Maximo is born

Maximo was born in January 2005, but did not come home to us until January 2006, just a few days shy of his first birthday. Our life with him has been pure joy. He is an exceptionally bright, loving, and energetic young boy. He truly is the light of our lives.

Early in 2008, we re-examined living in the Bay Area, and knew that adopting a second child might heavily influence where we could afford to live. After completing grad school, we decided to begin the process of adopting baby number two. Guatemala was no longer an option since the U.S./Guatemala adoption process has been shut down. We signed with an adoption facilitator in northern California, but shortly thereafter we moved to Madison, Wisconsin to be closer to my (Steve's) family. We both took positions at the University of Wisconsin.

Our story

As long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a dad. After ending a 17 year relationship 6 years ago, I began to really focus on this dream. My previous partner was adamant he did not want children, and so finding myself single I was at a significant cross road in my life. Would I attempt parenthood as a single gay male, or would I risk entering a new relationship with someone who might not want children?

About one year later (in 2004), I decided to begin the adoption process. I signed up with an agency in the San Francisco Bay area and began the emotional roller coaster known as international adoption. Within 2 months I had received a referral for a beautiful baby boy from Guatemala. I was dating someone then, but it quickly became evident that he was neither interested nor capable of becoming a parent. I ended that relationship and set my sights on becoming a single father. However as fate often does, I met Migdiel. I joked with him on our second date that I was "7 months pregnant" because I knew I was reaching the end of the adoption process.

It is amazing how quickly Migdiel signed on. He became excited at the prospect of becoming a dad. And true to my predictions, we brought our baby boy, Maximo home 2 months later.