SweetPea and BT reunite!

THEN

NOW

SweetPea had a very good little friend, BT, in Ethiopia. She was in the same orphanage and they were brought to the HOH at the same time. They slept in the same bed in both locations and lived together almost as sisters for at least six months, but we think closer to 10 months.
While we were in Ethiopia D and I spent quite a bit of time with BT and absolutely adored her. We wondered about BT and her family once we left Ethiopia and we were lucky enough to find them through the our agencies yahoo group.
We were blessed this past Saturday with a visit from BT, her older sister, SD, and their wonderful parents, Mom and Dad J. We had a fabulous time.
The J Family met us at the Atlanta Zoo. It was so cute to see BT cuddle up next to her mom as soon as she got out of the car. D and I assumed the BT wouldn't recognize us because it had been several months, and she had seen a lot of new parents come through the HOH before her parents arrived. But, she did seem to recognize me a little (D's hair is now buzzed, so I think it took her a little longer to recognize him).
BT's older sister SD hopped out of the car and she and The Bean became fast friends. I just love how kids can decide within a minute or two that they can be friends with someone and then hang with them like they've known one another for years.
SweetPea and BT seemed a little unsure of one another. They obviously recognized one another, but didn't seem to know how to react to the situation. We had tried to prep SweetPea (as I am sure BT's parents did) but she really didn't seem to understand that we were really going to see BT.
We walked around the Zoo for a bit and it was blazing hot (I really do not love GA in the summer). The animals were all super lazy, except for the elephants and the kids were way more interested in each other than the actual animals. Mostly, the kids really wanted to ride the train, so, we eventually made our way over to the kids sectiion where the girls tooks several rides on the carousel and train.
After the Zoo we headed over to Meskerem Restaurant. The food was fantastic and the company was even better. We ate and talked for what seemed like ages. The girls were all really well behaved and playing together, and oddly enough there was only one spilled drink. The funny thing about it was that everyone seemed to enjoy the food except SweetPea. She even said "I don't want this. I want hamburger." She's such a little stinker.
After lunch we envited Family J over to swim and hang out. The girls all passed out in the car (including Pooh) on the 45 min ride back home and were well rested when we arrived home. It was fun hanging out, and the girls were all excited when it was time to go to the pool. Mom J and I drove the girls to the pool on the golfcart, and Dad J & D walked. While they swimmed, Mom J and I drove around town on the golf cart. It was a lot of fun for me to get to know Mom J and to learn more about their beautiful family. I also loved hearing about BT and how she is adjusting. It is nice to to know someone who is currently experiencing many of the things that you are. It's always easy to talk about all the wonderful things SweetPea does, sometimes it can be difficult to discuss some of the not so amazing things about adoption, with someone who has not been there and done that, so it was a relief to have live conversations with someone who has.
After carting around and swimming we went out to a local Chinese resteraunt and again had a great time. The girls were all well behaved again, and Sweetpea even choked down a few bites of chinese food, her least favorite type of food (but pretty much everything is "yuck" if it's not a hamburger).
Once dinner was over and the bill was paid it was time to head home. We are really hoping to meet up with Family J again soon.