Exactly a year ago, we were confined inside our little apartment for a whole week because of Taiyo's chicken pox. Monday night he broke fever in the middle of the night, then I noticed blisteres on his hands and legs yesterday morning. In the doctor's office in the afternoon, the doctor announced it immediately when she saw blisters on his arm, "Coxsackie Virus." What??? It's not a new thing, but I've never heard of it. And what a name for a kids' disease. She said it's a common thing for a kid to get, and it got the name because this virus was discovered in Coxsackie, New York, 60 years ago. And no one objected to the name all this time? This was just so blogworthy. He was quite irritable and needy, clinging to me all day, and I had to close for the day mid-afternoon. Later at night remembering a year ago when we often took a late night walk with him on my back, we took a little walk around the quiet streets around East Broadway. For a few months he would not go in the backpack anymore, but yesterday he was happy to get on my back again. Rain shower cooled off the streets and the air was so refreshing. I'm sure next season I would miss these moments.

Sunday morning, the heat finally subsided and we went out for our usual aimless bike ride. I was thinking of heading to Governor's Island, but when we passed by New Amsterdam Market at the old Fulton Fish Market by the Seaport, Taiyo urged me to stop.
It's a nice little Sunday market where you can find local produce and artisanal food products. We went around and sampled cheese and bread, but this week the market seemed a bit smaller than usual, maybe because of the heat, or we are in the middle of the summer at high vacation time. We couldn't find his favorite focaccia, so we settled for a crabcake slider by National Crab.

The cute little slider was whopping $10, but it was solid crab meat with no filler. Quite tasty. But Taiyo only had a slice of tomato and bread. Then he kept asking for more bread. So we went around looking for more bread. This market is another wonderful outdoor eating option for the summer, but there's no place to sit! Last year they had benches but this year they decided to have only high tables, which Taiyo enjoyed to climb. But it was impossible to eat at this table with him. We sat on the divider around the lot, which I would not recommend to any other little people. Other option would be to just walk out and sit by the water, although right now there's construction along the path and not very appealing surrounding anyway.

There's a few more options for street food across the street at Fulton Stall Market. But there's no bathrooms at these markets. I guess you can go to the pier at the Seaport. Later Taiyo led me to Gap where I ended up making unplanned purchase of his shirts and pants. Then we went just another block down to the beautiful Imagination Playground.

This fabulous little playground has great blocks, cool fountains, large sandbox, fun slope to run around and a tower to overlook everything. And even a spacious bathroom with a changing table. We always love hanging out there.

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.

It's been so hot, too hot, way too hot, and it's as if people lost appetite today- very quiet day at SOY so far, not like last Friday, not like last night! This afternoon I still had to do my "getting-my-baby-to-nap" walking tour of the neighborhood. I'm worried about this weekend-what are we going to do in this heat? Stay home and watch Elmo all day?

On Wednesday we stopped in for lunch at Cornerstone Cafe on Avenue B at 3rd Street on the way back from the post office. The wide doorway was open, providing us an easy entry. Inside is spacious and clean, and Taiyo immediately seated himself at one of the tables. The waitress offered us a high chair, but lately he really doesn't want to sit in it. It's a neighborhood cafe with sandwiches and salads and other usual suspects, which we can always count on when we don't feel too adventurous.

When the enormous meatball sandwich arrived, Taiyo went for the side of greens to my surprise. I've never seen him go for fresh greens like that, although he often picks cooked green vegetables off the plate. He was often getting frustrated that he couldn't pick the salad with the fork well, but he diligently continued working on his utencil skills. Eventually he picked some undercooked french fries and enjoyed dipping them in mound of ketchup, then also did like the meatballs from the sandwich. He kept asking for more but by then I finished most of the sandwiches. Overall, food was generously portioned and flavorful. Service was quick and pleasant. What else could we ask for? Recommended.

Later some aimless bike riding around town, I was going to try the Thai place on Clinton Street. But when we got off the bike Taiyo led me to El Maguey Y La Tuna, a Mexican joint on Houston between Attorney and Ridge. We've been there a bunch of times, since food is very good and they love Taiyo! Although we've never been there with a stroller, the entry should be smooth with wide doorway and lamp from the street. It's a no-frills homey Mexican joint, and they make great mole sauces that taste so authentic although I've never been to Mexico. As soon as the waiter brought us tortilla chips and mild salsa, Taiyo got busy. He ate the whole basket full of chips, offering me some in between, while dipping them in salsa. When my margarita arrived, he snatched a lime wedge and sucked on it. Taiyo can eat lemons and limes like any other citrus fruit- I think many babies do that.

His favorite black bean soup arrived piping hot, although I asked them not to make it too hot. Taiyo of course has hard time waiting to have it cooled, but eventually he enjoyed smearing it around his face. He did not forget to have some rice and beans, and liked chicken filling from my enchiladas.
Then he went around the little restaurant, charming other ladies, before stretching out on the floor to relax a bit. I think he feels the homeyness of this joing like SOY, and that's why we keep going back there. Recommended.

I just did a fairy entry long entry and lost it because of a 'connection problem.' Damn technology. Can't redo it tonight. Have a wonderful steaming hot summer night.

He was a thumb-sucking toddler when he walked (or carried) in to SOY nine years ago. Yesterday this little boy was already like 5-foot tall and I had to tell him to stop taking growth hormons. It's just too much! After all these years, he still worships my ginger lemonade, soy croquettes and salmon nameshi, and still eats his croquettes mushed up and smeared with generous application of Bulldog sauce.

Oh, yes, Taiyo already knows the taste of it. This sauce we love with many fried food, can be described as thick Japanese Worcestershire sauce. In eastern Japan 'Bulldog' is the brand, vs. Otafuku, in western Japan. When Taiyo doesn't have appetite, or isn't crazy about the food, this Bulldog sauce would completely change the scenario. Must have in a house, especially the one with a boy like Taiyo.

Today, though, he didn't need any bulldog sauce. As we approached Boubouki in Essex market, Taiyo clapped his hands, "Yeaaaay!" He just loves her spinach pie to death. Today he chugged down the whole piece and didn't even want me to cut it up; he simply didn't want to share! She also has wonderful sweet delights like almond cookie or pear cake. Taiyo elegantly enjoyed the cake, which didn't like to hang around on a plate too long, either.

I got ambitious this perfect sunny sunday morning, and decided to head to Brooklyn Children's Museum in Crown Heights. Over the bridge Taiyo was so excited to see the train tracks and passing subway cars. He shouted out possibly some obscenity (or words of wisdom) in baby language through South Williamsburg, then fell asleep. While enjoying a leisurely bike ride through the streets of Brooklyn, I was worried; he's going to be so cranky the rest of the day if he doesn't take a long enough lap. But his head was bobbing against my back, and he can't be so comfortable anyway. I passed the museum and went down to Eastern Parkway. I stopped at the bench under the trees, thinking he can just sleep a while in the seat. It was also a perfect time to trim his nails. Yes, I usually carry a baby nail clipper in my purse. Unfortunately he woke up soon and we headed back to the museum.

Before entering the museum, he munched on an onigiri rice ball I made before we left. It's a perfect little lunch or a snack to take along anywhere- and for me it's easier than a sandwich, and perhaps healthier, too. You can find seasoning packs at Japanese grocery store - mix them with rice and make tasty rice balls. Wrapped in nori seaweed, they are perfect food to eat by hand.

The museum was fairy empty when we went in- this beautifully designed amazing kid's museum is often overcrowded in winter months. Taiyo had the sandbox play area in tot's room all to himself for a while. Then we caught a rock concert by StarFish, and he jumped around to some rock music. Then there's so much more to explore at this place- Taiyo went crazy driving a bus, riding on a scooter, going shopping at the grocery store, and making imaginary pizza. Finally when I lured him out with a thought of getting some food hours later, it was steaming hot outside. Within a few minutes he fell asleep again to my surprise- he hasn't taken a second nap in 6 months. After 45 minutes of slow bike ride, he woke up on Delancey Street on our corner.

After a long road trip, we decided to go very local, and just went down the street to Antibes. Only a few doors down from SOY on Suffolk Street I often get my cappcino there, so Taiyo says it's a coffee place although we've dined there as well many times. It was actually the first restaurant he went at two-week old. Entry could be a little tricky with a stroller, since there's two steps down from the street inside the door. But there's also a few tables outside with very easy access. They do not have high chairs, but some room for a stroller to park. The servers usually know Taiyo already and they are very friendly to him. They had the winning food for him on special: carrot soup. This totally kept him in his seat, which was my lap, and he also enjoyed some risotto. Asparagus salad went almost unnoticed, but he saw enoki mushrooms and decided to try some. He wanted more but I was already finishing the plate. He chased the waitress cryhing when she took his finished soup bowl, and they gave him the second serving, which he also ate pretty much all of it while doing his victory runs around the restaurant. Food was delicious and beautifully presented, and they are very nice people I think they generally torelate company of young people. Althogh there's no obvious perks for kids or babies, moderately recommended.

Just shy of two months, Taiyo is seriously in the terrible-two's territory. He was in quite funky mood all morning, getting into fits everytime I turned off "Dora," refusing to change, fussing over milk, exploding when he couldn't put his croc on by himself. I managed to get him to the laundromat, and while doing the wash, went around the corner to Pause Cafeon Clinton near Houston. I said to Taiyo, "Let's go get 'oishi juusu(delicious juice),' then he chanted, "oishi juusu, oishi juusu." We always get a warm welcome there and the friendly owner gives him a baby size cookie. So it's pretty kid friendly, but stroller access is poor. There's a rather high step up from the street, and there's no room inside anyway. They also make nice sandwiches there, but today Taiyo's mind was set for juusu. We got apple, beet, carrot juice and he drank most of the 16oz on the outside bench. Then later we hit Hester Street Fair.
There's some food options available like pulled pork sandwich or lobster roll. We settled for a pork empanada by La Sonrisa. We had to wait for a few minutes since it was to hot, but this was another winning food. Not messy, and pretty tasty (although a bit too salty.) It's basically a large fried dumpling! But he refused to bite into it. He had to break off a little piece and eat it. He kept asking for more- so that was the verdict: a winner! There's usually not much room around the picnic tables at this popular Saturday market, but the co-op next door opens up their gate to a lawn area, and there's a plenty of outdoor eating area. There's bunch of interesting handcrafted stuff to browse around the market, from clothes, jewery to stuffed animals, and there's a nice spacious Seward Park for kids to run around afterwards. There's also an escalator up close to the ground at the nearby East Broadway F train stop.

Sometimes the simplest thing is the winner. Fresh asparagus yesterday morning was the thing for him. He didn't even bother to try my miso-mayo-tofu dip. He just kept munching on the steamed asparagus. Tougher bottom ends that I took off before cooking also provided him entertainment- he enjoyed snapping them for a while. After a long nap it was avocados. When he wandered into the kitchen I offered him a piece of avocado. He just couldn't have enough, living up to a moniker I gave him a long time ago: bottomless Taiyo. He kept asking for more, and ended up eating a whole big avocado. It's still hard to figure out what he may eat- some days he would spit out avocado I offer him. But today, it was the thing to die for.

This morning Taiyo let me take out a jogging stroller I haven't been able to use for a few weeks because he would protest it. He was a good coach trying get me back into shape- he called out, "Hashi, hashi (run, run)" everytime I slowed down and walked. We went to the Union Square market for some beautiful blueberries. On the way back we stopped at Chipotle at 14th Street and Irving Place.

This relatively new joint is spacious and clean, with lots of room for a SUV stroller we had to manuver around. This is definitely a better option among fast food, but to my suprise Taiyo showed no interest in colorful Burrito Bowl with chicken, corn salsa and extra topping of guacamole. He just kept drinking the apple cider from the market. I got him to taste a little, but only thing he liked and wanted was cilantro-lime rice. Meat was little spicy for him anyway. The little stool was low enough for him to climb on, and comfortable enough to sit on, and overall it was pretty good experience.

While he took a nap, I couldn't wait to cook up another prize from the market- beautiful golden chanterelle mushrooms. I sauteed with butter, little salt and soy sauce, and sprinkle of oregano. It was so delicious and I couldn't wait to have Taiyo try them, but when he woke up what he wanted was Chinese dumplings on Clinton Street: Prosperity Dumpling at Clinton between Rivington and Stanton. They make decent dumplings, and they are usually ready to be served. It's mainly a take-out joing, with limited seating area along the wall and the window, and there's no bathroom. Although I think the best dumplings in the neighborhood is found on East Broadway at a hand-pulled noodle place near the post office, Taiyo still loves this place's dumplings. It's pretty good deal: four dumplings for a buck.

Beautiful summer morning- the air was still cool and dry when we left the house. Since there was no uptown train at Delancey street, we hopped into a cab to the Central Park. Our first stop, an African drum and dance workshop at Tavern on the Green. It was just fantastic 'little' event, since main participants were little people. They practiced playing djembe drums and doing african dance moves in relaxed and intimate atmosphere. This was just a great place to hang out, because there were nice food trucks right behind. There, I found mommy's dream food.

Pera Turkish Tacos at Tavern on the Green
Among the few 'gourmet' food trucks there, this seemed the most interesting. Turkish tacos? They even offered alcoholic beverages! We had eggplant kofte & squash taco. Taiyo sat down at a table, and immediately began to devour the taco. It was the perfect size for him to hold, and when I realized that he wasn't let go of the taco, I went back to the truck and told the guy "I have to get another one, because he's eating the whole thing." This was magical food. It was delicious, healthy, not messy plus we were outside. Then we enjoyed more music wondering around the park. He really liked the lady with the violin.
On the east side we came upon this great band with fabulous name: The Dirty Urchins. Being an urchin himself, Taiyo very much enjoyed the music. Line was too long at the zoo and we gave up on the idea of seeing the penguins. We passed by the amusement park at Wollman Rink, but didn't investigate because they charged fee just to enter the park. Taiyo was too tired anyway. He was fast asleep by the time we left the park.

Evening outing on the bike: we headed to the west side and decided to stop in at Merchant River House. I was pretty sure this can be moderately kid-friendly because of the location. Surely, they offered a high chair immediately, although Taiyo refused to sit in it, and gave him a packet of crayons. We did like our table right across from the kitchen window. Most of the plates coming out looked nice and fresh. Our waitress wasn't very firendly, but this place seemed quite adequately staffed, things were pretty smooth. Our dinner: Merchant River House Pizza, and warm spinach and artichoke dip. The cheezy and rick dip was a big hit for Taiyo. He fussed having to have to wait a bit since dip was piping hot. He didn't care to touch pizza, which was a sad item. It was edible, but totally overbaked and crunchy. Taiyo was shouting jibblish in between, but staff were busy enough he went pretty much noticed. Then he began to run around a little, but his behavior was well tolerated and the manager trafficed the waiters off the little urchin runing by their feet. Overall it was fairy positive visit. I would just not order pizza next time. The rest of the evening, Taiyo seriously ran around like a bouncy ball here and there across Battery Park City for two hours. Finally I put him back into the bike and we biked through Battery Park to admire fireflies. Then he was fast asleep again.

Taiyo woke up with a serious funk. He cried because I wouldn't carry him while getting his milk together. I cried for milk and me at the same time. He had to have them both. I said I have to put him down to get his milk ready. He screamed and screamed. I ignored and put our breakfast together. Raising a child is a game of tolerance sometimes. I'm getting better playing it, but I still lose it here and there and scream back at him.

He wanted to go to the market, but we were going to see our dear friend Lynne, or Lakshmi, in her new free Little Movers Yoga movement class at Hamilton Fish Library. She just started offering this class at the library on Fridays at 10am. Little ones 12-36 months are welcomed. Taiyo loves running around the room, and going up and around the stage.

Taiyo slept three hours in the afternoon to get out his summer funk. For a few days the people from Love A Lot are bringing toys and it's been like Christmas for him. Today he woke up to a tub full of blocks. "Wow!!" He was just as excited to see his lunch bowl. It was vegetarian Friday for us, with fried tofu, avocado, and fresh mozzarella cubes, seasoned with balsamic vinegar. He loved the tofu, rice, and some avocado, but wasn't really fond of cheese to my surprise. He decided to get down on the floor and started running around, but every few minutes he came back to the table and asked for another bite. Also miso soup with daiko and napa never dissapoints him. It was definately like Christmas for him. After meal, he asked for his guitar and started singing stomping his little feet, providing live entertainment for customers.

Maybe he knew that we had to go back to work, or he was simply tired from five days of just having fun; Taiyo couldn't get his funk out in the morning. He fussed and screamed over every little thing, milk, cereal, bagel, elmo, george, and so on. When we finally got out the sun was glaring above. We were out for a shopping routine, and Taiyo knew exactly where to score some bananas at Essex market. Three banans today! On the way back he used one of his winnings to make a 'banana call.' How his imagination is growing!

Back to work, meaning no eating out today. Taiyo devoured chicken katsu with curry for lunch. Fried food always works with a little one, although he refused to try sea eel tempura with soba yesterday.

We normally get a little rush after a break, and today was no exception. Lunch wasn't too hectic but we were pretty swamped in the evening. Today was Tanabata, a Japanese star festival. It's based on a very Japanese tale, although the originates in China, that two lover stars were separated across milky way because they were too busy having fun with each other and neglected their work. But the Sky King allowed them to meet with each other once a year on July 7th if they worked hard the rest of the year. Now we celebrate this festival decorating bamboo trees with our wishes written on paper. After hard day's work, I didn't have to write down any wishes when I saw peaceful sleeping face of Taiyo. My wish has come true.

It was already the last day of our 5-day staycation. It feels like all we did was to get on the bike, eat, hang in some park, sleep, and do laundry. At least it was nice not to cook for a few days, especially with this weather. Another very warm day, and we were out in a beautiful neighborhood Seward Park in the morning. There was another kids' event there this morning presented by SummerStage- they had larger audience, but the hip-hop dance performance was pretty lame. We headed to the library and Taiyo went crazy over books. When we left the library, Taiyo pointed at his favorite cafe across the street. It's time for lunch.

Lunch: Cafe Petisco at East Broadway and Jefferson. Fairy kid friendly, although they have no high chairs and some of the staff are not really kid friendly. Maybe because of the location where we don't have many other similiar dining choice, there's always other parties with kids and or babies there, which makes it look kid friendly. That maybe another reason Taiyo feels comfortable- there's always other kids. Today we ran into Carissa, my long-time customer at SOY, and the service was much better than past visits, with a friendly waitress who talked to Taiyo a lot. She also brought us extra napkins- which surprisingly is not a common treatment we get in many restaurants. Other times he liked cous cous, but todeay we went for a plate of falafel, which Taiyo really liked to enjoy with ketchup. He didn't like hummus although they are also made with chickpeas. He's generally a very good eater, but it's still very hard to tell what he may like or not. He didn't touch my coconut chicken burger, which was really good. Another plus about this place is that we always meet kid-loving older people there. Taiyo charmed older man sitting next to us, and he also loved attention.

In the afternoon Taiyo practiced his hip-hop moves at the laundromat. His nap was later than usual I knew we were going to miss another perfect swimmming pool day.

Dinner: SobaKoh East 5th Street between 1st and 2nd Aves.
I was thinking of their cold noodle for a while, and it was the first visit with Taiyo. At 7pm the place was pretty busy already, and two empty tables were reserved. Taiyo couldn't understand why we were not allowed at the table and protested by kneeling down with face down on the floor. He was not comforted by any of the staff. We settled at the end of the counter, which was fine with me. The owner already finished making his soba for the night, it seemed, and I had no entertainment for him. But when tamagoyaki (egg omlette) arrived, he was happy again. He also enjoyed goma-ae with broccoli rabe. After that, we waited for our soba a little too long. He became restress and cranky, and started running around the floor, but didn't get any response from other patrons or staff. He eventually began screaming that he wants to go outside, but I didn't want to just walk outside during our meal. He kept fussing for quite a while but we were very much ignored. Finally I asked the young waitress if it was going to be a while before the soba in Japanese, without realizing she wasn't Japanese, and she said, 'sorry,' and didn't say anything to our waiter. So after another long five-minute of seriously fussing Taiyo, I walked up to the waiter, less than 10 feet away, and asked if it's going to be much longer I should take it to go. "It's coming right now," which it did, after two more long minutes. Taiyo did settled back into his seat and ate half of the noodle. But we were very much ready to go after the meal. The food is excellent, but recommended with a little one? Not really, although the floor is fairly spacious it feels quite accomodating with a stroller. It just didn't give us a good-feeling dining experience. There's no high chair available.

To make ourselves feel better, we stopped at an empty little playground at Houston and Christy. An older guy was working out, doing push-ups and jogging around the park. Then a lady with a kid with a red do-rag walked in. I smiled and said hello to her. The kid went to say hello to the guy who was working out, and the woman and the man exchanged some words in - sign language. Then another older man walked in and he started signing also. I remembered about one night when I went to a bar on Essex with a friend, and it was packed and full of people talking loudly in - sign language! Taiyo hit it off with the boy, who was 4-years-old- I think that's what his grandmother told me in sign. We all hang around until the parks employee came to kick us out because they had to close the gate.

Another muggy warm day, we headed out early to Chinatown. At 10am, streets were already full of Chinese people and other people and weaving through the crowd on East Broadway was like a playing a video game. Do I get a point if I run over that old man with a cane? I will make sure to step on it if a fruit comes rolling across the sidewalk. When we got to Columbus Park, the hip-hop party for kids was already on, and Lynne was waiting for us. Upon arrival, Taiyo thought it was cool and immediately started texting his friends (above.) We danced to the music by "Secret Agent 23 Skidoo," which was Dad, Mom, their little girl, and a tall black dude. It was an awsome low-key event. Then we walked through another video-game crowd of Chinatown and went to have lunch.

Lunch: Wild Ginger at Broome and Mulberry.
Small and cozy atmosphere. We were one of the first lunch guests. We were offered a high chair and the waiter promptly brought a plastic cup with a straw for Taiyo's water. These are good signs of 'child-friendly' restaurant. Taiyo sat down and first worked on his chopstick skill. But when Yaki-udon arrived, he had to switch gears with a fork. Then he went crazy over fried oyster mushrooms. He ran around the restaurant laughing out loud looking up at the ceiling. Food was very good, and it was comfortable dining experience but somehow it was very hard to get the waiter's attention, and cutest Taiyo's behavior running around playing a waiter at times went unnoticed. Because he ate so much, Taiyo had to poo before ice cream arrived. But now it was too late. He didn't leave the table until we licked the bottom of the dishes. Bathroom was clean but dark, but I managed to change him with him standing up. Do Taiyo and I recommend this place? Yes, fairly. Access is fairly good, just a little step up at the door. Not too much room for a larger stroller. We were there when it wasn't busy, so it wasn't much of a problem.

Next door at the candy store Papabubble we happened to walk in to witness the candy making session. Beautiful string of candies came out the little canding cutting machine right in front of our eyes! That was a real treat, and the owner let us sample the freshly made soda pop candy. Must visit with a little one, although they really don't have any planned candy making time. If you're lucky, you'll see it. Of course he fell asleep on the way home.

When he woke up later afternoon, I wasn't able to convince him to go to the pool. We did the usual walk around the block, then headed out again on the bike. At East River Park, we went to the running track and kicked around a soccer ball in the field. It was still so hot in the sun, so I suggested to retire to more shady area. Then he got busy walking up and down at the bleacher by the track. It's amazing how a toddler can be so obsessed and content in doing some task. I tried to be patient and let him do his activity, but after half an hour I was pretty bored and hungry. We headed out again in search of food.

Dinner: Cafecito Ave C between 11th and 12th Streets. The awning "Authentic Cuban" caught my attention, and the interior of the restaurant had the authentic Cuban feel. Taiyo was immediately comfortable and relaxed on the floor, which did not impress the staff. Mojito was fresh and delicious, and Ropa Vieja, beef stew was also very nice, but Taiyo seemed to only care for the rice. I loved the very garlicy sauce that came with tostones. Bathroom was clean and spacious, but the service for the little one was non-existance especially with a young waitress who didn't seem to notice this cutest bouncing ball. Recommended? Maybe, because I love Cuba and food was very good.

It was muggy and hot 4th of July. I was unable to convince Taiyo to get on the boat to go to Governor's Island, but after a going around the block on his ride-on bus, I managed to put in on the bike seat to head out. There was no baseball game going on at the East River Park, since everyone was out for a cook-out. We settled for a near-by attraction of South Street Seaport. Taiyo danced around in the square, then walked up on the pier, lounged with on the chairs watching and waving at the boats going by. He seemed content, but I was getting bored. So we walked into the food court.
Today's Dining: South Street Seaport Food court
He immediately spotted the arcade rides before I did, and went crazy riding them. A car, a train with Barney, a helicoptor, an ice-cream truck; he didn't need any coins to enjoy them. I went down to the closest food vendor "Simply Seafood" to get our lunch- seafood pasta, fish & chips, and a small beer for $13, which wasn't a bad deal. Taiyo continued to ride the incredible vehicles, while I was able to enjoy a slow meal. Too bad not many restaurants have an arcade ride so parents can enjoy some quiet eating time. Downside would be that it maybe harder to get the kids to sit down to eat.

Eventually he came down for a while to munch on 'fish & chips,' because he is Taiyo. He can't just forget about eating. He thought tartar sauce with the fish was rather tasty. Later we stopped in at the christmas store, which I've never walked into. He behaved quite well, not touching too many things although this big store (actually much deeper than you'd expect) was literally filled with millions of fun looking ornaments and other little goodies of every kind. Just one downside of the Seaport pier is that their bathroom- many stalls, but overall they were nasty. We didn't hit it that day, but there's another great attraction for a little one across the street: Imagination Playground it's a beautifully designed little playground with lots of foam blocks and fantasctic fountain. Today he was fast asleep as soon as we hit the road.

After a long nap, we head out to West Village to visit Orly and Jed's lawn party. So many of their neighbors were having a gathering around the courtyard and Taiyo was adored by adults and kids all across the yard. More eating 'out' that's so great for me; I don't have to clean up after him. Little food crumbs he was dropping here and there wasn't a big deal. On the way back we saw an amazing sky behind us on Houston.

We watched fireworks on TV but he was not terribly impressed he asked me to put on 'Elmo.'

Last year on 4th of July, Taiyo stood on his own for the first time. This year at 21-months, he's singing ABC's. I've been trying to start this new blog for a few months- Dining with Taiyo- because he just loves eating. He loves eating good food with other people. Is that because he's growing up in a restaurant? SOY blog has been pretty much Taiyo blog for two years now. I decided that I officially transform it into Taiyo blog. We'll be chronicling about our dining experiences in and out, just for the fun of it.

Today: Pulino's Bar & Pizzeria
282 Bowery at Houston
It was a dump day all day with drizzling rain. My plan was to walk up to Minca on 5th street for ramen noodle soup, but rain discouraged me and I pushed the stroller to the west along Houston because I had to pick up something at BestBuy on Broadway. We passed by a few places I was thinking about, but they seemed to be a little busy even though it was only 4pm in the afternoon on Sunday. We finally stopped at Pulino's at Bowery. This was our first visit there. Their sister restaurant Schiller's around the corner from us is fairy kid friendly- they will give Taiyo a set of crayons as we sit down, and there's always a very friendly waitress who would come around even if ours wasn't her table. Pulino's didn't have the crayons for Taiyo, but high-chair came right out for him, and access is nice and easy with the door wide open (thanks to the warm weather), plenty of room by the outside door to park the stroller, and Taiyo was happy looking around hipster interior with liquor bottles nicely decorating the walls. He also liked the view of the pizza oven behind him. Service was smooth and quick, and Taiyo liked their pizza very much- we had Bianca and he ate almost half of the pie. The table next to us, with older couple and their son, was quite amused with Taiyo. He really likes to entertain others. After he decided that he was through, Taiyo tried to run out to the street, but the staff there was quite aware of this little person and tried to stop him. That gave me more positive impression about this place. I say recommended. Sorry no pictures- Taiyo destroyed only a year old camera and I was on the way to pick up a new one.

Old blog is found here: http://archive.soyrosendale.com/weblog/