Hello, we are Brendan and John. We are a loving couple, who look forward to being parents and raising a child. We are both 30 years old and live in a single family home in San Francisco, CA. We have been together for over 6 years and were married in Massachusetts. Upon meeting for the first time one of the first values we realized we shared was our love of children. As our relationship progressed, we knew that together we could fulfill our dreams of a family. Thank you for learning about us as you go through, what we can only imagine, is a challenging time.

John Describes Brendan

When I first met Brendan, I knew right away he was an extremely special person. He simply loves people.

Santorini, Greece

Even total strangers gravitate toward Brendan because of his warm, welcoming and genuine interest. I found out why Brendan is such a great person when I met his family. All of them are kind and loving souls, and they accepted me with open arms. I know that any child we bring into this family will receive nothing but love.

It comes as no surprise that Brendan displays these qualities with children. He practically begs our good friends Mark and Courtney to allow us to babysit their 18 month-old. You would not believe the gifts he dreams up for kids' birthdays. When the daughter of our good friends, Sydney, was having her 4th birthday, Brendan searched the stores to find a princess tiara making kit. Brendan lives for arts and crafts and Sydney.s face lit up when she pulled the kit apart to see what was inside! I know he will have so much fun finger-painting, drawing, pasting, and generally getting messy, with our child as they create their masterpieces.

Uncle Brendan and Griffin

Brendan has many other interesting hobbies and in this respect opposites DO attract. Brendan loves sewing, decorating, reading comics and science fiction, as well as writing poetry. These hobbies contrast nicely with my favorite hobbies that are more science and technology oriented. However, we do share many common activities such as hiking, softball, and music. No matter how you look at it, our children are going to have plenty of avenues to explore as they develop their own interests and passions.

Celenza - Hayes Families Combined

Brendan Describes John

John and I have so much fun together. We laugh all the time about the most random things, and he always makes me smile with his wacky sense of humor. I've finally learned the "John language" and can translate for others. If John says "Take a Ralph" he means take a right hand turn. If he says "Don't call me Shirley", he's just quoting his favorite movie of all time, Airplane! Its through his humor that we can spend so much time together, and always get the most enjoyment out of each other's company.

What I've come to learn from John is what it means to be with a scientist. He is analytical, down to earth, inquisitive, and of course smart. As a meteorologist and computer programmer, he is lucky enough to have a job that combines his skills with his passion for weather. He's not stuck in books all the time though, and we enjoy playing softball and going on hikes together. I never knew I would find someone in life who held to all the same principles as me, and share all the same goals.

Summer Snow in the Sierras

I will never forget our first date. In my mind, I always had a list of things I was looking for in someone. I was looking for someone to go backpacking with, go to concerts, and someone who was interested in the Internet. By the time I met John I had thrown out the list thinking that such a person was too hard to find. I was wrong, our first date was amazing. I knew that night that John wasn't just meeting the criteria of the list, he was surpassing it. He liked the same music as I did, grew up with a handyman father doing projects around the house, and loved to go camping in the mountains for long weekends. Our common interest in being parents came out as well, and I knew he was a keeper for life.

East Coast Roots

We both were born and raised on the East Coast. John grew up in Syracuse, NY with his parents and older sister. He attended Penn State University and graduated with a degree in Meteorology. Upon leaving college, John immediately moved to San Francisco. His family has also moved away from the Northeast.

3 Generations of Hayes and John

His mother and sister now live in Philadelphia, PA raising his nephew Andrew and niece Clara. His father lives in Pensacola, FL.

Brendan is from Longmeadow, in Western Massachusetts. He grew up with his parents and younger sister in a house that had been in their family for over 100 years. Brendan learned the importance of family and history by working on the family home. His father and grandfather would spend weekends repairing the house, and Brendan was always at their side helping. He went to college in Rhode Island at Bryant University and graduated with a degree in computer science. After school he moved to San Francisco to jump into the Internet boom.

On a Volcano in Hawaii

Our Work

We work together at a weather forecast web site called "The Weather Underground". It is a small company where John is a meteorologist and Brendan is a web site developer. While working at the same company presents a unique dynamic in our relationship, it has only made us stronger. The benefits of working together are wonderful, and we get to spend all our time together. Each day's commute is a chance to talk and unwind from the day, and we can support each other in the middle of a hard day. If we drive the car to work, we sing 80's songs on the radio and laugh about hair bands. The best part of working together is when we get excited about the same project and can combine our skills to create something new and useful on the Internet.

Hiking With Friends

Our Lives Outside of Work

Our circles of friends are great, and we enjoy being social with them. We have game nights on Wednesdays where we play board games or video games. Weekends usually have dinner plans with friends, and some way to spend the day outdoors or doing projects around the house. Weeknights we watch movies and relax at home. We're big technology geeks, so we talk a lot about new gadgets, computers, and video game systems. In fact, we own all three new video game systems: Xbox 360, Nintento Wii, and Playstation 3. Frequently we get into debates about which is better and invite friends over to help decide which is more fun.

We own our house in San Francisco, and it has been exciting to make it our own. We have painted rooms, built walls, and redecorated the kitchen; and that's just in 2007! We have a terraced backyard and look forward to putting in a kiddie slide. We also have two cats, Spencer and Spanks. They love to roam the house looking for attention!

How We Would Raise a Child

The joys and challenges of raising a baby are plenty, and we are looking forward to both.

John, His Mom, and Niece Clara

Because we are both just 30 years old, we have lots of energy and think we can keep up with a little tot. At least for a little while! Brendan is going to take time off from work to be available day and night for the baby. We have several friends with young children and can't wait to set up play dates and trips to the park. We both play musical instruments; John plays drums and cello, while Brendan plays trumpet; so music will be a constant in our lives.

We are excited about the first time we all get to go camping as a family because Brendan was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts and John used to go backpacking with his dad. These family trips are an important part of bonding, and we know our first trip to Disney World will be special, just like it was when we were little. Growing up, each of our families took summer vacations to travel the United States. We learned so much on these trips, not only about the world we live in, but also how to be a family. We feel like these traditions made our lives richer and families tighter, and can't wait to experience that with our own child.

Our Christmas Card

Thank You

We hope this has given you a brief insight into our lives. You must have plenty of questions, and we want to help you through this difficult process. We are open to talking more and answering any questions you have. Our hearts are open and we are looking forward to a bright future as a family. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us.

Feel free to e-mail us at brendanandjohn@gmail.com