Hola y hello from sunny East Oakland and from two women who are waiting to meet you! We are in our early thirties and were married in 2012, and we are ready to add to our family. We love good music, strong opinions, and fresh veggies. We both work for the public library, and we plan on having a full-time parent at home. We love each other very much, and we want to share that love by welcoming a child through open adoption. Thank you for considering us as parents for your baby. We hope that you will get to know us (starting with this profile) and will decide to become part of our chosen family.

ABOUT REMY

Remy is a purple-haired librarian who works with young children at her branch.  You can find her tying shoes, picking up toys, opening milk cartons and handing out straws, and singing loudly at storytime. Remy grew up in the Bay Area and returned after attending college in Ashland, Oregon. An admitted homebody, she’s thrilled to work close to home and to spend time working in the garden before the sun goes down. Remy is so looking forward to reading picturebooks aloud with our little one. Some of the favorites we've collected are Buenas Noches Luna (Good Night Moon), Where the Wild Things Are, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  She is a constant reader, and she also loves to sing (especially songs from Broadway shows). She's learning Spanish and can communicate at the toddler level so far. Her Mama plans include baby-wearing (extra snuggles!) and being the #1 Champion Cloth Diaper Changer.

ABOUT LINA

Lina (short for Adelina) grew up in Southern California and is a native speaker of both Spanish and English. She plays the violin and cello, she enjoys sports, and she sings all sorts of music -- from traditional Mexican folksongs to soft rock. She keeps us both fed with comfort foods like caldo de pollo, chicken and biscuits, and homestyle potatoes. Lina works at various branches as a library aide, and represents library workers at the union bargaining table. She is planning to be a full-time parent when our baby is little.

Lina has an attitude of peaceful confidence that makes babies fall asleep on her -- somehow they know they're safe!  Having once been a swimming instructor, Lina looks forward to teaching a child of ours to love the water. She is a careful teacher with endless patience, and will be the designated Middle of the Night Mom.

WHERE WE LIVE

Our house in Oakland is small but comfortable. It’s an older place and still a work in progress, but our rooms are meant to be lived in -- they are ready for active and curious little hands and feet. With soft green tones like a garden, and climbing vines painted on the doorframe, the nursery we've prepared is a soothing sanctuary. We are eagerly awaiting being able to rock our baby to sleep in the glider and read stories from the child-friendly library bins.

One great thing about the California climate is that you can garden year-round! Our backyard started as a square of dirt but now has raised beds for veggies and a patio to relax in the shade. We’ve planted lemon and lime trees, apple trees, roses, tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, and lots of flowers so far. We’re looking forward to harvesting fresh healthy food season after season. Our front porch gets a lot of sunlight, and we like to sit out there in the evenings and greet our neighbors. One of the things we really liked about this neighborhood when we were thinking about buying the house was how everyone says hello to each other! Backyard work parties followed by barbecue have been a great way to get to know new friends. We also appreciate having enough space to welcome friends and family for snacks and board games, a Harry Potter marathon, and the PBS showing of Hamilton's America!

LOGICAL FAMILY

The author Armistead Maupin wrote about biological family and “logical family” -- the people you’re not related to by blood, but who are nonetheless meant to be in your life. We have been building our chosen family for years, individually and together. Our relatives and our close friends support us in our decision to adopt, and look forward to spending time with our child. And they like that we visit with their kids in the meantime -- we have a standing babysitting date once a week with Baby E, who has just started to walk. Whether we're at the grocery store, making dinner at home, feeding or cuddling or playing with him, that baby time is great practice for our own future child.

We don't limit our friendships based on race, color, religion, or country of birth. As an interracial couple (Remy is white and Filipina; Lina is indigenous Mexican-American), we have done some culture-crossing work already, and we are prepared to do more of that to embrace our child's birth family and culture. We have room in our hearts for the biological family of our adopted child, whether or not you look like us or share our backgrounds.

WHEN WE ARE PARENTS

We have dreamed of and planned for a family for a long time, so we both want to be closely involved in raising our child. Lina will be the primary at-home parent during the week, and Remy will take parental leave from her full-time job and then will be up to bat on evenings and weekends when she returns to work. Basically, one or both of us will be around almost all the time: available to make snacks, answer questions, kiss owies, and sing lullabies. We're building up a list of reliable babysitters, too, for those times when we're both needed elsewhere. Our home is close to parks and playgrounds, libraries (of course!) and schools, and many places to explore. Long walks or bike rides with baby... and then toddler... and then big kid! are on the schedule, for sure.

We have agreed to teach our child both English and Spanish beginning from when she or he comes home with us. ¡El bilingüismo abre muchas puertas! We believe strongly in the importance of education and will model lifelong learning for our child. We hope that she or he will have a passion for something like art, music, dance, sports, or science, and we will do our best to provide opportunities to explore new hobbies and interests. We will teach him or her to be strong and kind, to help others, and to dream big dreams. We want our child to feel safe if they make mistakes, get lots of hugs and kisses, come to us with their questions, and know that they are loved right down to their socks!

FROM OUR HEARTS

Thank you for reading this letter and being open to making an adoption plan for your child. Although we don't know you yet, we believe that you are strong, worthy, and full of love. We believe that you want to make the best choices for you and for your baby, out of that love. If that includes choosing us to be his or her parents, we will honor your special relationship and make sure that he or she is raised in love. We want him or her to know you and your family, and vice versa. Please ask us anything you'd like to know. We are committed to an open adoption relationship and look forward to ongoing contact to the extent you feel comfortable. Whatever your decision, we hope that you find the perfect loving family you seek.