energy with elegance and grace. Eva is the ultimate caregiver, and she was truly designed for the role of a mother.
Eva’s job requires that she deal with the extremes in life, with its highest highs and lowest lows. Not everybody could do what she does, and I admire her greatly for it. It sounds cliché, but sometimes I have to remind myself that she is real. There is no one with whom I would rather take this journey.
Fun Facts About Eva
- Speaks Greek and Spanish
- Teaching herself Italian
- Avid Indiana Pacers fan, but has never been to Indiana
- Same birthday as her younger brother, which she loves
- Very fast walker. Everyone recognizes her walk from afar at the hospital and office.
Meet Dave, by Dave
Dave was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. His parents were physics professors, and his father was in the inaugural space shuttle class (eventually losing out to Sally Ride). Dave is a dedicated, if not particularly talented, runner – having completed marathons in 10 different countries and half-marathons in all 50 states.
He is a Certified Public Accountant and a partner at a large accounting firm. During his career journey Dave spent two years in the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) and another two years in the Netherlands (Amsterdam). He works primarily from home now, where he carefully tends his tomato garden and citrus trees. Dave enjoys woodworking greatly and the creativity that comes along with it. He made Eva a jewelry box for her birthday that she treasures. Dave cannot wait to be a dad, and pour all his love, energy and attention into fatherhood. He has achieved many things in his life, but to be a dad would be the ultimate dream.
Dave has a passion for history and archaeology. His travels are extensive, having covered most of Europe and the Middle East. Someday (after he eventually retires) he would like to return his attention to the field and write history books.
Meet Dave, by Eva
Dave is one of the most generous human beings you will meet. Forget about the fact that he donated a kidney. It is a regular occurrence that he will go out of his way to help someone or present them with a thoughtful gift. It took me a long time to find Dave and he is beyond what I was looking for in a partner. He makes me feel special every day. At work he has a serious demeanor, but you see the true Dave when he is goofing around with Romaki, paddleboarding with our niece/nephew, or working on a new concoction in the kitchen.
He is always a pillar of strength; the person you want on your team during good times but especially during bad. There is nothing he would not do if he could for anyone, but especially for his family. He is also the perfect mix of calm and adventure. Nothing phases him, which allows him to never be shy in trying new things. He has an ongoing passion for learning which lends itself nicely to exploring a new city, trying a new food, reading an unexpected book or visiting the opera or ballet. Dave's loving and curious nature will make him a fantastic father. He is the great blend of role model, protector, and adventure buddy that I would want for our future child.
Fun Facts About Dave
- Speaks Arabic and Dutch
- Was once an archaeologist
- Donated a kidney
- Took Eva's last name in the marriage
- Enjoys woodworking
List of Favorites!
Favorite Basketball Team
Eva: Indiana Pacers
Dave: University of Arizona Wildcats
Favorite Movie
Eva: Shawshank Redemption
Dave: Princess Bride
Favorite Weekend Activity
Eva: Getting dirty outside with our niece & nephew
Dave: Kayaking
Our Hobbies & Interests
We honestly love being together. One of the benefits of having very few outside distractions during the early parts of our relationship is that we learned we can make anything fun. We had a great 22-hour road trip to northern Idaho. We can definitely make people wonder why we are so happy while grocery shopping. Our niece and nephew happily come over to help us as we make a game out of watering our garden. In general, we enjoy being active, so we walk and run a lot, hike, paddleboard, and kayak regularly.
When we travel, we have a vague plan, but we have found the best times are the adventures you just fall upon and are always up for the unexpected adventure off the regular path. We love learning, whether it be a new language, watching an interesting documentary, seeing a fun musical, or going to a new museum. Even with food, our mantra is we will try anything twice. We love food (part of the reason we have to stay active)! There are so many interesting cultures and food styles, and we are open to trying them all.
Meet Romaki
We adopted Romaki as a rescue (or perhaps it was the other way around) in January 2021 just after we were married. He is curious, affectionate, and energetic. Romaki enjoys his long weekend beach walks, snuggling up on the couch, and watching his daddy play soccer on Friday evenings. He absolutely loves kids and is eager to move into the big brother role.
Our Favorite Traditions
- Greek - lots of food, family, Greek dancing
- Thanksgiving - we host every year
- Nightly walks to share our days and see our neighbors
- Basketball season - Dave plans to take Eva to Indiana to see her first home Pacers game
- Christmas ornament(s) to represent the year
- Veggie garden - Learned from Eva's grandparents and Dave has now taken over too
- Birth month - Eva believes in cherishing another year all month. Our little one's will be a highlight!
Our Home
We enjoy our life in Southern California in a peaceful, walkable neighborhood. We know our neighbors and even our dog, Romaki has doggy playdates with his nearby pals. We happily share our avocados from our huge tree and fish we catch in Alaska with our neighbors. The area has lots of huge trees so you feel like you are out in the country, and our home has a large backyard so it is easy to forget that you are just outside of Los Angeles.
While we have the benefit of a family-friendly neighborhood with lots of space to run and play, we are also just a short drive away from some of the best museums, aquariums, and outdoor venues. We cannot wait to take our future child to our favorite local beach in Dana Point or drive up for the day to our favorite mountain area in Arrowhead.
Our friends and family love coming over as we have a great outdoor space for barbequeing. There is nothing better than sitting in our backyard with a delicious meal on the grill, listening to the birds chirping, and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.
Our Loved Ones
- We both share the philosophy that our family life includes our extended family
- We are fortunate with loving parents and each of our parental sets loves our spouses
- We are best friends with our siblings and many cousins. Everyone is thrilled for our new family member
- Eva's parents live a mile away, so we share frequent dinners, hellos, and hugs
- Dave's parents live in Arizona, but love their road trips out to visit. Dave's mom surprises us with random cards and gifts at our doorstep throughout the year.
More About Our Loved Ones
We are heavily involved in the lives of our nephew (Johnny, 8) and niece (Lily, 5). We try to be at all their sports/school events. Eva has been the "special person" at their classrooms every year. We feel exceedingly lucky that we get to play such a big part in their lives and moreso that they are part of ours and they are thrilled to soon have a new partner in crime.
Quotes From Our Niece and Nephew About the New Baby
- "Finally! Party (Eva's nickname) and Uncle Dave are so fun and do cool things. The baby is lucky."
- "When the baby comes, can we have a sleepover?"
- "I want to adopt too."
- "Will you bring the baby to our school?"
- "We drew a picture for the baby."
Our Thoughts on Parenting
We want Your child to appreciate all the small gifts life has to offer. Family and good friendships are very important and we plan to create a home filled with love not just from us, but from our close tribe of people. We want our future child to work hard as the best things in life do not come easy, and we hope to encourage them to work through obstacles while always knowing we are there to support. We hope to instill curiosity as it is an asset that has value throughout one's life. The world is a big place and we want to encourage our future child to try new things and be open to new experiences. Most importantly, we hope to teach our future child empathy as when they grow up we want them to be good to those around and realize how valuable kindness can be.
In Closing
We are dedicated to giving your child every possibility in life. We offer a stable, healthy, and safe home. As we are dedicated to learning and education, your child will have every opportunity and encouragement that we are able to provide. They will see the world, learn languages, understand the beauty of the simple parts of life, and have someone to embolden them through all their talents and dreams. Most importantly, just like life unpredictably and thankfully brought us together, we assure you we are ready for life to surprise us with a precious child who we hope to share in life's adventures together.
Much love,
Eva & Dave