Niranjana, Melissa and Andy

We spent a great day at the 2010 Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo.

I worked the information booth all week with my fellow Kiwanians, and Niranjana and Melissa joined me today around 11 a.m and stayed until nearly 9 p.m., riding rides, eating unhealthy food, riding more rides, walking around, riding even more rides, looking at animals, riding a bunch more rides, riding in a big bubble, eating more food and going to the rodeo.

Niranjana topped off the evening with a ride on the mechanical bull.

Let's roll the video:

Melissa conducts an interview with Niranjana on why she likes soccer so much.

Niranjana has pointed out for, oh, the past three weeks that she turns 6 1/2 today.

Seeing that we missed her first three birthdays, we figured it couldn't hurt to celebrate. So I sang "Happy half-birthday to you" and she and Melissa made brownies with extra sprinkles on them. Then we invited her special little friend from next door over (whose third birthday was several weeks ago, so we called this her "unbirthday" and gave her presents), put a candle on everybody's brownie and had a great time.

Thursday was the 60th anniversary of India Republic Day, the day India's constitution became law. This is one of India's biggest national holidays.

To celebrate, the India Association of the Tri-Cities held a cultural program Sunday at the Battelle Auditorium in Richland. Niranjana and several other children participated with one of many dances, piano solos and songs.

Here is Niranjana's performance (the soundtrack had some technical issues, but the kids worked through it).

This is our third Christmas with Niranjana, but it's the first one that feels like it should, like a real Christmas.

Two years ago, Niranjana had been home with us for three months. Frankly, she didn't really "get" Christmas and she and I were still having attachment issues.

Niranjana got her first bike today, earning it by doing so well with her visual therapy.

From Toys R Us, we headed straight to the park, so Niranjana could try out her new bike. Let's go straight to the video highlights and post-ride interview:

Throughout my life, my last name has been misspelled. All Perdues have come to expect it. The most common misspelling is "Purdue" (as in the university in Indiana). The worst I've experienced is "Purdew."

Anyone who spells my last name correctly on the first try typically is from the East Coast and is used to Perdue Chicken and its owner, Frank Perdue - who once admitted to seeking help from the Mafia.

Melissa, too, has enjoyed many variations on "O'Neil" including O'Neal and O'Neill.

Thursday was Niranjana's second YMCA soccer game, and she and her friend Leif scored all the goals for their team.

The games are a lot of fun to watch, and the kids are picking up the sport pretty quickly. At this level (4- and 5-year-olds), there are no goalies and the score is not kept.

Here is the video from two of Niranjana's three goals. Notice the little "airplane" move she makes after she scores? Yeah, she picked that up from watching Bend it Like Beckham.

On Memorial Day, Niranjana learned the simple joys of the Slip 'n Slide at her friend Leif's house. She really wanted one in our backyard, so she worked hard to meet several goals set up by Melissa.

About two weeks ago, Niranjana and I went to the store and purchased a Slip 'n Slide that had a blow-up shark and 3-D goggles (quite a contraption, actually). We got home and set it up, and Niranjana was having a blast, though she wasn't really sliding (or slipping) all the way through the shark's mouth.

Niranjana showed her stuff this evening at her first soccer game, as she scored the first goal for her team (The Blue Horsies). She was the second group into the game (the kids get rotate in every four minutes or so). Less than 30 seconds after they started playing, Niranjana dribbled the ball the length of the field for the goal.

Melissa caught it all on video: