Chris & John

About Us

Chris & John – The Early Years

Both of us have known for a long time that we wanted to be parents. Chris actually checked with John on our second date just to make sure! That being said, it has been a long journey from when we first began dating in 2003 to when we became dads.

We started seeing each other in our second year of university, when we were both attending McGill University in Montreal. After being introduced by a mutual friend, we quickly became the best of friends, and then started dating only a few months later. We dated a year before John moved into Chris’ place, and have been together ever since.

We moved to Toronto after graduation, and have lived in the Junction in Toronto’s west end ever since. After ten years together we (finally) got married in front of all our family and friends at an adorable art gallery ten minutes away from our home. Right after the wedding, we started looking into the adoption process.

Becoming a family of three 

In the craziest 10 days of our lives, we met Theo’s birth mom, were told we would become Dads, bought every baby item imaginable, and headed off to the hospital to be there for Theo’s birth. We’ve been a team of three ever since.

Theo is an awesome, happy-go-lucky kid, who’s always up for an adventure. Never one to avoid the big kids’ slide, Theo is independent and adventurous – truly keeping us on our toes. At the same time, he’s a fierce hugger, loves spending time with his family, and will blow you a kiss that will melt your heart. This is A+ Big Brother material.

Thanks to a generous benefits package at his work, Chris was on parental leave with Theo for the first 14 months. They had a schedule filled with trips to our nearby parks, library, and the Early Years Centre. This will again be our plan for a second child. This past September Theo entered junior kindergarten at our local school, a short 5 minute walk down the street. He is loving playing with his new friends, singing and dancing in music class, and being allowed to play with the bikes, trikes, and scooters at recess.

Our Home & Community

Family and Friends

We are very fortunate to have a large support system of both family and friends. Most of our family is in Kingston and Brockville, Ontario, where Chris and John grew up, respectively. Most major holidays include a return to this area to visit family and let Theo play with his three cousins.

We have always dreamed of having two children. Chris’ sister Carly and John’s brother Mike have played important parts in our lives, both as children and now as adults. We would love for Theo and his younger sibling to be able to share this same bond.

Our friends also play an important role, as they are constantly over for dinners, BBQ’s, or just to lend a hand at babysitting. Most of our friends have started their own paths to parenthood – we have a wide network of friendly youngsters under the age of five at the ready for play dates and socializing.

The one other family member that can’t be ignored is Wonton, our cat. While not always the most social with new faces, he instantly became best friends with Theo. Every morning when Theo wakes up, his top priority is finding Wonton and giving him a hug, even before his dads. (Which totally does not hurt our feelings…)

Our Home

Right before Theo was born we found the perfect home in the neighbourhood we love. We are only a five minute walk from three parks, the public library, and Theo’s school. While the place won’t be winning any beauty awards just yet, it has three bedrooms, a large kitchen for home-cooked meals, and a big backyard that has been the perfect place for our family to play.

Our Thoughts about Parenting & Adoption

Before becoming parents, we talked a lot about how we planned to raise our children.  We want to let them be independent, within the confines of a loving family structure. They are going to make mistakes and get into trouble, but we will always be there to guide them in the right direction. We will learn and grow together, as there is always a new adventure around the corner.

We’ve been lucky enough to see many corners of the globe, and want to share traveling the world with our children. With the pandemic putting these plans on hold for a bit, we started new family traditions like like our Friday pizza parties, and our weekly visits to a new park. This spring we were able to take Theo on his first flight, with a trip to Panama to swim in the ocean, eat a lot of great food, and (most importantly for Theo) see a monkey.

As you can see, our family does not look like the families in children’s books from when we were kids. Being a same-sex couple with a biracial child gives us lots of opportunities to explore each of our different cultures, heritages, and traditions. It is important to us that we all learn from each other’s backgrounds, and not try to assimilate our children into our own. Theo has already had a chance to bust a move both at Pride and Afrofest. We are lucky to have a large group of diverse friends who can always lend a hand, or be an extra role model to our family. Your child will have their own unique background, and we would be honoured to celebrate it in our family as well.

Closing Thoughts

We always knew that adoption was the path we wanted to take. We could not have been luckier to meet Theodore’s birth-mom here on Canada Adopts. She has become an important part of our life, and her connection with Theo is one that could never be replaced.

We are firm believers in open adoption. That being said, no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to fully comprehend the emotions you must be feeling. To whatever extent you are comfortable, we promise to incorporate you into our family. And trust us, if you are willing to allow it, our extended families will want to include you as well! You will always be the child’s only mother, so whatever your level of involvement, it will be appreciated in our family’s life.

We cannot imagine the difficult choices that face you now but we are grateful that you would consider us as potential parents to your baby. We wish you all the best while you make this important decision, and know that – if you think we can be a part of it – we’ll be excited to hear from you!

Chris, John & Theo