Lexi & Taylor
Our Interests
Lexi
As a rather curious person, I like to try lots of things and explore different interests and hobbies. I have a special love for music, both listening to it and going to concerts as well as making music myself. I play the piano, ukulele, and the flute, and spend a lot of time writing music and poetry. Whether with Taylor or family and friends, I enjoy creating art, connecting to nature, and engaging in meditation. I grew up playing sports and still enjoy it, I have even been on a volleyball recreation league team this year and have been loving it! I have a deep curiosity for learning more about other people, interesting topics, and cultures outside my own, and as such, I spend a lot of time reading, visiting new places, and engaging with new people. Much of my life has been spent in service both through community and church, and it brings peace to my soul. A fun thing that Taylor and I have recently been enjoying is playing video games together. We aren’t very good at it, but we have a ton of fun!
Taylor
I love reading and writing fantasy and science fiction, which stems from early days listening to Harry Potter with my mom and siblings. I’ve self-published a short story, drafted a novel, and have another work in progress. I enjoy exploring the outdoors, including hiking, hunting, camping, mountain biking, and off-roading. Most weeks, I rock climb indoors and play softball. When I have the time—and often by necessity—I like to tinker with fixing our vehicles, building things for the house, and developing general handyman skills.
Our Occupations
Lexi
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and I work in private practice as a mental health therapist, with a specialty in trauma treatment. I have worked in the social services/mental health since 2017. I received both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in social work. I love my job. I often say that I am lucky that I truly do love my job. I recently have been working as an adjunct professor for Arizona State University in the Social Work program and feel an immense sense of joy from the work I get to do with my students.
Taylor
I am the Engineering Manager at West Pharmaceutical Services, a medical device manufacturing site. My background is in mechanical and automation engineering, and I’ve been in a management roll since February of 2022. I enjoy problem solving and brainstorming with my employees to find creative solutions.
How We Met
We met when we were 15 at a church summer camp (EFY) in Flagstaff, AZ. We had big ole crushes on each other for the week, and then nothing really came of it until five years later. We reconnected in 2015, Taylor at Arizona State University and Lexi at Northern Arizona University. We made excuses to talk (Lexi may have fibbed about needing to interview someone for an assignment, just to have an excuse to call Taylor up) and eventually met up in Payson for our first date a few weeks later. We started dating that weekend and visited each other on weekends, and dated long distance. In April 2016 we got engaged, and Lexi moved back to the Phoenix area to finish college online. We were married August 5, 2016, and the rest is history!
Our Life
Home and Communities
Our home is in a quiet and safe neighborhood with neighbors who are supportive and kind. We bought our home a few years ago, and enjoy home improvement projects to bring our personality into the space we live in. Our neighborhood has lots of parks, grass, and places to play. We live close by outdoor recreational areas that we visit often. Some of our favorite things to do are paddleboarding down the Salt River, hiking up north, playing at the lake, and mountain biking.
Extended Family
Lexi
In my family, there are 3 girls and 1 boy, and I am the 3rd child of four. All my life, my siblings have been some of my closest friends. Each of my siblings are married to incredible people and we currently have 6 grandkids on my side, the most recent baby boy just joined us in December! We love to gather for good food and time together often, where we are entertained by our niece and nephews showing us tricks, dad jokes galore, and a ton of laughter. My siblings and parents all live in Arizona and I feel lucky that our child will get to have built in friends with their cousins and loving, caring aunts and uncles and grandparents. Even with the great grandparents and great aunts and uncles, there are dozens and dozens of people who are already in love with our future baby. My family have shown time and time again how much they love and care for me and Taylor both in the small stuff, like phone calls and texts to say "I love you", and the big stuff like when we need extra help or love, bringing by dinner, treats, or just spending time together. My heart feels so full knowing I get to bring a child into the most wonderful family there ever was (maybe I'm biased, but they seem pretty darn great to me!).
Taylor
I have two sisters, one older, Kayla, and one twin, Tori, both married to great men. Both my parents and siblings live locally, as do several grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, who are active in our lives. My Mom and Dad have always been very supportive of me, and I know that will extend to their role as grandparents to our kids. As an extended family, we have frequent dinners on holidays and other occasions. On my dad's side, we often escape the heat by visiting the family cabin in the Tonto National Forest. Growing up, we would frequent the beach with my mom's side, and we still try to get in at least one beach trip a year. Kayla and her husband Rhett, have blessed us with one nephew and two nieces, who are universally adored. Judging by the general doting over the existing grandkids, it's safe to say our child will be well-loved by my family!
Our Values
As a couple, we value family, empathy, compassion, integrity, fun, kindness, community, curiosity and exploration, openness, loyalty, adventure, and peace, among other core values. We live our lives in pursuit of all these good things and find a lot of joy in the journey.
Our Experience with Kids
With both friends and family, we have a lot of children who we love, including nieces, nephews, cousins, and children of friends. Some of our favorite memories include time spent with these kids playing games, making art, and exploring the outdoors. We like to do Aunt and Uncle nights where we play lots of games and make food and treats together with our nieces and nephews. We like to spend time with our parents and siblings often, as well as extended family. As a part of my (Lexi) work as a therapist, I have spent the last 10 years of my education, training, and professional experience studying healthy attachment and empowering relational skills. We are continually learning and growing and like to engage in ongoing learning through reading parenting, relationship, and self-improvement books frequently. Above all, we want to provide a warm, safe place where our child can grow up to flourish and live authentically.
Why Adoption & Parenting Ideology
Why We're Adopting
We are the Baileys, Lexi and Taylor, and we are hoping to bring a child into our family through adoption. Almost eight years we’ve been married, and every year gets better. We always knew we wanted adoption to be a part of our family story, and after a few years of infertility, it solidified our path. Both coming from families of much love, we have longed for the day to grow our own family and have children to care for and love, especially because of how much we love each other. Adoption is one of the ultimate acts of love for birth parents and adoptive parents, and we hope we can be a part of your adoption journey.
Parenting Ideology
Secure attachment and safety are some of the most important parts of a raising a healthy, happy child and we have the goal to parent as a team with this in mind. We understand the importance of being on the same page and using gentle and intuitive approaches to discipline and development. With the work we have both done on ourselves and within our relationship, we will extend our healthy communication skills into our parenting, because we want our child to feel heard and to have open discussions and conversations with us. We plan to use gentle and loving parenting and want to create an atmosphere with structure, boundaries, and compassion. We feel it is very important to be present for our child, together and in one-on-one relationships. You can never know all the ways to be a parent, but we are so dedicated to being the best we can. We feel hopeful and confident that we can be great parents to our child.