Pilar & Carl

We met the old-fashioned way, on a dance floor! That was over 17 years ago, and we still love to dance. Two years ago, we adopted our daughter Paloma, and our family is bursting with love and joy. She is a bright light and beautiful little person who is growing and blooming in our warm and loving home. We love listening to music, dancing, going for walks in the neighborhood, watching the birds and deer, making tasty meals, playing with the dogs, laughing and exploring the world together. We enjoy hosting and visiting with our friends and their small children. 

You can often find us getting together with friends at the park or farmer’s market, going for dog walks on the local trails, eating a variety of foods from many cultures, and visiting our local beaches. We love to travel and enjoy visiting new cities and countries (Mexico, France, Spain and more) and hope to do more of that as our children get older. We all love the water (Carl is an avid surfer) Pilar loves a sunny beach and Paloma is a regular river otter, jumping in with Papa whenever she gets the chance. Wherever we are, we love to laugh together and enjoy the precious moments of our life. We look forward to sharing adventures great and small with our children.

Meet Paloma

Paloma can’t wait to be a big sister! One of her favorite activities is to swaddle and sooth her dolls. She shows this same tender caring to real human babies.

Our Values and Parenting

We are spiritual people, but don’t have a specific religious affiliation, although we embrace many positive lessons and ideas from a range of religious teachings and spiritual leaders. Pilar grew up Catholic, and Carl grew up in a Quaker Friends household. We sometimes attend a local Quaker meeting, and look forward to spending more time with spiritual groups as our family grows. We believe strongly in treating all people with love and respect and are humanitarians at heart. We believe in equality and justice for all people. We also take great responsibility in the caring of our planet for future generations.

Education, physical activity, and art are very important to us. We both attended college and have had opportunities to study art (painting, ceramics, photography, drawing) as well as learn and develop physical skills like ballet, flamenco, skiing, skateboarding, and surfing. Our children will have opportunities and support to go to college and pursue their interests as well. We believe that the way we live and communicate with each other will teach our children to be compassionate and loving people. We value the lessons learned from making mistakes. We hope to teach our children to be both independent and community-minded. We look forward to sharing our appreciation for having fun and enjoying life with our growing family, while we do our best to be good humans every day.

Carl is so multi-talented he reminds me of a swiss army knife. But he also likes to goof off and have fun, so maybe he would be a circus clown’s swiss army knife. He is a wonderful father, both caring, considerate and lots of fun, and always manages to get an excited squeal out of Paloma during play time. He has many talents such as building things, like helping create a beautiful home for our growing family. He is super creative and goal-oriented, and he has worked hard cultivating a thriving business and work life. 

Carl started a media business doing solo video shoots for local organizations. Since then he has grown a full fledged creative agency that serves large companies around the globe. His work in film, photography and video has bloomed in size, quality and artistry. He has put in countless hours of hard work and energy, turning his dream job into a reality.

Carl has a genuine, soft heart and it shows in his parenting. He meditates regularly and feeds his soul by being outside, hiking in the mountains, or listening to the birds in the yard. He connects our daughter Paloma to those things, and loves to help her view the beauty and mystery of the world. He is widely known as “Uncle Carl,” and deeply cares for and is committed to all the children in our lives.

Pilar is the most fun and creative person I have ever known, and she has taught me so much about love and compassion. She cares for the smallest and most helpless creatures and is also a fierce protector of those she loves. Watching her step into her role as mother has been like discovering Pilar in a new and complex dimension. She is constantly thinking of Paloma and how she can contribute to her growth, development and joy. That creativity and joy for living show up in everything she does, big and small. She is somehow able to maintain both a childlike fascination with life, as well as a very adult sense of responsibility in both her personal life and business.

When I met Pilar she was an educator for a local non-profit in San Francisco. By the time we got married, she was the director of her department. Always looking for new ways to express her artistry, she decided to switch professions and moved into floral design. For the last 9 years she has been running her own business as a designer with a specific focus on sustainability and environmentally conscious offerings.

Pilar is an engaged and loving parent. She connects with Paloma at her level while still being an educator and guide as they discover new things. Children are drawn to her calm and quiet presence. I am so grateful to partner with her on this parenting journey as we continue to build our family together.

We live in Fairfax, California, a small town in Marin, with a movie theater, restaurants and shops, parks and hiking and biking trails. We have a large yard with flower gardens, vegetable beds and fruit trees and bushes. We love spending time outside with family and friends.

The Bay Area is a very diverse, active and artistic community. We are close to Berkeley (where Pilar went to college) and just a short drive over the Bay Bridge from San Francisco. It’s a 10 minute walk to town, to children’s parks, cafe’s, shops and local restaurants. Our town is very family friendly and boasts a Halloween parade, lots of families on bikes and weekly farmer’s markets.