If they had only told me he liked Hot Pot

He's eating folks! Not a lot, but he is eating.  He drank about a half an ounce of water too! I am anxious to see if he will eat breakfast tomorrow.

Today, we had to finish the paperwork.  Billy already posted pictures of this.  Declan let Billy hold him for several minutes while I signed paperwork and then while he had his hand stamped.  The gal from the orphanage kindly hid across the hall so he wouldn't see her, but I am sure he heard her voice a time or two.  His nanny was in the parking lot, wanting one last glimpse of him.  I felt so sad for her.

Declan was completely worn out by that time.  We returned to the hotel and he finally took a nap.  Billy and Delanita went out and purchased some green tea Oreos that no one liked.  No one but Declan.  He refused the Chips Ahoy cookie after one bite, but allowed Billy to feed him that awful Oreo.  Go figure.

I talked our guide into taking us to a Hot Pot restaurant.  Each person has a small pot of boiling broth at their seat.  There are plates of meat, vegetables, noodles and even egg on the table.  You choose what goes in your pot, let it cook, then season it with whatever mix of seasonings you want.  It sounded so fun.   Within 10 minutes, Billy was irritated because he couldn't even get the food in the pot, much less his mouth, with the chopsticks.  I had burned 2 fingers and Jarrett had made his bunson burner flame up.  We were all questioning our ability to make it through the meal and avoid serious personal injury. 

Our guide finally brought us forks, which made it better, but still tricky to eat safely.  Declan was still refusing most foods.  He drank his yogurt drink and ate a few little puffs that are a snack staple for kids here.  He finished that off by mashing several puffs and brushing them off the tray.  Okay, so no more puffs.  Incidentally, you know you are adopting internationally when your child does something like that and you are just happy they are playing.

Towards the end of our meal, something changed in him.  He started looking more interested in the fact that I was eating.  I offered him a bite of noodle and HE ATE IT!  Yes!  He ate a small plate of noodles and several pieces of melon.  It is obvious Declan has not drank from a cup often, but he did choke down a few sips of water also.

He hasn't cried at all today, either.  He has screwed his face up a couple of times and started to fuss, but we have been able to avoid any melt-downs.  He is still very somber.  I don't think we are seeing any of his personality - yet.  Still, if tomorrow is as much better as today was, we will be learning who he is very soon.

Tomorrow we go see the Terra Cotta Warriors!