I decided I wanted to become a dad.
As a gay man, I had always dreamed of having my own biological child. In 2014, I began researching surrogacy seriously — and quickly discovered just how complex the landscape was.
There was one significant obstacle I hadn't anticipated. At the time, I was a permanent US resident — a green card holder — not yet a US citizen. If my child was born outside the United States, they would not automatically be a US citizen. Bringing the child back to the US would have required a process that could take close to two years.
The law has since changed — a US permanent resident who has a child abroad can now bring the child to the US right away. But in 2014, that option did not exist for me.
So I waited. Researched. Prepared. And the moment I became a US citizen, the journey truly began.
🌍 The research beginsI signed with a Colombian agency. The process began.
After years of research across the US and internationally, I chose Colombia. I had traveled to Latin America over 20 times, spoke Spanish, and felt comfortable navigating the region independently. Colombia's legal framework protected my rights as the biological father. The agency managed everything.
In July 2019, I signed the agency contract remotely from Chicago. The journey was officially underway.
🇨🇴 Colombia chosenI flew to Bogotá. Everything became real.
On August 29, 2019, I flew to Bogotá. The next day was one of the most packed days of my life.
On September 2nd, I returned to the clinic to provide a second sample. I also reached out to the one person I knew in Bogotá — someone I had met on my first visit to Colombia back in 2013. He showed me around the city.
🧬 Process underwayFour healthy embryos. Two failed transfers.
In November 2019, the embryos were ready. PGT testing was completed — 4 healthy embryos. It felt like momentum.
Nobody tells you how emotionally draining failed transfers are. You prepare, you hope, you wait — and then you start again.
⚠️ Two failed transfersCovid hit. Colombia closed. Everything stopped.
In March 2020, the world changed. Colombia banned entry of all foreigners. What started as a 15-day shutdown became 30 days, then indefinite. The ban lasted until September 30, 2020.
During this period I began seriously exploring surrogacy options in the US. The frustration of those months is something I don't wish on anyone. But in January 2021, the agency emailed: the process was restarting.
😔 Months of uncertaintyThird surrogate. Fourth transfer. Finally — yes.
Nobody tells you it might take 4 transfers. Or more. The range is wide and the emotional journey is real. But the answer, when it comes, makes every failed attempt part of the path.
✅ Pregnancy confirmed — May 2021Logan came home. Toby moved over.
On May 25, 2021 — the same month pregnancy was confirmed — I drove to pick up a foster dog named Logan. He had been abused. He was on 9 behavioral pills a day. He startled easily. He was scared of the world.
My dog Toby always rides on my lap when I drive. When I picked Logan up, he went straight to my lap. That was Toby's place. Toby quietly moved to the passenger seat — without being asked — and let Logan ride home on his lap.
I signed Logan's adoption papers on August 8, 2021. Slowly, patiently, with love — the behavioral pills went away one by one. Logan healed. He became my son. My Mogi. My Rocketship. My Patrick Star. 🐾
🐾 Logan adopted — August 8, 2021Three ultrasound trips. And a love story begins.
In September 2021, I flew back to Bogotá and attended the first ultrasound. I saw Arianna in the uterus, live, for the first time.
In November 2021, I returned for another ultrasound. The person I had met on my first trip to Colombia in 2013 — my only connection in the city — accompanied me to the appointment. That evening, he told me he had feelings for me.
In December 2021, I returned for the final ultrasound before the birth. He came with me again.
Arianna was born. I became a dad.
On January 12, 2022, I flew to Bogotá with three suitcases. The nursery in my AirBnB was ready. On January 13, the agency called — the surrogate had tested positive for Covid. I panicked. They reassured me: in-utero transmission is very rare.
The US Embassy. The passport. The paperwork.
On February 17, 2022, I had my appointment at the US Embassy in Bogotá. I filed the DS-11 for Arianna's emergency US passport. The surrogate had signed the DS-3053 consent form — the agency helped obtain and notarize it. Without that form, the Embassy would not issue the passport.
Three to four days later, I picked up Arianna's emergency US passport. The CRBA — Consular Report of Birth Abroad, establishing her US citizenship — was mailed to my home in Chicago.
As it turned out, I never used the emergency passport. We stayed in Colombia while waiting for my then-boyfriend's fiancé visa. In June 2023, I applied for Arianna's regular passport.
🛂 Exit process completeToby and Logan flew to Bogotá.
The plan had been to stay in Bogotá for a couple of months. Those months became two years. On April 17, 2022, I flew back to Chicago, collected Toby and Logan from my parents, and brought them to Bogotá — Chicago to Mexico City to Bogotá, in the cargo hold.
Now it was all of us. Me, my boyfriend, Arianna, Toby, and Logan. In Colombia. The country that had given me everything.
🐾 Whole family in ColombiaGrandma and Grandpa flew to Bogotá.
On April 27, 2022, my parents flew from Chicago to Bogotá to meet Arianna for the first time. My mom — who I had called from the hospital on January 21 to show her her first grandchild through the phone screen — was finally holding her in person.
The whole family — together in Bogotá.
By August 2022, Arianna was 6 months old and thriving. Toby and Logan had settled into Bogotá life. The city lights of Colombia glowed behind us every evening.
Those were the best two years. Logan — once abused and broken — was thriving in the Bogotá warmth. All his behavioral pills were gone. He was whole.
💛 Best two yearsArianna's first birthday. One year of dad life.
Arianna turned one on January 18, 2023. We celebrated on Saturday the 21st. One year since she rode home from the hospital. One year of every-3-hours feedings. One year of being a dad.
We came home to Chicago.
On December 5, 2023, I transported Toby and Logan back to Chicago. Then I returned to Bogotá one last time.
On December 16, 2023 — Bogotá to Houston to Chicago. My husband, Arianna, and me. Arianna's very first flight. She behaved like a pro. No crying. Smooth all the way.
We got married. My parents live with us. My mom — Arianna's grandmother — is woven into our daily lives. A single gay man who started this journey alone in 2014 had a husband, a daughter, two dogs, and a home full of love in Chicago.
💍 Married. Home. Complete.Logan crossed the rainbow bridge.
In February 2025, Logan was diagnosed with colon cancer. Surgery on February 28. Chemotherapy beginning March 21. He fought with everything he had. He was 6 and a half years old.
On August 15, 2025, Logan left us. In his final days, he stopped eating. He stopped giving kisses. He just looked at me — those eyes that had once been full of fear, now full of peace. I knew he was telling me it was time.
I still have his collar. I take it on walks with Toby. I have his ashes. I have the blanket he had on when he passed — and I have told my husband that when my time comes, I want to be draped in that blanket. One day, Arianna will spread our ashes together in Lake Michigan. 🌊
Toby stopped eating for almost a month after Logan left. The vet said he was mourning his brother. He was. 🐾
LittleAngel.ai — Logan's gift to the world.
I built LittleAngel.ai because I was the person who needed it in 2014. Lost, confused, with no trusted guide, no real cost data, no one who had walked this path before me.
LittleAngel.ai launches officially on August 15, 2026 — the first anniversary of Logan crossing the rainbow bridge.
This platform is for every person sitting where I sat in 2014. Lost, hopeful, and desperately needing someone who had been there before them. I've been there. Every step of it. I'm here now. Let me help you find your way. 💛
👼 Launching August 15, 2026