The Wonder Down Under

Here's a post for my Australian friends (and for those of you who recently joined the party, that's where Jarrah's family on her, um, paternal side lives):

Jarrah is a massive fan of the Wiggles. The four Australian men in their colorful jerseys pick flowers, knead dough, talk to the squirrels in Central Park, and can do no wrong in Jarrah's eyes. She was recently thrilled to receive a Wiggles DVD from her Nanna and Granddad that arrived in their Sunday paper--such is the ubiquity of the quartet on that continent and every other! She can mimic every move of "Rock-a-Bye Your Bear," their first hit, including the vigorous shushing at the end. Recently she's begun miming a steering wheel with great urgency to indicate that she wants me to sing "Toot-Toot, Chugga-Chugga, Big Red Car" for her. She feels this great urgency about 50 times a day, Readers.

Today we were watching a regular segment called "Dance with Dorothy the Dinosaur." Two of the Wiggles's "friends" help Dorothy demonstrate a different dance each show. We've seen "The Airplane," "The Clean-Up," and "The Cha-Cha-Cha." Normally she watches this segment with vague impatience because there are no bonafide Wiggles in it. But not today. Today's dance was "The Kangaroo."

A young man and woman demonstrated three things that kangaroos like to do: hop around, pick grass and nibble it, and scratch themselves behind the ears. Without any warning, Jarrah hunkered down in position and began hopping bouncily around the room. I was just about to say, "Wow! Good kangaroo!" when she plucked some grass and nibbled it from her paw in a precise imitation of the show. Next she used that paw to scratch herself behind the ear a couple times. Lather, rinse, repeat. I was hysterically impressed, stunned by how much she resembled a kangaroo. She hopped over to me and offered me some grass, smacking her lips with freakish cuteness. Then she used her paw to scratch me behind the ear.

When I visited Australia in 2002, I got to meet some kangaroos up close and personal when we visited David's Aunt Cheryl and Uncle David down south at Kingtree Lodge (hi! :)) We fed them some apple and even got to pet them. The little ones had long, lush, horse-like lashes, a bit like Jarrah, as a matter of fact. Hmmmm.

I can't wait for Jarrah to meet some real kangaroos. Though hopefully they won't mind if Jarrah eats all the apple.