This is why he's grown so big

The heatwave seems to have no effect on Taiyo's appetite. Yesterday as we walked into SOY he asked for gyoza. After chugging on two plates of gyoza, he asked for a bowl of rice, which he enjoyed with his favorite takuan pickles. His favorite watermelon is also in high season. He ate a big bowlful after dinner.

Taiyo is such a city kid- lately he's often up until midnight. He still asks for Dora or Elmo, but I tell him it's mommy's time to watch television. Then he asks for Conan. We watch Conan if it's on, and he points at TV saying, "Conan," or "Andy." Other moms envy me when I tell them Taiyo usually sleeps until 9am. Today we didn't get up until 11am! He was in great mood, and had great appetite. Milk, a bowl of yogurt, handful of cereal- he prefers my cereal Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries over Cheerios - then of course asked for my bagel in between. For lunch we stopped at Roots & Vines on Grand Street near Clinton. This is one of the places we pass by all the time on the way to the supermarket or library, but hardly make a stop. It's known to be a local mom's hangout during the week, but on Saturday, there was no sight of a stroller beside ours. Entry is easy, with a wide doorway, and inside is fairy roomy for strollers also. Air conditioning wasn't working well today, and it was warm inside- perhaps that's why it wasn't as busy as they usually are. While I went to order our food at the counter, Taiyo quickly situated himself in the middle of the bench at the long table. Our sandwich, Mexcan style "Torta" with carne asada came pretty quickly, and it was nicely presented on a wooden square plate with a little thing of pink coleslaw. Taiyo didn't like coleslaw- he may immediately reject certain flavor, which I still can't predict. The sandwich wasn't great- the meat was super dry and the roll was stale, but he ate some of the bread and a slice of tomato. They had a bucket full of children's books by the window, which helped to keep him at the table. Later our long-time customer Seth walked in and congratulated us on Japan's women's world cup victory. Taiyo ran around a little making some old people smile, before getting his first lesson on the game of chess by Seth.

Today's sandwich was not a hit, but I've had pretty good food there in the past. They also serves brunch on weekends. This is a child-friendly neighborhood cafe and it's recommended.