Sprague Parade: A very little big person

Well, it's been a while. Remember when I was going to do an artist update every week? Well, I forgot that I'm a mommy of a 2.5 year old. So maybe I'll just shoot for a good summery once a month or so. That, hopefully, should be doable. It's been a busy summer, so besides learning how to use my mat cutter and painting shoes, I haven't done much.
What have we been up to? Mostly following our toddler into kid-hood. Suddenly it feels like she's doing all of these big-people things-- using the potty was of course the big one. On our recent road trip down to California we brought the potty with us. And every hour there came a little urgent chirp from the backseat "I HAVE TO USE THE POTTY!" So we would pull off the highway, either at a rest stop (if convenient), or at some little god forsaken gas pump station in the middle of nothingness Oregon -- put the potty on the curb, and stand there on the side of the road while she did her thing. It felt very retro-parent. But really, it worked quite well.
Anyway, this potty journey has been and exciting milestone, but there have been other ones too...

1) She grew these long labrador legs, and started trying to climb out of her crib-- oh, horror! So Tyler built her a little sized big-person bed.

2) She has stopped sitting in her high chair, and now is in this awesome chair from Tyler's boy-hood, and eats at the table making dinner conversation with the rest of us. She always asks me, "mommy, did you have a good sleep last night?" no matter what time of day it is.

3) She has learned how to write "V" and "I" and "O", and then suddenly realized that if she could do a "V" she could also do "N", and if she could do "N" then she could also do "M", and "W".

4) She is inventing up all of these make believe type games, in a way that she never has before. She pretends that she has chicken pets, and feeds them carrots. Also, she keeps carrying Potato Guy (Mr. Potato Head) down the hallway with a little backpack and Tyler's headphones (that he wears on his walk to the university), and tells me that she is taking him to school. Two days in a row now he has ended up in my underwear drawer with a variety of other fun friends with him...

5) Tyler took her to the park today and she told him to go stand by a rock while she climbed up to the slide. I think she is getting a bit bored with us.

Next week we start a co-op preschool; we're trying to work ourselves up for that whole new exciting world.

Anyway, a few photos---