ANDREAS and STEWART
It is only with the heart that one can see clearly.
hi there!
It's so nice to meet you!
Thank you very much for taking the time to read through our profile. We hope this will be the start of a conversation where we can get to know each other better. We know the road of adoption is filled with unknowns, and we understand it may not be a road you imagined you would travel on at all. But we are incredibly grateful that you are considering adoption for your baby and that we could become part of your family.
We love being uncles to our nieces and nephews, and the joy we experience from spending time with them and seeing them grow from babies to wonderful teenagers has helped confirm our desire for parenthood. Thank you for the strength and courage it must have taken to pick up this book and give our dream a chance of coming true.
-
Andreas & Stewart
our story
We met in London, England on a cold December night in 2016.
Stewart was drawn to Andreas’ calm and kind demeanor, and Andreas was drawn to Stewart’s smile and laugh. We soon started a long-distance relationship between Atlanta and London that lasted several years.
Why adoption?
The commitment needed to maintain a strong relationship during this time made it clear to us that we both wanted to live in the same place and be partners for life. We both secured jobs in Washington, DC, and moved here in February 2022 - together at last! Since then, we have gotten married, made new friends, learned how to co-dog-parent a pup named Broderick, and cooked over 100 new recipes together!
After many years together, we thought deeply about how we wanted to grow our family, spoke with friends who have adopted children themselves, and came to the conclusion that adoption is the path for us. We would be so happy to welcome a child into our family and provide that child with boundless love, community, and a life that would serve him/her well.
meet Andreas
In
my first moments of knowing
by Stewart
Andreas, I knew he was a person I wanted to have in my life.
He has an easy smile and a persistent curiosity, which made my family fall in love with him, too. He holds his values close to his heart and puts them into action, working tirelessly (personally and professionally) to conserve our ocean and protect our planet. He has a wonderful sense of joy and play, delighting my nieces and nephews and our friends’ children and engaging audiences in his choir performances. He puts his family first, acting as a sage counsel to his younger sisters (and to me!) and clearing his schedule for extended family visits and celebrations. He is open to learning and growing, which has helped him adapt to different cultures and languages (he speaks 4!) and be accepting of new experiences and relationships.
I know that he will be a wonderful father who will treat a child with all the love, respect, and care the child needs and deserves. I cannot wait to start this adventure with him by my side.
by Andreas
meet Stewart
When I first met Stewart, I noticed he had twinkly, warm eyes.
As we got to know each other, I learned that those eyes smile often and fully and that Stewart can always cheer me up, one silly joke at a time. Stewart cares deeply about people. That drives him to be invested in the lives and happiness of his family and friends - remembering birthdays, always showing up and making the extra effort to stay in touch. It also means he approaches strangers with curiosity, generosity, and openness. Every time he travels, he comes home with stories about the people he sat next to on the airplane.
Stewart creates community around him, and that makes me excited to start a family with him. I know that he will build a wonderful home for our children where he may pass on his love for running and tennis, his knack for crosswords and trivia games, and maybe, in the distant future, a deep appreciation for a cup of strong coffee in the morning.
our home
We live in a modern, light-filled, roomy 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment in Washington, DC.
Our open-plan kitchen/living room is the heart of our home, where we cook dinners and try Andreas’ baked treats, like his from-scratch cinnamon buns that he grew up making in Norway.
When we first came to the city, we wanted to live somewhere walkable, diverse and safe. We have found all these things in our neighborhood. We love our local bakery where we get pastries every Sunday and the nearby Latin American food market where we can both enjoy enchiladas and clap along to a children’s drum and dance class. From our home, we have easy access to parks, national monuments, and wonderful museums. We are within walking distance of good friends who have children of their own. We cannot wait to re-discover our neighborhood through a child’s eyes and are excited about the melting pot of people, cultures and experiences we will be able to surround our family with.
extended family
Stewart’s parents and older sisters live in Georgia and Andreas’ parents and younger sisters live in Norway. We are lucky that our families get along well, and regularly communicate. This is particularly meaningful because our families mean home to us. They are who we celebrate holidays with, who we chat with on a daily basis, and who we go to for advice and support. They are who we play games with, who taught us how to change diapers, and who showed us how to care for others.
And they are just as excited to be a part of this adoption journey as we are!
celebrating tradition
From small things like having pizza for dinner every Sunday or attending a weekly trivia night with friends, to larger events like Stewart’s family’s annual beach trip in South Carolina or annual journeys to visit Andreas’ family in Germany or Norway, we believe that celebration of tradition adds comfort, structure, and joy to our lives.
strong communication
We appreciate it when one of us has done something nice for the other person, and we talk it out when one of us has fallen short. We have an informal rule that we don’t go to bed angry and always say “I love you” before falling asleep. We are a strong team that is good at bringing folks together and achieving a shared goal, whether that is cooking a full Thanksgiving dinner for Stewart’s family (16 people!) or solving the Sunday crossword.
we love stories
• we celebrate friendship
• we act to make the world a better place
• we show kindness to everyone
• we play
• we get lost in music in this family...
our promises
We promise to always make decisions in your child's best interest, not based on our comfort.
We promise to approach the adoption journey with an open heart, always respecting your role in our lives.
We promise that your child will grow up proudly knowing their whole self, celebrating you, your family and your courage.
We promise that we will stay open to continuously learning as adoptive parents.
We promise that we will create a safe, stable, loving and accepting home for your child.
And we promise to love your child unconditionally, every day, for the rest of our lives.
Thank you again for taking the time to get to know us; we'd love the opportunity to get to know more about you too!
- Stewart & Andreas