Last weekend, Taiyo and I went on our first vacation out of this island to another island, Bermuda. It was his first flight, our first real away from home vacation alone, and of course I was pretty nervous about it. I picked a close destination and a short trip, only three nights. All my friends were so happy for us and said, "Oh, you're going to have a good time." Well.. did we?

Taiyo doesn't like taxi, so I packed light and took subway to JFK. He fell asleep by the time we got to Air Train. At the security check point, they made me pick him up, and told me to fold the stroller to run through the scanner. It was a difficult task and nobody gave me a hand. I was already discouraged about the trip. While gathering my stuff Taiyo woke up, of course cranky with only half hour nap. We circled around the terminal three times before finally settling for a sandwich at the cafeteria. He was then excited to see the airplanes at the gate, and jumped around to amuse other travelers. Aboard the plane, we luckily had the row of three seats to ourselves, but he refused to sit by the window, complaining the harsh reflection of the sun because we were right next to the wing. Then of course he didn't want to sit and wear seatbelt. Forty minutes later finally we took off and by the time the seatbelt sign went off I just let him be. He was jumping around the isle, talking constantly, sometimes stretched on the floor, amusing some passengers. Then mean old lady stewardess came over and went "Shhhhhhh...!" right into his face. He went, "La la lala la, la..." shaking his hips, right back to her face. I decided I didn't like American Airlines. He wasn't even very loud. He was just being a two-year old. Anyway, we landed, made it to the hotel, and he was at least impressed with the big TV. He jumped around the room and the next door a baby (or more like a toddler) was crying. This happened to be the noisiest room I've stayed in- if the kid wasn't crying, adults were talking loudly. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was on some movie channel, and of course he had to watch his favorite movie.

Next day we went down to the beautiful little beach. Taiyo enjoyed destroying someone else's sand castle. Then he enjoyed hanging around the beach cabana bar having smoothie. I also wanted to enjoy swimming pools at the hotel but he refused to go. Then we had dinner at an Italian restaurant at the hotel, where he received very warm welcome. He was cranky after a short nap, but the view of ducks walking across the golf course outside helped. I thought the day went relatively well but back at the hotel room he said, "Let's go home and have an orange." Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was on TV again and of course he had to watch his favorite movie again.

Next morning he's quite cranky and broke down at the breakfast buffet. Eventually a few blueberry muffins put him back to a better mood. We took a ferry ride into the city of Hamilton, then first we had to go buy some diapers since I realized I packed just a few short. And to my surprise they didn't sell any at the hotel, although they claim to be a family resort. At the supermarket they had only Huggies, no Pampers. Taiyo said, "I don't like it." "But this is the only thing they have, look!" Oh, yes I've been hating this vacation, as much as he has! Then the chatty driver took us to the cute aquarium and zoo, which was nothing impressive compared to the NYC zoos and aquarium he frequents, but he loved a little playground there, which gave me a few minutes of relief. He faded in my arms on the ride back to the city. I circled around the touristy shopping area, waiting for the restaurants to open for dinner. Finally settled in at a seafood restaurant, had an expensive and gross dinner, which Taiyo still slept through, then had to wake him up for a ride back to the hotel, which he whined through. I asked him if he wanted to go down at the lounge to have a bite, but he wanted to order in. So we get a room service, and sat in front of the big TV for the evening. Next morning we had to get up super early to catch our returning flight. I said, "we are going home today," and Taiyo said, I swear, "I can't wait." I wanted to shoot myself. Then of course the security people gave me hard time at the airport because Taiyo was asleep. The lady at the check point told me to hold him away from my body like a teddy bear. I said, "I can't. He's 35 pounds!" Seriously, I'm not strong enough to hold the sleeping boy, plus, they think I'm hiding a bomb under my kid? Well, somehow we made it back, and he made me take a long subway ride home since he hates taxis. We made it back safely, and we survived our first vacation. Now the joke is that when he misbehaves, I threatens him, "I'm going to take you for another vacation!" Then he says, "NOOOOOO!" and does what I ask him to do.

Child development is not linier, I'm learning. Lately Taiyo has been regressing it seems, having more tantrums, being needy and demanding, protesting potty training, etc., etc... On Sunday we went for another play at New Victory Theater, and I thought it was just the perfect cute musical for him, at the front seat where we can peek down at the musicians in the orchestra pit and everything, but again he insisted sitting on my lap instead of his seat. The play, Lucky Duck, was lovely and fun, even for adults, but he began to freak out one hour into the show- the last fifteen minutes was plain hell for me with him complaining for nothing on the floor by my feet. I was so fed up at the end of the show and wanted to go straight home, but of course he wanted to eat something. We ended up at Sapporo on 49th Street.

Of course he would not protest against ramen and gyoza. The restaurant was still busy with lunch crowd at 2pm and we had to wait for a table for ten minutes, and service was a bit slow but accommodating for a little person. I thought the food was mediocre but Taiyo still loved the gyozas, which he only eat the skins, and noodles! The waiter was courteous and friendly, and there were other plenty small diners around, and overall it was very nice. Fairly recommended.

Pear trees began to bloom everywhere, only a few days after the passing of my dear old cat Coco. It was only two weeks before her 22nd birthday, and three months before our anniversary of living together. She was deteriorating past few weeks, eating less, and I was buying more and more expensive cat food, but nothing helped. The last thing she ate was a little bit of tuna last Wednesday. Next day she was hardly able to drink water. She was quickly fading. I still kept opening more cans of cat food. Different plates lined her drinking water. She touched nothing. Friday morning, she couldn't get up any more. I alerted my staff that I have to close the restaurant for two days. In the afternoon, she quietly went while I was taking care of some things downstairs. When I went up and touched her body stretched on the couch, the body was still warm. Next day, we took a long walk to take her to Dr. Moscovich on 11th Street to have cremation arranged. He was her first vet since my first apartment in NYC was on 10th Street. So I passed our first apartment, where we played so much running up and down the stairs, chasing a ball, or chasing each other. So she was with me past 22 years, almost all of my days in this town, and she was always there. With Taiyo, the apartment doesn't feel so empty, but it is just so strange not to hear her meow or footsteps anymore. Actually I still hear her. I will for a long, long time.

Arrival of Daylight Savings Time totally doesn't help alter this toddler's New Yorker lifestyle. Taiyo now easily sleeps past 11am. Some mothers may envy that, but that means he's up past midnight! It gives me less of my personal time. On Sunday we attended "Shorts for Tots" program at New York International Children's Film Festival. The theater was full of bubbly tots, sometimes screaming and crying. Taiyo sat so quietly on my lap through the film. The night before, he sat through "Princess Mononoke," animated Hayao Miyazaki feature, which is two hours and fifteen minutes. It wasn't even a kids' movie either. The story was quite complex and deep, but he refused to stop, even during the end credit. So this beautiful and quirky mix of short films was easy to digest for him. We saw some wonderful films that we may never see otherwise.

After the movie Lynne brought us to a hidden gem in NoLita, Prince Street Cafe. It looks like a tiny place with a few tables from the street, and with a big step up from the street level, I would've never gone there with Taiyo and a stroller. But the floor actually extends to the back of the building, a quiet bright room with skylight. Nice selection of salads, sandwiches, burgers and pasta would be easy to accommodate anyone. Our choice was Butternut Squash Soup and Prosciutto Panini. First Taiyo went right to a Blueberry Muffin. Then soup arrived and first taste made him laugh. Then he had at least the half of Panini. Eventually the group at the next table left and Taiyo had the whole length of cushy bench to walk back and forth! I was getting a bit nervous after he took maybe five trips, but waitress only smiled at the sight. In some other restaurant he may be advised to sit down. It was very nice place to eat with a little person. Recommended.

It was another summer-like day on Wednesday, and we stopped at 'inoteca on Rivington and Ludlow. This hipster joint had all the side panels open, and it was fairy empty for late lunch. They are usually crowded for dinner or weekend brunch, but this seemed a perfect timing for us. We went to the bathroom to wash hands but it was so dark Taiyo was not happy. I was not happy not being able to see how sanitary the environment was. Back to the table, we were thinking of pasta, but they didn't have any. So we went for beets salad with pecorino, oranges, and hazelnuts, and prosciutto and mozzarella panini. Immediately Taiyo knew he loved the panini when it arrived. I cut him a piece, and he carefully dipped it into tomato sauce, and started munching. I kept cutting him a piece off the Panini and he pretty much ate the whole plate. He tried some hazelnuts from the salad, and he liked them, but Panini was the winner; he didn't even care for oranges on the salad. Service was quick and friendly, and Taiyo got a glass of water with a straw. Food was wonderful and fresh, we loved the laid back atmosphere of Wednesday afternoon, but probably best for weekday lunch with a small one. Recommended, especially for the food.

It's like we never had winter this season. Although Taiyo and I were still admiring the toughness of sparrows sleeping parched on the bare trees in cold night early this week, we truly dived into spring, it seems. I've lost four pairs of gloves, including one I treasured for five years, but maybe I don't need to find replacement in a hurry. Trees are almost ready to bloom in the neighborhood. It was the first day we kept the door wide open for fresh warm air today, but Taiyo was still just content to be in the restaurant and hang around with his favorite customers.

Yesterday when we walked out for lunch, I tried to talk him into ramen but Taiyo's mind was set for pasta. We ended up at Virage on Second Avenue and 7th Street. The place was pretty empty and the waitress was very friendly, letting us choose a table. We settled on the comfy bench near the window facing the side street. There was a few steps up from the street, but inside was roomy for easy stroller parking. Because he kept insisting on pasta, we settled for Linguine Aglio Olio lunch special. When a small bowl of cream of broccoli arrived, Taiyo knew he would like some. He had most of it. Then pasta arrived, and he was totally excited. He had at least half of it, carefully twisting his fork to wrap pasta around it. The owner didn't seem too impressed when Taiyo began to walk back and forth along the cushy bench, but nobody tried to discourage him. Food was pretty good, and made him sit down if I asked him to eat. Music was not so good in my opinion, playing some top 40 type of station, but Taiyo still enjoyed playing his imaginary guitar walking along the bench. $10 for the lunch special was easy on the wallet, too. Quite lovely lunch experience. Recommended.

One extra day for the month didn't make any difference. February went just as fast. February was SOY's 10 year anniversary, which came and went quietly since I never made a proper announcement. I was too busy training newcomers and couldn't plan a celebration much deserved. Ten years- it went so quickly it feels like maybe only a few years have passed. Same goes for raising a child, everyone says. This lady we ran into occasionally at the laundromat kept talking about how quickly they grow up- her oldest is 26 years old. Taiyo is almost 2.5 years old and he is indeed growing up in frightening speed. This morning he looked up at me and asked, "Are you ready, mama?" Sometimes he's ready before me. Downstairs he sat in the stroller and yelled, "Are you ready? Let's go. Move it!" I took the jogging stroller out in the miserable drizzling rain while he comfortably took a nap under the bubble. It felt really good to be on the road.

Presidents' Day! At 1:30am monday morning I'm truly appreciating that I have extra day off today. It's much needed and deserved holiday for me. After this I have cooking classes every week through April, which make 6-day work weeks. Mentally/emotionally I've been feeling like on the verge of burning out for a while, but it really takes a lot to burn me out. And clearly Taiyo got my genes. At 11pm when we close up the shop, he would literally run around each of my employees a bunch times, then he runs to hug that tree, then runs to the other direction to shake that tree. In his pajamas. It's the cutest thing.

We lunched at Jin on Grand Street yesterday. Upon entry, a waitress asked me if I could fold the stroller, although the place was fairly empty and there were lots of empty corners to park it. Then she tried to squeeze us to a little table right next to a couple dining, although the place was pretty empty- only three other tables were occupied. Taiyo ignored her and settled at a big round table, so I shrugged and followed his lead. Then although the place was rather empty, and Taiyo was chanting for "Sushi and Gyoza!" we were left unattended for quite a long time, until I asked the bus boy to send someone for our order. So the impression in the first 20 minutes was pretty bad. We had gyoza, sushi delux, and an eel/avocado roll. This place was not Japanese owned, which I could tell from menu, decor, and the fact that there was no wasabi on sushi (they served only on the side). Well, which usually makes the food mediocre, which was this place. And with absence of good service, I would never return to this joint. Taiyo did enjoy the food, despite of the funny expression in the photo above. He ate all the skin off the gyoza, eel/avocado roll, and some more rice from not-so-delux plate of sushi. Happy hour special helped, but otherwise this place is totally overpriced for the food.

Today we caught another show at New Victory Theater, "Brazil! Brazil!" It was so totally cool and much more enjoyable for me than last week's Bubble Show. Filled with great music, dance and acrobatics, they could've easily have a good run outside of children's theater. The films they had from Brazilian cities reminded me of Cuba, and I thought it would be a great place to visit one day- with Taiyo. He seemed to really enjoy the show, although he got restless sitting on my lap after 30 minutes (he refused to sit on his seat even though they give you a handy booster at this theater). We survived another theater experience. Everything's great about this theater, but they seriously need more bathroom. It's impossible to go to bathroom after the show.

We escaped the crowd at Times Square and went to have lunch at Tabata Ramen at 9th Avenue and 40th street. I've heard of the place and was meaning to check it out for a while, but we rarely travel that direction. Today we were as close as we'd get. And it was perfectly quiet at the restaurant, too. We were directed to a comfy corner with a bench. Of course Taiyo was already chanting for gyoza when he got to the table. So I ordered gyoza, fried chicken, and miso ramen. They promptly brought him a water glass with straw, cute plastic bowl and kids utencils, giving them high points for a kid-friendly restaurant. And food was wonderful, too. Especially the ramen was so tasty, and had lots of veggies, too. Extremely satisfying kind of ramen. This place became the best ramen place in town for me. Highly recommended. Since the waitress was so nice to Taiyo, he took so many pictures of her, one of which is this.