It goes a little somethin' like this . . .

Nah, nah nah nah naaah nah . . .

Let me introduce you to some friends The Mad Hatter has made over the last 3 months or so:

Yes, that would be Kiki, Marina, Twist, and Shout, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are your kids' BFFs too.

We started hearing the catchy songs of this group who make up The Fresh Beats Band (although to me, they'll always be the Jumparounds, which is how we were first introduced to them) at the beginning of the summer, in between shows on Noggin.

The MH loves anything that has to do with music - she hears a beat (no pun intended for those of you who know the songs as well as I do) and it stops her in her tracks.

We took Music Together classes for 2 years.

Thanks to Kidz Bop (remember how I felt about that? Yeah, we now own 3 CDs, along with every one we were able to collect when they were Happy Meal prizes), she knows the lyrics to more Top 40 songs than I do.

My girl is in constant motion, and when she hears music (whether it's playing out loud or just in her head), she stops what she's doing and the world becomes her stage.

It's truly her world. And she definitely lives life to her own special beat.

As we watched the "videos" all summer, she quickly became most intrigued by drummer Marina, at one point carrying around a set of bongo drums so she could drum along.

And finally, yesterday, my sweet little 4 and a half year old girl's dreams came true - The Fresh Beats Band show premiered on Nick Jr.

Not one episode, but two.

While the show may be kind of cheesy and totally predictable, it is good, clean, upbeat fun.

Kind of like Kids Incorporated meets Saved by the Bell.

A sort of Hannah Montana for the Pre-K set.

And a true rite of passage for the Mad Hatter.

She has been waiting, and waiting (and waiting) for those in-between show videos to converge into a show.

The first show she's watched that isn't a cartoon or puppet based show.

Her first big girl show.

It was a huge event in our house. DVRd on two TVs, the plan was that if she was super-well behaved all day (we've been experiencing a bit of unsavory new 4 and a half year old attitude lately and I finally seem to have found the one thing I can successfully hold over her head to ensure that the majority of our days are filled with acceptable behavior), we'd sit down and watch together as a family after bath time.

The plan went swimmingly, and I observed in awe the look of sheer happiness and utter glee as she watched her friends come to life on TV in a real show.

She beamed from ear to ear, and for the first 10 minutes, she was so riveted by all of it that she did not move from her perch on the couch.

Then she danced. And danced. As though her life depended on it.

And when the second episode came on and Marina's drums broke, she picked up her bongo drums and offered them to the TV screen.

I can't describe my feelings, but this is just one more bittersweet time when I realize my little girl is really growing up.

She's not a baby anymore.

In fact, at this time next year I will be a blubbering mess as she prepares to enter kindergarten.

More than anything, watching her excitement made me happy. The idea that something so small could be so big to her - so special and important - really made me stop for a few minutes and watch the world through her eyes.

And I loved it.

So tonight, we're getting ready to "Stomp the House" yet again as we watch the next new episode.

And this mom will proudly admit that she's a fan too. What can I say? They're catchy and fun!