Waiting Family Profiles

Home Location: Twin Cities Metro

Family Status: Couple without children

Children in Home: None

Child Ethnicity: African American, Asian, Caucasian, East Indian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American

Hello! We are Eriika & Topper (and Drusilla & Atticus are the smaller furrier ones). We are excited to create a happy, safe, and accepting home for a little one where they will feel loved and affirmed. We have a lot of love in our home and can’t wait to share that with a child. Our goals will be to make them feel loved, secure, seen, and heard – and we will empower them to explore their passions. Our home will be a safe space where they can grow up and learn self-expression.

You and your baby are worthy of love and respect. If you decide to make an adoption plan, we hope that you’ll consider us; we would be honored to support you along the way and include you in our family in whatever way you’re comfortable.

WHO WE ARE

We met in early 2023 at our favorite bistro in Uptown Minneapolis and felt an immediate connection. Our first meeting quickly turned into an hours-long conversation ranging from our times in France, why we both decided to move back to our childhood home of Minneapolis, to obscure trivia about the Scream movie franchise. We took the time to become besties first before committing to spending our life together. Now it’s hard to remember what our lives were like without each other!

We both came into the relationship considering adoption independently, deepening the connection and creating a shared vision for our future together. Knowing that there are many ways to build a loving family, we are pursuing adoption to fill an existing need and contribute to the health and wellness of our community.

We live near Lake Nokomis in a safe and quiet South Minneapolis neighborhood. Eriika is an expert decorator and is always making the home feel cozy and tidy. Topper is a whiz with the power tools. We have a large backyard where the dogs love to play and where we spend much of our time in the summers gardening.

ABOUT ERIIKA (by Topper)

Eriika has a unique ability to immediately make people feel comfortable and disarmed. She’s got a natural warmth that comes out when she’s being goofy (which is A LOT of the time) and it especially shines through when she’s spending time with all the little ones in our life.

She wholeheartedly throws herself into hosting dinners or houseguests, and is so considerate and thoughtful about taking other people’s feelings and needs into consideration. I’ve always felt valued, seen, and appreciate by her. From the moment I met her I never doubted that this is the person I want to spend my life with, and I can’t wait to grow our family together. I know she’ll be the most amazing Mom and I can’t wait to see it!

ABOUT TOPPER (by Eriika)

Topper is thoughtful, patient, and treats all people with care and respect. He makes a point to show love and support for the people who are important to him, whether that be me, his family, my family, or his group of loyal besties. Seeing his patience and love for my niece and nephew’s growing little minds showed me how well he balances emotions with logic.

He’s not afraid to be silly and fun, but he’s always safe and attentive. He loves baseball games, Dungeons and Dragons, live concerts, dad jokes (already), and trying new restaurants. But he’ll also indulge me in ‘House Days’ where we split up the house chores and spend the day at home together.

My life is infinitely better with Topper in it, and I look forward to sharing that love and care with a future child.

ABOUT OUR DOGS

We have two adorable dogs!

Atticus is a ten-year-old rescue dog. He’s a Corgi/Terrier mix who is VERY food-motivated, loves getting his belly rubbed, and gets excited every morning when he gets to spend the day at Topper’s office. He takes life pretty slowly and appreciates a good snooze in a sun spot.

Drusilla, aka “Dru”, is a five-year-old boxer mix who loves adventure. She loves chasing ball, licking faces, and helping Eriika in the yard because it usually means she gets to chase water from the garden hose.

Despite their different personalities they fit together perfectly and love to snuggle. Dru loves it when her favorite little ones come over to visit and wrap her up in blankets to play their favorite game: Burrito-Dog. Atticus likes to supervise from a safe distance.

OUR INTERESTS

After two years in the Peace Corps in Cameroon and then ten years in Chicago, Eriika returned to her hometown of Minneapolis in 2022. She enjoys cooking, baking, gardening, weight-lifting, and works in public health for Hennepin County.

Topper is a sports junkie who also loves reading horror novels and playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends. He’s obsessed with the Minnesota Twins and is trying to visit every MLB park in the country. He went to film school in New York and now works in advertising.

We spend time together cooking, going to new restaurants, seeing movies and live theater, and doing house projects. We love traveling and learning about the local foods and cultures. In the summer we like to start our day with a morning walk around Lake Hiawatha with Dru and Atticus.

OUR LOVED ONES

Eriika has a big family with her parents and brother in the Twin Cities area and aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews all over the country who she sees often. Her lifelong closest friend is her cousin, Emily, who recently relocated to Minnesota from Denver with her husband and two kids. We see them at least weekly and, whenever we do, Emily’s daughter Ivy asks us when we’ll bring her a cousin to play with.

Topper’s Dad & Stepmom live nearby and love to get together for meals downtown and shows with us at the Guthrie Theater. His younger brother lives in Los Angeles and visits a few times a year.

Everyone we love, near and far, is so excited to see our family grow.

OUR GRATITUDE

Making a plan for yourself and your child is complicated and very personal, and we’re supportive of whatever decision is right for you and your child.

We’re so thankful that you’ve taken the time to get to know a bit about us. If you decide to make an adoption plan for your child, we’d love to get to know you.

[email protected]

 

Enjoying the sunrise at beautiful Lake Louise in Canada

Taking a rest with the dogs on our summer morning walk around Lake Hiawatha

Celebrating Eriika’s cousin’s wedding in San Diego

Hosting a Halloween party for family and friends in our backyard

Taking a walk on the beach at sunset in California