BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Chances are, if you're the parent of a preschooler, you can't make a fruit salad without finding yourself singing "Yummy, Yummy."

Toddlers and preschoolers turned out in droves this past weekend to see the catchy song's creators, The Wiggles, perform at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

Stephanie Berning is a staff writer for WFSB.com and a former nanny. This is the first installment of a regular column to appear exclusively on WFSB.com's Junior 3, a safe place for kids on the Internet. E-mail Stephanie with story ideas or your favorite Connecticut kids' spots.

I'll admit, I wasn't an easy sell for the Australian foursome. While pregnant with my daughter, now 3, I told my husband that under no conditions would we cave to The Wiggles craze. Having spent years working as a nanny in Boston, I knew all too well how mesmerizing the band is to tots and didn't want their repertoire of catchy tunes forever stuck in my head.

But then it happened -- Grandma bought "The Big Red Car" DVD. My daughter was hooked. We were hooked -- and what parent wouldn't be? It's impossible not to be while watching the grin on your child's face grow wider by the second while they mimic the goofy dances of equally goofy guys.

But just who are those goofy guys and how did they end up performing "The Monkey Dance" in front of thousands of people?

Still Going Strong After 16 Years

Anthony Field (the blue Wiggle), Murray Cook (the red Wiggle) and Greg Paige (the original yellow Wiggle) met while studying early childhood education.

They began writing kids' songs, enlisting the help of Jeff Fatt (the purple Wiggle), and The Wiggles were born.

They released their first album in 1991.

After 16 years, the group has gained popularity that extends beyond their homeland of Australia. They have numerous multi-platinum albums and DVDs and their show is aired twice daily on the Disney Channel.

The group tours, along with sidekicks Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and an array of Wiggly Dancers for seven months out of the year.

Three times each year, the group's tour comes to the United States.

I was able to sit down with a couple of the guys known as The Wiggles 10 days into their latest tour, the Racing to the Rainbow Live show.

Waking Up Jeff & The New Yellow Wiggle

I have to admit, it was a bit daunting to interview people whose characters I've planned a birthday party around and whose songs I find myself singing in the shower.

Fatt, who has a degree in industrial design, described how his somewhat accidental involvement in the group has led to a surprisingly fulfilling career.

"It's been a fantastic journey -- all 16 years of it," he said.

He explained how he evolved into being the somewhat narcoleptic Wiggle, often falling asleep on stage while children and parents alike yell "Wake up Jeff!"

"It was a way to get me involved with the children, having not spent much time around any," he said. "And they responded well to it."

Sam Moran inherited the yellow shirt in December 2006 when Paige was diagnosed with orthostatic intolerance, a rare condition of the nervous system marked by dizziness and fatigue. Moran said he received a warm welcome from the band as well as its international audiences.

"At one of my first shows as the yellow Wiggle in the U.S., someone handed out yellow pieces of paper to the audience. Everyone held them up to the stage and 2,000 people were holding 'Welcome Sam' signs. It was amazing," he said.

Moran said that children have also handled the transition well.

"If you're up front and open with kids, they're more accepting of change," he said. "I was never going to pretend to be Greg."

Fatt said that the transition was seamless because Moran has been performing with the group for 10 years as a Wiggly dancer and Paige's understudy, filling in for him at more than 150 shows.

While the group tours often, most of its stints are short, lasting from four to six weeks to accommodate family life in Australia.

"Sometimes when Anthony (the blue Wiggle) is getting on his 3-year-old daughter's nerves, she'll say 'Daddy, put on the blue shirt and pretend to be a Wiggle.'" -- Sam Moran Yellow Wiggle

Raising Children In Wiggly World

Cook's children, ages 13 and older, sometimes accompany him on tour.

"Usually kids don't come along on tour," Fatt said. "We move around too much."

Field also has children, ages 3 and younger, who Moran said enjoy the Wiggly world they were born into.

"Sometimes when Anthony is getting on his 3-year-old daughter's nerves, she'll say 'Daddy, put on the blue shirt and pretend to be a Wiggle.'" Moran said.

After touring, the group will return to Australia and begin filming the latest installment of its TV series.

"It's going to be more educational," Fatt said of the show's new format. "Of course it will still be fun and have songs."

He said that the group's latest DVD can be expected in the United States in October.

Gettin' Wiggly With It

After chatting with the blue and yellow Wiggles, my daughter, husband and I settled in for the show -- which proved to be more than impressive.

The group performed many favorites while captivating a normally restless age group with fantastic visuals.

Parents in the audience were equally as captivated as their children, dancing in their seats while the kids danced in the aisles. I even caught my husband, a former production specialist at a prominent Boston rock station, singing along to "Play Your Guitar With Murray."

Despite my early resistance to the band, I have to admit I'm happy that, with another baby on the way, we'll prolong the family's Wiggly years because Saturday night, I was singing "Hot Potato" long after my daughter had fallen asleep.

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