Niranjana, Melissa and Andy

Special Agent Oso is the spy-in-training in a new Playhouse Disney cartoon that's a big hit at our house (think James Bond for preschoolers). Oso, a bear, helps little kids learn things like making a salad, saving energy, packing for the beach, or getting dressed by themselves.

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Niranjana and Cate patiently wait outside the courtroom.

Benton County Superior Court on Friday, April 10, 2009.

On Friday, we finalized Niranjana's adoption in Benton County Superior Court. Thanks to family, friends and a really cool judge, it was a great day.

All the grandparents were able to make it to town, and we got everybody to the courthouse early (a bit of a miracle in our families). Aunt Rain and Uncle Alan were there for us, as were the Bailey-Rods. As a special treat, a strong contingent from WSU Tri-Cities was in attendance (including Melissa's boss and her boss's boss, the chancellor), as was my boss, the publisher of the Tri-City Herald.

Niranjana has been working on spelling and letter recognition pretty hard in recent weeks and is making strong progress.

For example, when I take her to Dairy Queen for a Dilly Bar, she quickly picks up on the letters "D" and "Q" from a couple of blocks away.

"Hide from Mommy" is a game Niranjana and Andy play at bedtime. I'll be brushing my teeth and will hear the call to hide, followed by giggles and the rustling of sheets.

"Where did Daddy and Niranjana go?" I wonder aloud. "Oh look, there are two big lumps in the bed. I'll have to flatten those so I can go to sleep."

So I take the pillow and start gently whacking the lumps. The small one squirms. "Oh no, it's a monster! Or a dinosaur! I better tickle it."

The tickling results in more giggles. "Hey, that sounds like Niranjana," I say.

Those of you who have followed (or caught up on) our little domestic story probably realize that Niranjana didn't love her daddy too much early on. In fact, from about our fourth day in India back in September 2007 through, oh, that Christmas, she pretty much clung to Melissa for all she was worth.

Earning Niranjana's trust and love was long, arduous - and worth it. Frankly, it took less time than it did with Melissa (I asked her out for three years before she relented). Today, we're golden, and I relish every moment of being her daddy.

Niranjana has a favorite number. It's 18. Best we can figure, it's based on her birthday. She's counting well past 18 now, up to around 49 with limited assistance, but 18 seems to be her No. 1.

If she needs a random quantity for a story, it'll usually be 18. It's also great for food purposes, like how many edamame (soybeans) she needs to eat before she can be excused (we're pretty sure she ate more than 18, once she got going). Here are some other examples.

We went to an Indian Dance Recital on Sunday. Niranjana wore one of her "sparkle dresses" that Ammaji bought in north India. Aunt Rain and Uncle Alan joined us there. All us girls wore bindis, although Niranajana removed her bindi and bangles partway through.

We prepped our girl that there would be a lot of people who looked like her, and that everyone there would know how to say her name correctly. There were nearly 200 people plus Indian food for $2/plate at intermission.

We've been practicing our address, phone number, etc. with Niranjana. She pretty well has it down, so this morning we moved on to how to describe our house.

"And what do we grow in our back yard?" I asked, expecting grapes or roses.

"Weeds," Niranjana said.