Max and Leila

Dear Birth Mother: We can’t wait tell you how much we admire your courage. We hope you find peace in whatever decision you come to, knowing you made it with unconditional love for your child. We know that you are considering one of the most loving, but difficult decisions and we want you to know how thankful we are that you are considering us. We hope that reading through this letter will give you a better idea of who we are as individuals and as a family. Our family believes in respect, education, love, and care.

About Us: We are from the Bay Area in Northern California. Although we are two health care provider physicians with very focused and dedicated careers, we always knew we wanted to be parents. When our first and second biological sons Alex and Alan were born, our hearts grew even larger with more love and care for each other. Now, after all these years, all four of us are looking forward to having another child in our family to expand our hearts even further. We have always imagined raising another child through adoption.

How We Met: We met in Boston 17 years ago while Leila was in training, performing clinical research at Harvard Medical School Children’s Hospital and Max was a junior faculty member. Max was quiet, super smart, and very much interested in Leila. Leila was outgoing, social and ultimately very caring for Max. Max remembers Leila being focused and caring about eating healthy food and encouraging him to run and exercise with her daily. It only took us a few weeks to become an official couple and we got married less than a year later. We had three wedding celebrations, one in the US, one in the Middle East and one in Europe.

Our Lives Today: Since we met at a young age, we have matured as individuals and as a couple. We have had time to figure out how we want to live our lives: raise a family together and work hard at our careers while we make a positive impact on our society and the world. We are surrounded by friends and family here in Northern California, as well as family on the East coast, in the Middle East and Europe.

We love to travel all over the world and as we look to the future, we hope and pray that we are given the opportunity to add the best days and memories through the birth of our future child.

About Leila, by Leila: I was born in Tehran, Iran. When I was 9 years old my parents immigrated to Spain and we lived in Madrid for a number of years. I am fluent in Spanish and have started to teach the language to Alex and Alan. My family moved back to Tehran after 4 years where I attended high school, college and medical school right after graduating.

Fun Facts:
• I am an athletic person – I love skiing and running, and have participated in several marathon and half-marathon races
• I have a passion for organic, healthy cooking

My Career: I have worked as a healthcare provider adult endocrinologist for over a decade. I enjoy my work because I get to make a difference in people lives, while socializing with my patients and getting closer to them. I help patients to have a better lifestyle and longer, healthier lives. My career is focused on diabetes, obesity, and thyroid disease treatments.

I also perform clinical research and educate other health care providers and students about the new medications and treatment options in my field. I balance my work with my family time very well. I have been working around my lunch hours and I am free every day after 3 pm to dedicate time to my children when they are released from school.

More on Leila, Written by Max: Leila is an incredible and amazing woman. From the first moment I met her, I knew she was the one that would change my life. She is very energetic, intelligent, dedicated, social and friendly. Her personality fills the room. She is loving, elegant, beautiful, charming, caring, and funny.

She always makes sure that everybody around her is happy and has what they need. Because of her knowledge in medicine and metabolism we have a very healthy home and lifestyle. She is a great family planner and organizes ski trips and vacations with friends and family. I can’t wait for Leila to share the love she has in her heart with our future child. Our family is truly blessed to have her in our lives.

Meet Max, by Max: I was born in Turin, Italy. My parents were married for 55 years and were very dedicated to my sister and I, and taught us how to value family.

Unfortunately, both of my parents passed away this year, but their love for each other taught me how to love and care for my wife and my children. My parents encouraged my education and supported my journey. I earned top scores in medical school and in addition to earning my Doctor of Medicine degree, I also hold a PhD.

I enjoy playing guitar and like to design and paint in my free time. One of my favorite hobbies is photography. I enjoy taking pictures of my family and cannot wait to take pictures of all of us together with our future child.

Fun Facts:
• I am very interested in the newest computer and electronic systems, I recently converted our home into a Smart Home
• I am a great Italian cook
• I love to bike and swim in my free time

My Career: I have been in the field of genetics and immunology for over 20 years. I have worked in labs as a physician scientist, at a university as a member of the faculty, and in private clinical settings for the diagnosis of rare diseases.

I am very happy with what I do because my work helps save the lives of both children and adults. I am currently serving as the Head of Quality and Reassurance in our clinical lab. It is my job to make sure all of the diagnostic tools are performing to the highest of standards to reduce the risks of any potential errors. Even after a long day of work I always make time for my family. They are a priority in my life.

More on Max, written by Leila: I am so thankful to have Max in my life. When I am upset and overwhelmed he is the calm one, the problem solver. In addition to being creative and sensitive, Max has dedication and determination.

He is also capable of fixing things around the house and is teaching Alex and Alan how to do the same. Max is internationally known for his achievements and publications in the field of medicine and science. He is very dedicated to our family and after a long day of work he still makes time to play with the kids before they go to bed. I look forward to seeing the joy and peace in him when he holds our future child.

Meet Alex: Alex is a BIG JOY. He is 7 years old and is in second grade now. He is a very smart and happy child.

• Loves to eat SUSHI, ICE CREAM, & FROZEN YOGURT
• Loves to play with LEGOS and is SUPER CREATIVE
• Is a great SOCCER PLAYER and is becoming a good skier
• Loves to go Swimming and is learning to play piano
• Is very FRIENDLY and is LOVES PLAYDATES WITH FRIENDS
• Is a wonderful big brother to alan and has even been teaching him how to read
• Loves to play and interact with younger children and is super excited to take care of his future sibling

Meet Alan: Alan is a very kind & loving child. He is 5 years old and is in Kindergarten now. He has asked us many times if he can have a little brother or sister.

• Loves PASTA & GOES CRAZY FOR PEANUT BUTTER
• Loves to help with the food preparation and despite being 5 years old, is really good at it
• Has many FRIENDs and enjoys PLAYDATES WITH his classmates
• Plays SOCCER, takes PIANO & Guitar Lessons, and goes swimming with his brother and Aupair once a week
• Can’t wait to have a younger sibling to hold and play with

The Ones We Love: Although Leila’s mother, father, and siblings all live abroad, we see each other once or twice a year at family reunions and stay in touch throughout the year. Leila has uncles, aunts and cousins that live locally in the Bay Area and we get together once or twice per month for birthdays, holiday celebrations or just to socialize and spend some time together.

Max’s sister lives in Italy with her husband and their 5-month-old son. We have a nice base in Italy at Max’s parent’s house and we will continue to go to visit Max’s sister, aunt, uncle, cousins and Italian friends on a yearly basis.

In addition, we have a great group of local family friends that are like family to us. We get together often for playdates and socializing and we all have children who enjoy playing together. We enjoy going on trips or camping together, as well as pool parties, birthday and holiday celebrations. We love to host and our home is always open to everyone.

Our Traditions:
• NEW YEAR’S DAY – Spend time with our family in Italy or get together with our local family and friends

• EASTER – Easter egg hunts, baskets filled with candy and toys, getting together with the family and friends

• FOURTH OF JULY – BBQ with friends and family and watch the fireworks together

• HALLOWEEN – We go Trick-or-Treating with friends and host a costume party for children and adults

• THANKSGIVING – Get together with our friends and family, assign each family to prepare one of the Traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

• CHRISTMAS – Decorate the tree, hang lights inside and outside of the house, and go to see Santa together. We prepare gifts for everyone and have a gathering with family and friends both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

• PERSIAN NEW YEAR – Since Leila is Persian, we celebrate the first day of Spring as our New Year’s Day and prepare a traditional “Haftseen” with cookies, plants, and flowers from the local Persian market and the kids color eggs. We use these to prepare the table and invite family and friends over for a traditional early dinner and serve white fish.

Our Home, Community and Beyond: We live in a very nice town called Burlingame which is very close to the city of San Francisco. This is a great place to raise children and we have one of the top-rated school districts in the Bay Area.

Our community is very family oriented and pet friendly. Once a year, our community hosts a “pet parade” which the kids love to attend. We are fortunate to have access to pools, tennis courts, basketball courts and beautiful garden areas. There are many family friendly activities, nice shops, and restaurants all within walking distance or a short drive away.

Our Promise To You: To you we promise to raise your child with unconditional love. We will be open and honest about the extraordinary way that we became a family. We will honor you and always respect your wishes regarding contact and involvement with your child.

To your child we promise to provide a safe, respectful and loving environment. We will create balance, a home filled with love, laughter and structure. An environment where your child will feel secure and free to be themselves. We will give your child room to explore the world and develop self-confidence to accomplish anything. We will encourage them to study and provide everything needed to succeed. We will make them aware that we will always be close behind when needed.