Eric and Luis

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From Us to You

You are doing something that takes tremendous courage. No matter the reason you are here, we respect, admire, and appreciate you.

Hi! I’m Luis. I grew up in a small town in Puerto Rico. I was raised in a very large family, that includes my brother, sister and 18 cousins. My experiences growing up have made me want to become a father and give my child the same experiences I had growing up.

Hi! I’m Eric. I am a twin, and have two sisters. Being an uncle is one of the greatest parts of my life, and I adore being around my 11 nieces and nephews. Our families are our biggest supporters, and that support system will help us become great dads.

We met almost 6 years ago and got married about a year and a half ago. We first started dating while Luis was still in college and during that time he went to China to study abroad for four months. As a world language major, and multilingual speaker, this opportunity was a dream come true for him. As happy for him as Eric was for him, he was ecstatic when Luis returned home!

We said “I do” in Tulum, Mexico, in front of our closest friends and family. We have been talking about our future a lot since that unforgettable day. Today, we live with our two dogs, Nanook and Bonnie. We are both ready for the next step in our relationship of having a baby and growing our family.

We already have so many plans for your baby and can’t wait to show them how different and bright the world can be. We are planning on raising the baby to be bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish, and will show them as much culture as we can. We plan to take trips to Puerto Rico, where they will be able to meet their abuelos (grandparents) and tíos (aunts and uncles). They will know how to read music, write stories, speak languages, and other life skills. The baby will grow up knowing there are so many possibilities for them, and we will give them every tool they need to turn their passions into their reality. But more importantly, we will nurture them and give them the unconditional love they deserve.

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A Bit More about Us!

Fun Facts about Us!
We love to watch movies together and travel. On our bucket list is to visit as many countries as possible, and because of our love of movies, we want to visit some of the landmark places where our favorite movies were filmed (for example, they filmed Jurassic World in Hawaii, and you can tour the facilities from the film!)

We have two sides to our lives. There is the serious and hardworking side, then there’s the goofy and fun side. We both work full time and enjoy our jobs. Luis is Assistant Branch Manager for a bank and Eric is a Property Adjuster for an insurance company. We feel as though our jobs not only pay our bills, but also fulfill our desires to do work that matters and contributes to the greater good. Eric works from home, which will allow him to always stay with the baby while Luis is at work.

Now for the fun side! We both enjoy cuddling up on the couch and watching a movie, with a big bowl of popcorn. We can’t wait to show our baby our favorite Disney movies (our current favorite is Buscando a Nemo – “Finding Nemo”). We also enjoy seeing our close circle of friends! One of our best friends recently had a baby and another friend is pregnant, so our baby will feel right at home within the friend group.

We love travel, and if we could, we’d have visited half the world by now! When the baby is old enough, we are excited to show them some of our favorite places we’ve visited, as well as new destinations to visit as a family.

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Meet Eric, by Luis

Eric is the sweetest and most caring person who would do anything humanly possible to be there for anyone. No matter if the person was family, friend, or an acquaintance, he will go out of his way to make sure they are okay.

His best trait I would say is the way he can connect with people. The level of understanding that he has for others is unimaginable and that’s how I fell deeply in love with him.I love the way he treats his family and always puts them first. I know he will do the same for your baby!

Fun fact about him: if you ever want to win a trivia game have him on your side. He knows the most random facts that you can think of. If you ever wonder where Eric could possibly be, just search for the nearest movie theater and you will find him.

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About Luis, by Eric

I met Luis shortly after he had moved to Massachusetts from Puerto Rico. He had moved here in 2018 due to Hurricane Maria which caused a lot of damage to his school. Luis made the brave decision to move in with his aunt to continue his education, leaving behind his brother, sister, mother, and father. While in school, he studied vigorously to become the best he could be. He was in school as a world language major and was studying Mandarin. This allowed him to study abroad, where he spent four months living in Shanghai, just before Covid-19 hit.

Luis’ most remarkable trait is his ability to learn languages and cultures. He is obsessed with K-Pop and can memorize the entire song (in Korean) just after listening to it one time. He learns the dances to the songs and will trot around the apartment singing and dancing. He always has a smile on his face and is the most positive person in my life.

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Our Family Traditions

Coming from two diverse cultural backgrounds, there is always a tradition or reason to celebrate! We love decorating for the major holidays, such as Christmas, Halloween, Independence Day, and also celebrate things like Día de los Tres Santos Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day).

One of the traditions we are most excited about is whenever there is a new baby in the family, Eric’s mother makes a handmade baby book/photo album as well as crochet blankets.Every year, Eric’s grandmother comes up from Florida to visit family. This results in a family reunion, which is a great way to catch up with family that we may not see frequently (and of course enjoy lots of food and laughter!

If our child has a different cultural background than us, we will embrace it and include those traditions into our family lifestyle. It is important to us that any child feels they are able to connect to where they come from!

Some of our traditions are as simple as the biscuits and gravy Eric makes every Sunday morning. These are just a few examples of how our combined cultures celebrate different traditions and holidays, and how we contribute to keeping these traditions alive.

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Home is Where the Heart Is

Although we live in an apartment, we have plenty of space and make the most of it. We display our many Funko Pops, and many family photos adorn our walls. Throughout the apartment, where there was once open space is now filled with plants of all sizes and colors. Since we love movies so much, we have a Hue setup which projects different colors throughout the apartment to match the movies we are watching. Eric loves to decorate for each season, so there is almost a monthly update to the apartment décor. We speak predominantly English but also speak Spanish at home.

We are right in the middle of town where we enjoy museums, restaurants and other cultural experiences. There is a dog park we frequent that has a bunch of walking trails. We are approximately 15 miles from Boston, so that allows us (and our future baby) to visit the aquarium, do the Freedom Trail, or explore a major part of America’s history.

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Our Family and Friends

Our families do not live near us, but that doesn’t stop us from having a great relationship with them. Eric’s mother lives in New Hampshire (about a 3-hour drive) so we see her every couple of months. His father died when he was young, and his twin brother recently passed. He has two sisters, who live in New Jersey and Maine. Luis’ family all live in Puerto Rico, except his aunt who lives 15 minutes away. His sister recently came to visit us, and we are working on convincing the rest of his family to hop on a plane to visit us in the United States. Although we do not see our families in person often, we maintain our relationships with them by frequent phone calls or Facetime.

Locally we have good friends we see frequently. Our best of friends lived with us for 4 years, and she recently had a beautiful baby girl! We’re lucky to have friends we can share simple actives like going for a walk and getting ice cream and talking about our day, and others who are always there for a big laugh or are willing to share honest truths when needed. We’re incredibly lucky to have a local chosen family who are so supportive of us becoming dads!

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Racial and Cultural Diversity

Our household does not have a lack of cultural or racial diversity. Being a biracial couple, we have combined our own cultures and welcome others’. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Luis is Hispanic, and proudly celebrates his background. Eric has a southern background and is open to experiencing new things from his friends’ cultures. We have many mutual friends that are from Korea, and Luis also lived in China for 4 months. Being a World’s Language Major, Luis has a lot of experience with different cultures and races and enjoys teaching Eric about them. We will welcome the baby’s racial and cultural background, no matter what it is, and make sure they are able to learn as much about their culture as they do ours.

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Our Relationship with You

We are open to the baby having a relationship with you. If this is something you are not interested in, the baby will grow feeling so loved and never feeling unwanted. We will make sure they know this was the hardest decision of your life and that you love them very much. We know this is a difficult situation for everyone involved, but with your help, our dreams will come true. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering us and wish you all the love and happiness.

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Meet Bonnie and Nanook!

We have two beautiful dogs. Nanook, who is 11, is a mixed breed that Eric adopted from a shelter when he was just 4 months old. When he went to the shelter to look for a dog, he sat on the floor of the visiting room, and one by one the workers brought in puppies. Every puppy was beautiful, but when Nanook came in he went straight into Eric’s lap and closed his eyes. In that moment, Eric knew that Nanook was perfect for him, and that Nanook had chosen him.

Bonnie is a 3-year-old Labradoodle. She was immediately in love with her new dads and wouldn’t stop trying to jump in Luis’ lap while Eric drove the car back home when we picked her up. She loves to play with her tail and can frequently be spotted trying to sneak closer to her humans for love and attention.

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Our Hobbies

Eric loves photography, music, and watching movies. He can play several instruments, but his favorite is the piano and clarinet. However, his favorite hobby is watching movies. He has many favorite movie titles, and enjoys watching them anywhere, whether it’s in the theater or at home.

Luis’ hobbies include dancing, singing, gaming, and drawing. When he was young, he started drawing as his way to relax. He stopped drawing for a while but has recently picked it back up again. He enjoys other cultures and learning other languages.

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Our Promise to You

Your child will never feel unwanted, unheard, or unvalued. We will raise the child to feel loved and feel like they have something to contribute to the world. They will know cultures, not just ours but we will learn and teach their cultural background as well. We promise to teach them how to be caring of other’s feelings, but also know their feelings matter too. We will encourage them to discover who they are and embrace them for it. They will grow up knowing their birth parents loved them very much and didn’t give them up, they gave them an opportunity. We promise to love them as if they were our own, and they will be loved by everyone in our family as well as our friends. They will know they are the greatest gift we have ever received and that we received that gift from you.