David and Raphi
Hello! We are David (left) and Raphi (right) and Simon (center). Thanks for taking the time to learn a little more about us.
We met in July 2010 in New York City. Raphi was interning there while in graduate school and we immediately bonded over our mutual love for family, the transformative power of Bravo reality television, the movie “Mean Girls”, and exploring the world. Four weeks after meeting, Raphi returned to Boston to finish school and we began to date long-distance.
David was initially drawn to Raphi’s easy laugh, snazzy style, and knowledge of all things science. Over the years, he has learned to love Raphi’s refusal to change out of dress clothes until bedtime and serving as the “sous chef” for Raphi’s culinary adventures (which mostly involves tasting the sauces and setting the table).
Raphi was initially struck by David’s clever wit, passion for both gossip magazines and Sports Illustrated, and his cadre of close lifelong friends. Over the years, Raphi has learned to love cheering for the Cleveland Cavaliers, David’s insistence that sweat pants can be worn outside of the house, and David’s ever-growing sneaker collection (tolerated only because Raphi shares the same shoe-size).
We left NYC in 2014 for Chicago so that David could attend business school. After a brief two years, we packed our bags and moved to Portland, OR, where we have lived ever since.
We’ve learned to love the Pacific Northwest’s laid-back attitude and late sunny summer nights. We love to see movies at theaters where you can buy seats in advance and take full advantage of the Portland Public Library system. We bought our first house in 2021 and five weeks later we adopted our child Simon!
Building a relationship with Simon’s birth mom has been wonderful. We love having her celebrate at our house for Simon’s birthdays, sharing photos and videos during the year, and meeting in person for playdates at the park. Simon’s relationship with his birth mom has reinforced for us that a welcoming open adoption is the right dynamic for our family.
On weekends, you will find us “urban hiking”, also known as walking to new restaurants and exploring Portland’s many neighborhoods. Friends play an important role in our lives, and we regularly meet up with other adoptive and queer families to build community and enjoy the city together. We finish up many evenings dancing to Beyonce, reading countless storybooks, and eating more blueberries than we ever thought possible.
During Raphi and David’s first date over mozzarella sticks and nachos, we discussed our parenting aspirations. Though David is now allergic to both gluten and dairy, our dreams for our family have not wavered. We know open adoption is right for us because we have seen the value in our child understanding why and how we became a family.
Thank you for reading a bit about us. We look forward to welcoming our child’s birth parents into our family!
David, Raphi, and Simon