Niranjana, Melissa and Andy Perdue

Niranjana poses for Mommy.

We're getting a lot of mileage out of a 99-cent beach ball.

Well, we're on the second beach ball, as the first one predictably bit the dust after a couple weeks of activity. Surprisingly, it imploded on something inside the house instead of on a rose bush outside.

Yes, we let Niranjana play ball inside the house. But only with specific balls and with clear rules. She's quick to point the rules out if you happen to hit a light fixture, picture, or the TV. Amazingly, nothing has broken.

One of our roles as parents is to teach our children well. I am pretty sure Crosby, Stills & Nash sang that.

Many weeks ago, I was holding Niranjana as we watched TV and whispered into her ear: "Say, 'Mommy, you rock!' " She got it right on the second try, then she said it really loud so Melissa could hear it.

Melissa found it hilarious and gave out a "Woo-hoo! I rock!"

I am now an expert on Little Einsteins, a Disney cartoon where four diverse children go on adventures around the world in a red rocket, incorporating classical music and famous artwork. The stories are clever enough that Andy and I don't mind watching them over, and over, and over. And over.

At preschool, Miss Leslie apparently has been giving out jelly beans instead of stickers, primarily as rewards for moving fast to the Clean It Up song.

"I got a jelly bean today," Niranjana says. "I picked pink."

"What flavor was it?" I ask, thinking she might actually know some flavors. Strawberry, cotton candy, tutti fruitti?

"Yummy."

Slowly but surely, Niranjana is getting taller. The doctor this month proclaimed her at 39 inches tall and weighing 32 pounds.

What? Only 32 pounds? I swear she's heavier — plus that was the same weight as her last visit in late December. She does eat, really. Of course, our rambunctious child burns it off by running, jumping, twirling, etc. Actor Steve Martin would be proud of her prat falls.

In December she was 38.25 inches tall. And I have sticky on my computer reminding me of where she was 13 months ago, when she was in India.

It's official: pants are out, dresses are in.

Today we succeeded with a skort, but returned a cute pair of shorts to the store because Miss N. claimed she would never wear them.

Target had a great selection of cotton sundresses. Six of them (each priced $6.99 or less) made it home with us. In less than 48 hours, two of those dresses already have passed the dirt test.

We're officially out of "survival" mode with the addition of our daughter and have transitioned into "coping."

This means we have a system, but it could use significant improvement. It also means I'm now doing clean-up on things that I simply couldn't take care of last fall and winter while we all were just trying to survive and adjust to the changes.

Today marks seven months home with Niranjana. In the past month, life has only progressed forward, as she becomes more comfortable in her new world and we continue to figure out this whole parenting gig.

In the past month, I have been taking Niranjana to school more often so Melissa can get to work earlier and tackle several projects. Ironically, I end up getting to the office earlier, even though it adds maybe 20 miles to my commute.

I am in awe of single mothers everywhere, be they by choice, chance, circumstance or tragedy.

When I think of the parenthood trials that Andy and I have experienced since coming home Sept. 19, I truly don't know how a woman — or a man — could raise a child alone. We've had bad colds, bad backs, lice, home appliance crises, big work deadlines, and just bad days where a parental time out was a priority.