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/