Posted: Oct. 30, 2009

Amy Roulier was a skeptic.

She had uploaded her children's photos to Sproutonline.com for Halloween and birthday cards, and they had never been chosen to air on the 24-hour preschool network Sprout.

But then she got the call from Sprout that they wanted to use her 2-year-old son Ryan's photo in an episode of PICME.

"I was really surprised," Amy said. "I was really excited. I called everyone I knew."

PICME puts children directly into the story alongside animal friends using 2-D Flash animation in a show that lasts about 5 minutes.

Barbara Murphy, a representative for the Sprout Network, said the network receives thousands of photo submissions from across the country.

Amy had uploaded photos of Ryan and her 5-year-old daughter Grace to Sproutonline.com to entertain them. After the photo is uploaded, the child's head is cut out and placed on a cartoon body. Then children can watch their cartoon-selves dance with PICME characters or other hosts from the Sprout Network.

"(Grace) loves it," Amy said. "She'll say 'Put on Ryan's show,' and she'll sit at the computer and watch it play over and over."

PICME airs twice a day - once in the morning and once in the afternoon - and each show features a different child. Murphy said the PICME episodes never repeat.

Ryan appeared in an episode called "Gerty's Fruit Salad," between 4 and 5 p.m. Oct. 29.

Amy said the DVR was set, and she hopes they will be able to watch the episode at Ryan's birthday party.