Daddy's Attempt at Photography

While most men were watching the draft Saturday,

Tyson was watching cartoons
"I have so much fun with Daddy that I can hardly contain myself"
"You're cool and all daddy, but when is Mommy going to wake up and play?"
"I know my head isn't very big, daddy,

so how come you can't fit it in the picture?"

Yet again, I worked all weekend long and Tyson took over the role of stay-at-home mom. As usual, he did a great job. The only thing I can complain about is that Tyson never takes pictures of Jake while I am working/sleeping, so this weekend, he broke out the camera and snapped some pics. It probably wasn't the best weekend for photographs since Jake's hair is looking really greasy from all the medicine we put in his hair, but I couldn't turn down his pictures. So, here you go...pictures by Tyson.

Not the greatest pics, but...

"No, my parents don't beat me up. I just have eczema on my eye." "I even have eczema on my bicep fat roll"

"My hair is falling out, too? Am I falling apart or what, mommy?"

"So, if my hair is falling out...am I going to be bald like my daddy?"

Ok... I know these aren't the greatest pictures, but I wanted to document how pitiful my little boy's face looks. We are on day 3 of 7 of the eczema/cradle cap medicine, and it is still flared. He has eczema on his face (on both cheeks and around his right eye), his neck, both shoulders, left arm, and little splotches on the rest of his body. Not to mention, his poor hair has a mixture of cradle cap and eczema. Seeing him like this breaks my heart. Oh, and did I mention his hair is starting to fall out? I don't want to sound dramatic here; afterall, I have worked with the sickest of children and watched several die, so I am very appreciative of my healthy baby. Like I said, it just breaks my heart that I can't do more for my little boy. On a positive note, Jake is finally over the virus, though, so thanks for everyone who has asked!

Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk

My friends, Tamila and Kevin
Kevin rolling in for his surprise birthday party

Happy 8th Birthday!

Each year, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation hosts the Great Strides Walk to raise money for a cure. After working with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients now for over 6 years, I have become very passionate about these patients and their disease. One little CF boy in particular, Kevin, has really touched my heart. Some of you might remember hearing about Kevin; Kevin is the reason Tyson and I got back in touch after many years. You see, Kevin has end stage CF. He has been very sick since he was really little, and he has been in and out of the hospital so much, he considers it home. The nurses have become his mamas, friends, sisters, etc...it's really not that hard to fall in love with him and take on these rolls. As you can tell from the pictures above, Kevin usually celebrates his holidays (like his birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, etc) at the hospital. Well for Christmas of 2005, we decided to throw Kevin a Christmas party since he was going to be in the hospital over the holiday. That's when I got the brilliant idea to have Tyson, who was a graduate assistant for UGA at the time, bring some UGA football players to the hospital to see Kevin. I wish I had some pictures of that day because it was the happiest I have ever seen that little boy. He was so surprised!! Kevin is still fighting everyday to breathe, but until a cure is found, his life on this earth will be cut short. If you are interested in helping Kevin and so many other CF patients like him, here is how you can help. My friend, Tamila, who is a nurse at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, is participating in the Great Strides Walk in Atlanta, and she is accepting donations for the cause. Please visit her website http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/TamilaDulaney for more information. Thank you!

First Trip to the Doctor

"If I hide behind my towel, will you not put that

thermometer in my you know where?"

"Mommy, I don't feel good. I'm just going to lay here while you give me a bath and take naked pictures of me for the internet."
"My fat rolls still look good, even when I'm sick"
"Hey, I think that little boy in the mirror has as many fat rolls as I do!"
"Yep...we're hot"

Let me preface this post with a couple of things. First, being a pediatric nurse, I am always sick. You would think that after all of these years, I would have built up resistance to many illnesses, but this is not the case. If my patient has it, I am going to get it. Friday night, one of my patients had a pretty violent stomach bug, so of course, she looked at me and I got it. I tried my best to stay away from Jake, but he is so darn cute that I had to hold him a little. Well, let me continue to preface. Jake is plagued with eczema and cradle cap; I've tried EVERYTHING, and it still covers his body. The last couple of days, Jake has been grabbing and scratching the left side of his head. I thought his skin was just irritated from the new shampoo that I was using for his cradle cap, so I brushed it off. Well, he woke up this morning REALLY early (4 am ish), and I noticed he was acting kind of strange and grabbing at his ear. So, I decided that I would take him to the pediatrician when the office opened because I was worried he might have an ear infection. Sure enough, we got there and he was running a little fever (100 degrees). I felt awful for the little guy. Long story short, his ears were clear but his lymphocyte count was high, which indicated he might have a little virus (thanks mommy!). Turns out he does have a pretty bad case of eczema (thanks again, mommy!), so the doctor gave us some medicine to put on it. We are now going to have to quit using all of the good-baby smelling products and switch to Dove soap, Eucerin cream, and pretty much anything that is hypoallergenic. Poor baby. Good news is that he weighed a whopping 16 lbs 11 oz! Anyways, have a great day!

The Last Supper

"Yea, Yea, I know...you my love cheeks, daddy"
"When do I get to eat steak, daddy?"

"You might need some teeth first, son."

"Well then, can you at least put some steak in my bottle?"
Mommy does the cooking...daddy does the cleaning

Sorry it has been a while since I've posted. Things are getting a little chaotic around the Summers' house; I have been trying to work a lot of shifts before football season rolls around and Tyson has begun recruiting. I really thought I was going to be able to hang a little better than I have, but working the night shift is killing me!! Plus, I miss my baby!! Luckily, I get home to see him first thing in the morning when he is full of smiles, and then I wake up in time to see him before he goes to sleep. I am just so glad Tyson is such a good daddy and can totally handle Jake so well. When I came home Saturday morning, Tyson had given Jake a bath, done laundry, washed dishes, washed bottles, made bottles, and still had managed to prepare for recruiting. He is absolutely amazing!! Tyson did get some help from his mom who came to town this weekend to help while I worked; I was unable to snap any shots of her and Jake because the camera went "missing" this weekend. We really appreciate you helping out so much, Mrs. Mary Ann!! By the way, these pictures are from last Thursday night. It was a gorgeous day, so I got on the grill and prepared us a little meal...turns out it would be the last meal together as a family for a little while. I can't wait until recruiting is over!!

Mr. Personality

Jake Summers: The Politician
Jake Summers: The Professional Bullrider
Jake Summers: The Drama King
Jake Summers: The Professional Ball Player

Jake Summers: The Astute Thinker

In case you couldn't tell, I try to take pictures of Jake almost daily or at least every other day. When I took these pictures the other day, I only snapped about 2 minutes worth; I didn't think I was getting very good pictures, so I quit. Boy was I surprised at all of his expressions when I reviewed the pictures! He really does have so much personality...I know everyone says this about their kids, but I think these pics speak for themselves. It's hard catching him smiling on camera these days...my camera flashes this orange light before it snaps, and Jake hates it in his face! So...which is your favorite picture?

Sorry Ladies...He's Taken

Ella cheering on the White Sox
She totally has her mama's attitude!
"You like my new hat, Ella? It's hot!"
Most kids suck their thumbs, Jake sucks his whole fist!
"You think Ella will like all my muscles, mommy?"

I know I am not of the Indian culture, but my best friend from college, Kaycee, and I have arranged our children's marriages already. Ella was born in November (older chics are hot!), and while we haven't met Ella yet since she lives in Chicago, I know Jake will love her! Besides, if her mommy could put up with me in college, I know Ella will be able to handle Jake. Anyways, we can't wait to meet you, Ella! Go White Sox!

More Birthday Fun!

Happy Birthday Daddy (again!)
Look at all that smoke!! It's amazing it didn't set off the fire alarm!
Jake was eyeballing the cake...he can't wait to dig in!
Jake says, "GO BLAZERS!"

Maybe we'll see that name on the back of a jersey one day!

I know I already had a post designated for Tyson's birthday, but I had to post these pics from last night to show my family that I actually did bake Tyson a cake. I don't know, though...ever since I had Jake I've been doing all of these weird things like cooking every night. I guess that is what happens when you are mostly a stay at home mom (but don't expect it always, Tyson...I'm still a nurse on the side!). Anyways, Tyson and I had a big night planned last night for his birthday (we had a babysitter and all), but tornadic activity ripped through the B'ham area so we ended up cancelling and staying at home. Poor Tyson, his birthday dinner included a bowl of cereal and a Totino's frozen pizza. At least he had the homemade butternut cake. We did get to go out to eat today after the spring game; Jake did tag along but we had a good early supper anyways. Speaking of the spring game, we left the camera at Tyson's office, so I didn't get to take any pics. I did snap a few of Jake in his "Go Blazers" onesie that I made once we got home. I wish he could have worn it to the game, but it was a little too chilly. But good thing we had it on us because as luck would have it, we stopped by the football office (Jake's place of poop), and of course, he took care of business while we were there and needed an outfit change. At least I was prepared this time! Anyways, have a great weekend and GO BLAZERS! And good job, Tyson, the linebackers and special teams looked really good today (the rest of the team did, too, but you know where my heart is!).

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

"Do I have to wear this lame outfit all day long, mommy?"
Jake was proud wearing daddy's numbers
Coach Callaway joined in on the birthday fun!
Coach Zo teaching Jake where his nose is!
That is one proud daddy!

Here is our birthday tribute to the best husband in the world!

Today is Tyson's 28th birthday, so Jake and I ventured up to the office to eat lunch with daddy and take him his favorite dessert...red velvet cake. Needless to say, the cake didn't last very long in the football office; those men can eat! Tyson was very surprised and pleased with my crafty work with Jake's onesie; a couple of the other coaches commented on how cute it was, so I was pleased myself. Oh yeah, I almost forgot...since the football office has jinxed us with "blow outs", I begged Jake to poop BEFORE we got to the office and he minded his mama well and took care of business literally 20 minutes before we left. That a boy! (I wasn' t smart enough to make an extra onesie in case of accidents, so it all worked out well!). Anyways, happy birthday, Tyson! We love you! It's about time you caught up!

My Jumperoo

"If only I had go-go gadget arms...where is my other arm?"
"I can't believe they woke me up from my nap for this"
"Daddy Mack will make you Jump-Jump"
"Now what am I supposed to do in this thing?"
"I STILL CAN'T FIND MY OTHER ARM!"

Before the scrimmage Sunday, we pulled out Jake's Jumperoo that Aunt Amy gave him. He doesn't quite get the concept of jumping yet, but Tyson insisted on showing him how to jump anyways. He can spin around a little, and he likes looking at the lights; however, his arms aren't quite long enough yet to reach some of the toys. I'm still really impressed with his ability to hold his head up as well as he does and for as long as he does. Just another sign that my little boy is growing up!

Spring Scrimmage #2

"When can I get on the field and play?"
"Is this a good O-Line stance, mommy?"
"Did daddy's team win?"
Daddy hard at work

Today was UAB's second scrimmage of spring football; it was actually supposed to be yesterday, but the weather was really bad here and the practice fields were soaked. Well, the practice fields weren't much better today and Legion Field (where we normally played) was being used for soccer, so we took the scrimmage to the Hoover High School stadium. When Tyson told me this is where the scrimmage would be, I was thrilled! For those of you who don't know this, I love Hoover football. Hoover debuted on MTV's "Two-a-Days", and I was a big fan of the show. In fact, when Tyson and I were looking at houses in Birmingham, I insisted we live in the Hoover school zone so that my son could play football for Hoover High School. Anyways, a little crazy, I know, but I was so star struck when we went to the stadium today. Back to the scrimmage...it went really well and no one seemed to get hurt. Jake sat in my lap almost the whole time and appeared to be watching. Even if he wasn't, I was just glad he was being still and letting mommy watch the game and snap a few pics. By the way, the slide show is for you, dad. I hope you enjoy it! (My dad didn't think I took enough "football pictures" last week, so here you go!)