Giacomo is mainly a right-brained person: analytical, observant, rational, and logical. These all came in handy when working toward his PhD in artificial intelligence, and they keep proving themselves useful in his work life as a data scientist. At the same time, these qualities are very useful in his personal life too, where being able to "think first, act second" is a powerful tool to handle conflict and avoid gut reactions.

At the same time, Giacomo is loving and affectionate with family and friends, always taking other people's needs into consideration and always willing to help out with words and actions; from a phone call to a ride to the airport.

Sidney is mainly a left-brained person: passionate, creative, energetic, and enthusiastic about life and its many possibilities; he is a force. You can always count on him to start a deep and meaningful conversation with a stranger and make a new friend out of it. He's very passionate about his interests, never doing things half way: want to help out the LGBTQIA+ community? Let's start a non-profit to do so!

Sidney is also very affectionate and empathetic, always ready to drive over to a friend's house when they are going through a breakup, or to bring dinner over when they just got home from the hospital with their newborn.

We are both very passionate about food: we enjoy learning about different flavors when we travel (we both tried snails for the first time in Paris), we enjoy trying out new recipes at home (we've recently bought a paella pan and started making it for dinner), and we enjoy exploring restaurants in Pittsburgh and while traveling (we've just been to our first James Beard winner restaurant in Denver, CO). One of the first things Sidney always wants to do when we go to Italy is to check out the grocery stores to see the different foods available and get inspired for what to make for dinner.

We also like to stay active by going to the gym regularly and walk our dogs around the neighborhood twice a day. We enjoy doing these activities together because they give us the chance to talk and connect while staying healthy and taking care of our bodies.

At the same time, we do enjoy relaxing at home during the weekend: Sidney enjoys playing video games while Giacomo reads (or googles how to help out Sidney with his video games).

Finally, we love traveling as well: going to Europe allows us to combine family time with exploring new cities and countries, but we also love visiting new cities in America. Recently, we've been able to take advantage of Giacomo's work trips to visit Seattle, Portland, and Denver, where we have met up with friends and tried some excellent food.

We think the characteristic that makes us unique is that we represent the merging of two different cultures: Sidney was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, while Giacomo grew up in Italy.

Two cultural background coming together can be quite funny to witness: like when Giacomo dumped the gravy Sidney made for Thanksgiving because it looked like "dirty water" (in his words) 10 minutes before Sidney's parents were going to come over for dinner; but it can also be challenging when different views on a topic are at odds and hard to reconcile.

The way we've always looked at these differences though has been to consider them as an opportunity rather than an obstacle: seeing things from different perspectives is a gift that allows us to consider all the aspects of a situation, making it more likely for us to reach the optimal decision.

This applies both to general attitudes toward life, and to mundane, everyday-life experiences. For instance, American individualistic tendencies are often at odds with the more European inclination to take other people's opinions into consideration. This contrast can lead to a disagreement, or, as in our case, to the realization that, while it is important to take other people's feelings into consideration, our personal beliefs and opinions are valid and worthwhile.

We believe being raised in an environment where differences in opinion are celebrated and leveraged will be a great asset that will ensure our child to have a well-rounded upbringing.

We live in a suburban area of Pittsburgh, in a very good school district. It's a very safe and quiet street, with the main noise being our neighbors' lawn mowers or leaf blowers, depending on the season. We have a public park and basketball court within walking distance, and we are a 5-minute drive away from a public pool (with Sidney's parents on the way there). At the same time, we live close to one of the main roads going downtown, which gives us access to all the stores we need and one of the biggest malls in Pittsburgh.

Our house is a split-level with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large living room, a very large kitchen and dining room, and a basement with an additional living room and home office. Our kitchen is by far our favorite room of the house: we love cooking our meals from scratch and having people over for dinner, and we have ample counter space so we are always experimenting with new recipes. We also have a sizeable backyard where we play with our dogs and a patio where we grill and make pizza in our wood-fired pizza oven.

Giacomo's family lives in Europe: his parents live in Italy, while his sister and brother-in-law live in France, where they are expecting (at the time of writing), so we hope our children would be close in age.

Sidney's parents live in Pittsburgh, specifically five minutes down the road from us.

Our family situation is quite unique, with family members on both sides of the Atlantic, but we have been doing a great job at taking advantage of all the equally unique possibilities this offers.

For instance, we have been traveling to Italy every year for Christmas, enjoying family time while also carving some alone time to visit European capitals like Paris or Vienna. Last year, Giacomo's family came over for his PhD defense around Thanksgiving, and we had a great time celebrating the holiday, Giacomo's defense, and Giacomo's sister's birthday by cooking together, enjoying the Christmas lights at the local zoo, and having a family road trip to Toronto.

With Sidney's family, enjoying Sunday dinner or catching a magic show or musical in Pittsburgh is much easier. We also take the opportunity to visit them in California, where they vacation every winter.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to connect with you. We are and will always be grateful for it.

Writing this is nerve-wracking because there is nothing we want more than to start a family. Our family, and friends who have become family, make us who we are. They help us get through the bad days, and celebrate the big wins. If they're sick, Giacomo will make his homemade soup and Sidney will bake the bread. If someone's out-of-town, we're watering their plants. We do this because we love giving back to the people in our lives, even just a piece of what they give to us.

So as daunting as this process may be, it also feels natural and the start of such an exciting chapter. One where we can give that same love to your child. Where we can help them learn how to navigate the bad days, to celebrate every win, and ultimately provide them with a safe and nurturing environment to grow and thrive.

We have always known we wanted to be parents, and much of why began with our parents. Giacomo couldn't have been able to move across an ocean without the unyielding support of his family, and Sidney would have never been able to own his family's company without his parents trusting and believing in his decision-making abilities. We plan to provide a similar supportive and encouraging environment for your child, where they feel safe to try new things, fail, make mistakes, try again, fail some more, and finally succeed in their lives' goals, whatever they may be.

We are a multicultural family, with Sidney being from Pittsburgh, PA, and Giacomo having moved from Italy. We intend to give your child a rare experience, which provides broad exposure to both of our cultures, raising them bilingual and giving them the opportunity to travel often to Europe to visit family in Italy and France.

We enjoy traveling. We go to Italy for Christmas, and while there, explore different European cities. We love exploring new environments, new food, new cultures. We also enjoy traveling domestically, especially when Giacomo's family comes to visit.

When we are home, we love cooking and baking; we like to try new dishes from around the world, from Italian pizza to Spanish paella and Chinese dumplings. We love sharing our passion for food with each other, and with our families and friends.

When we are not traveling or cooking, Sidney is the president and owner of his family's company, offering services for bars and restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, while Giacomo is an Artificial Intelligence researcher. Both our jobs grant us great flexibility and, while Giacomo works from home, Sidney's office is a 5-minute drive from our house.

We live close to family and friends: Sidney's parents are close to the house, and we live near many friends who have also recently expanded their families (some through adoption). It takes a village to raise a child, and we believe we have a solid support system to provide your child with the appropriate care and attention they need and deserve, as well as with peers who share similar background stories.

We are thankful to you for considering us, and we look forward to welcoming your child, and yourselves (should you choose), in our lives. We look forward to meeting you, and would love to keep you updated throughout your child's journey with us with pictures, letters, or any means we decide is mutually convenient. We cannot wait to start our journey with you!

Sidney & Giacomo