Hi! We’re Michael and Ben, and our fluffy puppy is Cosmo! It was way back on our first date that we discussed our desire to someday have a family and adopt a baby, so thank you so much for taking the time to learn about us. On that date, we also discovered many other shared interests, from both of us having been professional musicians to both being vegetarians.

At that time, Ben had just decided to change careers and become a computer programmer. While Ben was studying code, Michael was studying for his medical school licensing exams. We would work side by side for hours, but most of the time Ben would not stop chatting, eating chips, and distracting Michael. Years later, Ben still hasn’t stopped talking Michael’s ear off. After a year of dating we moved in together, and the rest is history. We decorated, baked, and continued to fall in love, marrying two years later.

Where to start! Michael is a trained singer, performs as part of a professional comedy troupe, has a black belt in karate, and is a doctor as his day job. While this all seems very impressive, what actually makes him special and the person I love is his kindness, empathy, humor, and willingness to wash all of the dishes. He grew up in California, and even though he’s lived in NY for 16 years, he still has an optimistic and sunny California personality.

Michael loved to sing as a child and chose voice as his major in college. After college he decided to go to medical school to become an ear, nose and throat doctor so he could combine his passions for singing and science, and he now operates on vocal cords. He still sings daily though; I hear him making up songs for our puppy and look forward to hearing the fun sing-alongs he will create for a little one.

Michael considers himself to have 50 best friends. I try to explain to him that someone can only have one best friend, he doesn't buy it. He has such great friendships and so many people love him. Michael brings out the best in me, and there is no doubt in my mind he will care for and love a child deeply. He is such a treasure, I like to say my greatest achievement and honor is having Michael as my husband.

My loving husband Ben has achieved so much, but still remains humble. He grew up playing music and when he was 15 decided to be a professional musician. After studying bassoon in college, he performed on a Grammy winning CD, and then joined a renowned orchestra in Mexico. He loved eating tacos and learning Spanish, but after a couple of years of missing NY and his family, he decided to move back. He wasn’t afraid to reinvent his career and make music a hobby. Despite having no prior experience, he completed a course in computer programming. After graduating, he landed a fantastic position at a large tech company.

Professional accolades aside, Ben’s warmth is what makes our house a home. He bakes far too often, but I love to exercise, so it evens out. He cooks us dinner every night, and covers his portion with hot peppers and spices. Thankfully, he always remembers to leave mine more mild.

When not cooking, he’s taking Cosmo to the dog park, playing our piano, or getting dinner and seeing concerts with friends. I love that he hides little treats around the house for me to find, but sadly he also loves to hide himself, waiting for his chance to jump out and scare me!

Not only is he the funniest person I know, keeping our home full of laughter, but he is so considerate and always thinks of others. He’s going to be an impeccable role model and I can’t wait to see what a wonderful dad he’ll be.

We live in Manhattan in a beautiful apartment complex which feels more like a park than a city. The area is full of families because of the playgrounds and gardens that are right outside of our building, and we often have picnics on the grass. The children in our building know our sweet dog Cosmo by name, and come running to play with him. He is the most popular and perfect dog around. (Okay, we are biased, but we will be biased for our child too!) Cosmo’s toys are everywhere in our home because he refuses to clean them up. Stepping on them barefoot hurts, but it’s good practice for when a baby’s toys are left out!

We have a beautiful piano in our living room, and very friendly neighbors; they never complain about the music! We live a short walk to the hospital where Michael works, and Ben’s commute is just to the dining room table, as he works remotely. Cosmo is a big fan of Ben’s remote job as he gets constant belly rubs. It also makes it easy for Ben to keep the house clean, run errands, and most importantly, take naps.

Ben loves to decorate, but also tries to be environmentally friendly, so virtually all of our furnishings were purchased second hand. We love to cook and on any given day, our home either smells sweet from baking or extremely spicy from making Indian, Chinese, and Thai food.

Michael regularly performs improv comedy and loves going out for runs. Ben does not take exercise as seriously, having shown up to one of our early dates at the gym with a slice of pizza in hand! We both love going to concerts, though our tastes in music are very different, Michael likes hip-hop and R&B and Ben prefers classical.

Ben follows politics closely and is always listening to public radio and reading the New York Times. On Sunday mornings we take the Times’ weekly news quiz together, giving Ben a chance to laugh at how many questions Michael gets wrong.

At home, we love entertaining, having game nights with Bananagrams and Mario Kart, and hosting dinner parties. Every year we throw a large holiday party for which we make too many cookies, latkes, pizzas, and doughnuts. After a long day of work, we like to have a quiet, peaceful evening at home, cooking dinner, talking about our day, and watching Seinfeld. Of course, a child will ensure we never have another quiet evening again!

For vacation, we love to travel, recently going to Mexico, Israel, Puerto Rico, and Thailand to visit friends and family. The pandemic forced us to cancel a vacation in India, so instead, we got a puppy earlier than we had planned. We could not be happier with how that ended up!

Ben’s parents and three siblings live in NYC and NJ so we see them often. Michael’s older sister is also in NJ, while his mother is in California where he grew up. His father lives in Thailand, which makes for exciting visits! Michael’s father was a professional jazz trumpet player, and taught him trumpet and trombone while his mom tutored him in math during summer breaks. Michael’s family is thoughtful and caring for each other, a pleasure to see.

Ben’s family, on the other hand, is high volume! Growing up, his house was excessively lively with kids running all over, everyone talking over each other at the dinner table, and many instruments being practiced at the same time. In retrospect, we’re not sure how Ben’s parents could tolerate so much noise. If you ask them, they’d say we drove them crazy, and their gray hair is our fault.

We see a lot of Ben’s family on weekends and holidays, and talk on the phone all the time. Ben and his mother love Scrabble, and over the last 10 years have played over 600 games against each other on their phones. Ben is proud to report he has won 400 of those! We are grateful to our parents for all the opportunities they afforded us, and we are looking forward to doing the same for a child.

Thank you for considering us to raise your child. If you choose us to be the adoptive family for your little one, we promise to give them unconditional love, a safe home, and all of the support needed to pursue their interests. Happiness is what comes first, and while we love classical music, karate, and singing, the child may have other interests, and we will be there to help them pursue whatever their passion is. (Just no throwing footballs in the house!)

We are excited to see them achieve their fullest potential and grow up to be a compassionate and confident person. While the openness of the adoption will depend on your desires, at the very least, your baby will grow up knowing they have a mother who made our dreams come true and gave them the best home possible.