Niranjana, Melissa and Andy

The big day is rapidly approaching: Niranjana's 5th birthday. It has started to feel like maybe, just maybe, I am going a bit overboard.

Then again, it's the first real birthday party she's ever had. Last year was a small group of family and friends in our home. It was fun and special, with Indian take-out and cupcakes. But this year, it's an actual party. We're going to a local gymnastics center for an hour of play followed by a light lunch and cake.

This evening, Niranjana kissed my bald head. I shaved it last week after chemo started ravaging my follicles. Last night, the goatee (well, more technically a Van Dyke) went because it was looking mangy.

So Niranjana, whose hair is very beautiful and growing very long, says: "Daddy? Do you miss your hair?"

I said I did but I expect it to come back some day.

Another reason I love this little girl.

"Brother made a Frosty the snowman who doesn't melt."

"Brother lives on the top of that hill."

"Brother wasn't a good listener today, let's call Santa and tell him."

Yes, Niranjana has a brother — well, an imaginary friend whose name is Brother. There is no way we would ever know if Niranjana has a biological brother. But this brother is part of our family. His birthday is exactly one year off of hers. Once I asked for Brother's name and was told "Cousin." The other day, his name was "Morris." But really, his name is Brother.

This is not a fun subject to share with you, but is a challenge we are facing together as a family: cancer.

I was diagnosed Nov. 12 with lymphoma, a blood cancer. I started chemo Dec. 12, and my body seems to be reacting properly so far.

I have no intention of turning this into a cancer blog because sharing every cute little thing Niranjana says is much more interesting.

Niranjana likes big trucks. A highlight of each week is watching the garbage truck pick up and dump our garbage can every Tuesday morning.

But it will take some time to top what happened just a few minutes ago.

I don't consider myself to be an overly indulgent mother. I truly don't think we are completely spoiling Niranjana. But there are a few things that I've said recently that surprised even me.

1. "If you don't stop asking for chocolate, there will be no more M&Ms or fruit snacks in the car. You'll have to eat [Quaker Oats] breakfast cookies."

"I'm going to brush my teeth so shiny it will hurt your eyes," Niranjana said earlier this fall.

She will show us her teeth and if we think she did a good job brushing we cover our eyes and exclaim, "Ow, my eyes, I need my sunglasses!"

We saw the dentist today for a six-month checkup. She had her first x-rays. No cavities! And about six months before her first molars come in, as they showed up on the x-ray.

Courtney, the perfect hygienist for a child, used funky pink/purple stuff to show which areas need better brushing so they can be shinier.

From Parenting magazine: The average time American kids age 3 and younger go to bed is 8:52 p.m.

I don't feel so bad any more about our little night owl. Someone has to be after 8:52 p.m. to make it the average.

We now are a Wii family. Having met some financial goals earlier this fall (thank you, adoption tax credit), and seeing how it was Andy's birthday, I surprised him with a Wii.

Niranjana loves it. Andy and I rarely get to play with it — unless we are playing with her.

I grew up in a family that got a fresh Christmas tree every year. Part of it, I'm sure, is the fake trees weren't very good back in the '70s. Part of it was that I grew up in the heart of Washington's Christmas tree industry (well, one county north), and my dad even worked a brief time for a Christmas tree company after he got out of the Army.

Thus, even though I'm allergic to evergreen trees (ironic, considering I grew up on the Kitsap Peninsula), I've always resisted fake trees. This is despite the gentle (and not-so-gentle) prodding of my beloved.