Taiyo woke up at 8am, ealier than usual, but refused to get out of his pajamas. I said fine, and we were out the door by 9am to get some stuff done before the storm. The Chinese laundromat on Rivington was open and was unusually crowded, of course. After laundry, we went for brunch at Schiller's on Rivington and Norfolk. Although it is a noisy hipster joint, this place is quite kid-friendly- they immediately asked us if we need a high chair, made a room for the SUV stroller we had, and brought a pack of crayons for Taiyo. Staff were very friendly with him, and there was a large magazine rack by the door for him to pick a reading materials from. When I asked him if he wants to read something, he went over and brought a copy of "Popular Science" to our table. We had a toast with milk for him and a glass of bellini for me. He didn't like hazelnuts in the waffle, but still enjoyed good portion of it, plus it was adorned with fresh fruits. One by one, more strollers came in while we dined. Although it's a bit pricey- waffle, coffee, bellini and milk before tip was $32- food was fair and they provided us pleasant dining experience. The waitress was very much impressed with Taiyo bringing her money with the check. This usually never fails to put smile on people's faces.
Some shopping after brunch- the liquor store on Grand had nice long line at the register, but the shopkeeper handled it quickly and courteously. I decided not to bother with the supermarket- we have plenty of food downstairs anyway, and picked up some fruits from the stand - he seemed unsually busy also. After two hours of Elmo and an hour and a half of Teletubbies, Taiyo finally laid down for a nap on the couch. I went downstairs and defrosted the freezer. It's just an extra half day for me, since my staff couldn't get here this evening. It's still very calm outside at 6pm, just waiting for Taiyo to wake up while the hurricane approaches.

The week is going fast, with lots of work, lots of things getting done. I finally got a hair cut on wednesday, and so far I like it. I had a chance to get a quick massage around the corner after another well-received sushi class, which reminded me of my achey body. Today was another super busy Thursday, beginning with a large lunch delivery order for 20 people right at the start. In the meantime I had to deal with another bad day for Taiyo after failed attempt for a nap. Phone kept ringing, people kept dropping by, while Taiyo kept begging and screaming to be picked up. People often tells me, "I don't know how you do it," and I don't even know myself. I just keep going. Stormy wheather ahead.

Taiyo says "Wacky wild world." I'm not kidding, he really says it which he learned from his favorite Blue's Clues video he's been watching obsessively the whole week. Is it an appropriate toddler language? But hell it's funny to hear it from him. He seems so information hungry now, pointing at things and asking me "Kore? (this?)" all the time.
We visited Lynne at Integral Yoga in the West Village where she's currently staying. Taiyo loved running around in a yoga studio, then he worked on some self-portrait with my camera. He has destroyed the previous camera by messing with the lens too much, but I got a service plan with this one that they would repair/replace anything happens to it, even if a baby breaks it. It's a perfect thing to have for a parent in this wacky wild world.

Lunch at 'SNice on 8th Avenue and Jane Street. It's a nice feeling wifi vegetarian cafe that us meat eaters fear: untasty food. Our panini, with smoked mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and basil was sad and yucky, but Taiyo ate it. He kept asking for "Gohan(rice)" but they didn't have any. I had very mixed feeling about this place- the space felt nice and spacious, but tables were very close together. I thought the food was horrible and expensive for what it is, but it's definitely a safe place to enter with a baby. I was also bothered by a bunch of fruit flies hovering over our plate, and the bench was rather dusty along the wall. I would never return to this place, but I think you'd appreciate it better than I did if you're vegetarian.

Raising a child is a constant battle. As many parents have told me, it's been a tough journey- some things get easier, but different challenges arrive. This week's dealings with Taiyo not taking enough naps have been a serious one. He's been very tired with active days but he may still wake up in transit between stroller to bed. This afternoon was a failure- he woke up as I put him down in bed and then he cried and screamed for half an hour. In the meantime I still had to take care of business; I felt bad for the customers who walked in to a place with a screaming child. Other times Taiyo provides entertainment singing to the bicycle pump as his microphone, playing the ukulele or the harmonica, bringing food or check to the table, or simply running around giggling. Ask him if he's a baby, and he would answer, "No, a boy!" He can kick on his scooter, and currently working hard to pedal his antique tricycle. He picks his shirt to wear in the morning, and today he even successfully put it on! He puts his shoes on, and when he comes home, he takes them off and neatly place them by the door.

In between, we don't forget to continue on our dining exploration. On Wednesday lunch, it was El Castillo De Jagua on Rivington near Essex. I was pretty sure that this type of old neighborhood Dominican joint had to be kid-friendly. Of course, there was already a large family with a bunch of kids feasting near the door as we entered. They asked me twice if we'd like a high chair. But not being a baby anymore, Taiyo would not sit in a high chair. He picked a table and climbed up himself. We went for a plate of beef stew with rice and beans, and he immediately started serving himself onto his plate. He happily ran around the restaurant in between his bites and no one seemed to mind. The entry was easy with a stroller, and there's plenty of room to park one near or away from a table, we were served quickly, food was fresh and tasty, and under $10 for the food and my beer was quite good value. Recommended.

It continuously rained on our precious Sunday, really with absolutely no intermission all day. We got laundry done in the morning while rain was not hard. It was pretty busy at the laundromat- I guess everyone was thinking of the same thing, there wasn't much else better to do. Taiyo was content running around the laundromat, cracking smiles on people's faces. As our ritual, Taiyo asked for 'coco juice,' and we went around the corner to the deli. The unfriendly shop keeper was not impressed with Taiyo bringing a little pack of coconut water and placing it on the counter as usual. While I paid, Taiyo was already jumping up and down beside me asking for a straw.

Then we went for a brunch at Remedy diner on Houston at Norfolk. They are pretty kid-friendly, as many diner may be, offering us high chair as we walked in. We didn't go with a stroller since I was already sick of pushing it in the rain with an enormous umbrella in my hand earlier, but the doorway is wide and easily accessible with a stroller. It was busy and noisy in the restaurant, and there were other kids and babies to make us comfortable. Brunch for $14.95 wasn't a bad deal in terms of volume: a glass of bellini and a cup of coffee for me, biscuits with 'Remedy Gravy' which was white goo with some meat bits and fruit salad to start (Taiyo very much enjoyed the biscuits and fruits, but wouldn't touch the goo), then our choice was blueberry pancakes with strawberries and side of bacon and sausage. Taiyo said, 'Bacon, bacon," but didn't really eat any of it. He did enjoy pancakes and strawberries. Well, it's diner food; I find it mostly gross in terms of food, but Taiyo actually likes diner experience. Our seat was comfortable, service was fairy quick and efficient, staff were friendly, and for parents I would say this is definitely a good option. Recommended.

Dinner was closer option at San Marzano on the corner of Clintona and Rivington. Of course pizza is something Taiyo never objects to. We've dined there a bunch of times before, and a pizzaria is never so child unfriendly. Taiyo promptly seated himself at his favorite bench. Their thin crust pizza (we settled for Margherita) was tasty, which Taiyo mainly enjoyed eating the edge crust, which worked for me, and he happily ran around the little restaurant in between, and we also went to watch the flames in the oven, and the staff very much enjoyed cuteness of Taiyo. Pleasant evening in the rain in the neighborhood. Recommended.

Because of unfavorable weather forcast for tomorrow, we decided to forget about laundry and headed out to enjoy the sun this morning. "The Summer Streets" were back again for us to enjoy the traffic free trip uptown. It was so congested with too many bikers that I thought they should rename it to "Beijing Streets" but it got better by midtown. We stopped for a picture in front of a giant yellow teddy bear-the friendly guard offered us to capture the moment.

We continued uptown to the park and enjoyed the street show by an indredible drummer banging on buckets and metal scraps. Being a novice drummer, Taiyo was super impressed and captivated by his seamless performance. We decided to skip the zoo since the line was way too long, and it was time for lunch! I headed for Menchanko Tei, a Japanese ramen noodle joint, on 55th Street, and luckily Taiyo's mind was already set for gyoza when we parked our bike outside.

I hadn't been there for many years, and interior was very different from what I remembered. Entry should be easy with a stroller, and although it is not very spacious inside, they should be accomodating to one. A friendly older wairtress promptly brought Taiyo a little bowl with plastic utencils. Good sign of a kid-friendly restaurant. He was not interested in nicely arranged cold tomato noodle, but chugged down two plates of gyoza dumplings. Of course the waitress was super impressed when he brought her our check with money. Recommended.

Another long busy Thursday that made me want to quit or shoot myself. And finally Taiyo went to sleep after jumping on the bed for half an hour- it's my time to reflect on yesterday which already seems so long ago.

After our ritual of laundry and some food shopping in Chinatown, we stopped at Noodle Bar at Orchard and Stanton for lunch. Open side panels were inviting, plus it was convenient for us to be able to leave the bike right next to our table. Taiyo happily climbed onto the chair. Taiyo's water arrived with a straw, which is a good sign of an attention to the little customer. The lunch special, Teriyaki Chicken Soba with little salad and two spring rolls nicely arranged on a plate was pretty good deal for $8.25. Although it was too sweet to my taste, but Taiyo loved the cold noodle and he even worked on his chopstick stills before he cleared the plate. I've ordered in from them many times in the past, and food was generally good and it always arrived pretty fast. I didn't notice any high chairs or we were not offered any child seating, but it's fairy spacious and seems accomodating to strollers. Taiyo happily took our check to the waitress with money at the end. Fairy recommended.

After lunch we went past our street and kept going to hit the East River Park. The track is one of our favorite spot in this park- which makes me happy he loves this open space to run around. I swear I've run around this track at least a million times in the last 12 years. When we get there I always regret that I don't have my running shoes with me. This afternoon added bonus for Taiyo was cute little corns to play with. A short while later on the ride back home, he was of course fast asleep behind me.