California June 2026 - All Things Emi!

 

The Cactus Garden at Stanford

Thursday June 4.

I keep thinking about how things were with my leg the last time we went to CA. It was about 3 days after my leg started hurting. I was in such pain, took a wheelchair through the airport and could barely walk. Today it has been a little over a month since the cortisone shot in my L3 and L4 vertebra. I seem to still be improving which is a very good sign! I was going to get a 2nd shot in my L5 vertebra on the 16th but if things stay like this I will cancel it. This morning I had NO pain in my leg at all!

I’ve got to believe that the key at this point is to continue to faithfully do my PT Exercises and get my core as strong as possible. The more I can use my abs instead of my back the better off I’ll be. Biking, walking, water aerobics and even yoga, they all help, but those exercises are key.

We’re on our way, in the air, about an hour left before we land. Can’t wait to see Emi, and Dan and Kelsey too, of course. Just think, the next time we come there will be another little girl in our family!

Dropping Sophie off at the boarding place made me a little sad. I know they will take good care of her, but it will be more institutional and she won’t get nearly the attention she gets at home. I just wish there was some way to tell dogs “don’t worry, we’ll be back!”

Friday June 5

In the afternoon yesterday we went to pick up Emi at preschool. I haven’t seen the school before (because last time I couldn’t walk!). The playground is very cool, like the playground at the CDL, where my kids went when they were little. Lots of opportunities for creative play, a tricycle path, water play, etc.

Emi was delighted to see us, but especially me. She is kind of fixated on me right now. It’s a little unnerving; I’m not at all used to being the favored grandparent! Lee has always been the boy’s favorite. It’s fun, but it also feels like a big responsibility to not screw it up!!!!

From there we went to the farmer’s market in downtown Los Altos. Fabulous strawberries, and other fruit too. I bought some very fresh cheese curds and besides strawberries we bought corn. Emi wanted to try most of the samples, but especially those strawberries! And they weren’t even the most popular ones, because that line was a block long!

Then we found a table and everyone chose what they wanted for dinner. I got a burrito bowl that was pretty good, but huge; I could only eat about half. We split a strawberry-banana-Nutella crepe at the end. Emi picked off the strawberries and dipped them in the cream. “I like cream!” She said brightly. Me too Emi!

We stopped at a grocery store on the way home. Emi and I stayed in the car. She demanded that I sing. This is becoming a thing. “Sing ducks!” “Again!” Until grandma goes, “I don’t want to!!” I told her I’m easily bored but she looked at me skeptically.

When we got home it was time for Emi’s bath and bed. She was melting down and wailing, “I want grandma!!” So weird!!!

Saturday June 6

Yesterday evening we babysat for Emi while Dan and Kelsey went out. We were given many warnings about how she might misbehave but she was great. We had pizza for dinner and she ate 2 pieces plus extra pieces of Italian sausage. She ate raw mushrooms out of the salad. She had ice cream for dessert and then she went on a bike ride and we walked along with her. She has gotten really really good on her strider. If she was big enough for the next size up I’d say she’s almost ready for pedals. By next year for sure!

In the afternoon I made a plum crumble using some of the plums from the tree in their backyard. They needed more sugar, a lot more. They were very tart. I actually put some honey on the piece I had this morning and it was better!

This morning Dan took Emi to go potty and she put her own underpants back on. Later while sitting next to me in a chair she pulled up her dress and said, “I’m not wearing underpants!” She was not. We looked everywhere for them, assuming that she had taken them off somewhere, but finally gave up and got another pair.

Emi had swimming this morning so we went early and looked at the ducks and turtles in the nearby pond. Then Kelsey started to change her into her swimsuit and discovered something. The missing underpants were hiding around Emi’s waist! Apparently when she put them on she put both legs in one hole, pulled them up, and forgot about them. Mystery solved!

She’s doing great in the water, floating on her back almost without assistance, pushing off from the side, going under, flipping from back to front and front to back. But she had a meltdown at the end because she didn’t want to share the purple octopus pool toy. 

She sobbed uncontrollably until we got back to the car and she could have some snacks. Poor thing was hungry! I definitely could sympathize.

Sunday June 7

We went to Borrone for lunch yesterday. Afterwards Emi fell asleep in the car and took a good long nap, an hour and a half easy. We had a relaxing afternoon and made dinner at home, a joint effort. Lee made a plum and goat cheese salad, Kelsey made a pasta, corn and cheese dish and Daniel grilled chicken. I cleaned up, at least partially. I think I’ve eaten too many of those plums! I had an upset stomach last night. I need to swear off them!

This morning I slept later than Lee for a change. I only had Cheerios for breakfast because we planned to go to Din Tai Fung for brunch. We got out the door by 8:30 and we were in line by 9. They opened at 9:30 but if you don’t get there early the wait can be hours. As it was we got right in.

It was delicious as always but as a waiter was bringing us our dumplings he accidentally knocked an entire carafe of water onto the floor, where it shattered with a resounding crash, sending water and shards of glass cascading under our table and the one next to us as well. Fortunately no one was injured, or even got wet, and our food was untouched, but we spent several uncomfortable minutes while they cleaned up the mess. Emi was very unnerved by it all. We think the loud noise scared her and she spent a good 15 minutes asking questions and refusing to eat until things calmed down. 

At the end they comped part of our meal, as well they might. It reminded Lee and I of the hot tea sushi incident in New York many years ago. This one was less painful, and not nearly as profitable, and that’s just fine with me!

We spent the next hour or so walking around the San Jose fake downtown, including a stop for some excellent gelato.

By the time we got back to the car Emi was very tired and so were we. She napped in the car on the way home. 

Later we went to look at the cactus garden on the Stanford campus and let Emi ride her bike through the surrounding eucalyptus trees. It had warmed up quite a lot and Emi was pretty tired too. I ended up with over 10k in steps which is by far the most steps I’ve had since the pinched nerve in my back.

Tuesday June 9.

We fly home this afternoon but let’s talk about yesterday first. We watched Emi. We took her to her art class in the morning. It was actually a makeup class for one she had missed. There were no other toddlers there; instead an art camp for older kids (I’d guess 4-6 yo) was in progress. There was plenty for Emi to enjoy age appropriately however. There were 3 activity tables set up.  One had various buttons, beads and small pieces of pasta in various shapes and colors that could be scooped and sorted. There was a kinetic sand table that was very cool. The sand was soft and cool without being damp, and stuck together easily. We spent a lot of time scooping and shaping the sand. It was fun. The third table had some slime. At first Emi wanted nothing to do with it; it was grey and creepy looking, even though it had sequins sprinkled in it.

So after that the teacher set up an easel and Emi made a painting. Then the campers were having snack time so Emi had to go sit with them and have snack time too!

Emi Art

The campers were making rocket ships using boxes and tape. The teacher set Emi up to do another painting at an table. There were watercolors, crayons and acrylic paint. But Emi wanted to cut tape with a scissors just like the big kids so she added some tape to her picture.

Emi Mixed Media Art!

Finally we went back to the slime. I started poking it and Emi liked that. Then I stretched it and Emi liked that too. Lee made it into a ball and it bounced a little. Then it was time to go.

The plan was to stop for lunch on our way to our next adventure, but Emi promptly fell asleep in the car. When we got to the noodle place she was still asleep, so we let her sleep for 45 minutes b4 waking her up. We got noodle mapa tofu, gyozo, and fried rice. The mapa sauce was too spicy for Emi but some of the noodles hadn’t been mixed in yet so she ate those. She ate a little of the fried rice and rejected the gyozo which she usually likes. She would have eaten more noodles, but alas. Really she ate mostly snacks yesterday until dinner.

Next we drove to Happy Hollow, an old fashioned amusement park and small zoo in San Jose. It especially catered to little kids, which was why we chose it. Emi had been there before but it had been a while. The first thing we did was ride the carousel. She chose the ostrich and she was fine until it started going up and down. Then she had a death grip on my arm (I was standing right next to her). Her lower lip was quivering but she didn’t cry. Brave girl!

We walked through the play area and tried a few different slides. She does love slides! We had to drag her away. Then we found the little cars. Oh boy. They were a total hit. She rode them 3 times and would have ridden them more if we hadn’t enticed her away with seeing animals.

She really liked the small zoo, especially the furry pig like animals that were walking around being active. She informed us that pigs say “oink oink”. Yep. We didn’t make it to the petting zoo, it was getting late. As we were leaving she asked if we could go on the cars again! Maybe next time Emi!

She promptly fell asleep in the car again and slept for a good hour. Grandparents are exhausting!

We went to Yayoi for dinner, Lee’s favorite and Emi’s too. You could tell Emi hadn’t eaten much that day; she just ate and ate and ate. Agadashi tofu, rice, and the leftovers from everyone’s miso soup, including the seaweed!

We stopped for gelato on the way home but it was suddenly rainy and chilly which made it hard to enjoy.

We had such a good time visiting this time. Emi is so much fun right now, and although she is challenging her parent’s authority like a typical two year old, she was very good for us. I knew it would be different being grandparents from afar, as opposed to everyday grandparents, but I didn’t take into account how scarcity made us special and exciting. It’s very fun!