House for Sale in Atlanta

2593 Laurel Ridge Drive

Decatur, Ga 30033
The child is not included with the house. :)
The deck
Beautiful view of the backyard from the sliding door

Breakfast Room

Galley-style kitchen

Completely renovated Master Bath
Ceramic tiling around the shower

Master Bedroom

Completely renovated Guest Bathroom

All new ceramic tiling, pedestal sink, and fixtures

Guest Bedroom

3rd Bedroom that is also perfect for a nursery or office

When Tyson and I got married and moved to Birmingham, my Dad bought this house from me to use as an investment property. Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law's hard work, the house has been renovated and is now ready to sell. It is such a great little house. Here is the actual link to the website: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2593-Laurel-Ridge-Dr_Decatur_GA_30033_1110860075 so please check it out and pass the word along!

This is 1964 ranch in Decatur, Georgia that is just minutes from 85, 285, Emory, and the CDC. It is a 3 bedroom/2 bath with a bonus room and separate laundry room. The lot is less than 1/4 acre, has a private fenced backyard, beautiful landscaping, and a fabulous deck for entertaining. The house has all of its original hardwood floors, and the bathrooms have been completely renovated and have ceramic tile. This house is zoned in an excellent school district and is located just miles from the elementary school; this type of neighborhood is very hard to find in Atlanta! The house is currently listed a$270,00 but my Dad is very motivated to sell!!

Please call Denise Goff at Weichert Realty (770) 256-5654. Thanks so much!!

A Few of Jake's Favorite Things

Jake loves praying before he goes to sleep! He usually folds his hands, bows his head, and just chuckles as I say the prayer very quickly. On this particular day, Tyson was trying to get Jake ready for bed and told him it was time to go read a book and say our prayers. Next thing we know, silly boy folds his hands and starts going "blah blah blah blah" as fast as he could. I cannot even explain how funny it was; I guess I need to start slowing the prayer down so he can actually understand what I'm saying.

While we were at the beach, Jake played with a little boy (a cousin of a cousin) who had tons of cars. I have never seen my child play so contently by himself for so long! Obviously, we rushed out to Walmart and bought him some cars of his own. Of course, he isn't near as interested in the cars now that he's at home, but he will still play with them a good bit. Here is my silly boy trying to show out for the camera and make funny faces. Such a personality these days!

CHOCOLATE COOKIES!! Jake and I have a ritual of going to the icecream store on the 4th of every month, which is his birthday day. Since we were out of town on the 4th of this month, I took him over the weekend. Well, you can leave the Sweet Shop without a double fudge cookie...Jake and Mommy LOVE them! Believe me, I usually don't give him this many sweets, but on this particular day, I was trying to teach him to say "thank you." What better way to teach him than to pry him with a cookie?

Jake gives this cookie a thumbs up!

Even with a mouthful, this is Jake begging for "one more!"

In case you missed that last one, Jake wants just "one more!!

It took some work, but I finally got my "thank you."

Even though he just figured out how to propel himself in his Cozy Coupe, Jake loves for us to push him it. He will sit there and beg you to "push...push" until he is blue in the face; he is relentless. So, I made a little game of it and taught him how to push "baby" (don't ask...Tyson hates Jake's "baby") to save myself a little energy from pushing. At first, Jake thought it was so cool to push "baby" around, but it didn't take long before Jake wanted in to be pushed. Turns out, he doesn't exactly like sharing his space with "baby" (as evidenced by baby being pushed out into the floor). Too funny.

And finally, my sweet boy before church yesterday playing with his "keys." Jake has recently become obsessed with our car keys; since it isn't very safe to let him play with our keys, the only way I can get him to quit begging for our keys is to give him "Jake's keys." Yes, they are a plastic baby toy, but whatever works, right?

18 Months Old

My brown-eyed boy!

Last Saturday, July 4th, Jake turned 18 months old. I can't believe he's half-way to 2! I know I talk a lot about him going through the terrible two's already, but he's really such a good boy. We are so blessed.

Here are a few things about Jake at 18 months:

• His new favorite expression is "one more!" as he holds up both of his index fingers indicating the number 1. Too cute...must get it on video!
• He doesn't watch much TV, but if he does, it must be on Dora or Diego.
• He will finally drink juice, but it must be in the juice box. We actually have to limit his milk intake; he actually drank over 40 oz of milk in one day!
• He is doing very well telling us before he has to have a bowel movement. We've actually been able to ask him to hold it if we aren't in a good place to a change his diaper (ie driving down the road, at the pool, etc), and he will! Is that bad parenting or what? Hey, the kid minds!
• He has 16 teeth. They aren't beautiful or properly spaced, but that's ok. That's why God made braces!
• He has the most beautiful brown eyes and blond hair. Tyson and I were both blond as children, so I had a feeling Jake would be blond, too, but like us, Jake's hair will darken over time. For now, though, he's my little surfer boy.
• He finally said "thank you" for the first time today. I of course had to beg him to say it with a cookie in front of his face, but he said it nonetheless. It's amazing how many words he says, but has managed to skip right over that one.
• He loves playing tackle with his Daddy. In fact, he loves playing anything with his Daddy(chase, hide and seek, peek-a-boo) that involves a lot of running, screaming, and acting crazy. I love my husband, but sometimes I think there are 2 little boys in our house! :)
• He loves his Daddy, but is turning into a Mama's boy more and more every day. He has just started refusing to let anyone put him down but his Mama; this drives Tyson crazy...and me, too! :) Also, any time he gets hurt, even in the slightest, he comes over to me and gets me to kiss his boo boo.
• He is such a good sleeper but turning into a lousy napper. He sleeps from 7pm-7:30am and is usually only napping once a day for 2 hours. I can't complain, though. We have been extremely blessed in this area.
• He loves to sing!! And he gets so into it! Don't get me wrong, the words never come out right, but he doesn't know that! He just raises his eyebrows, moves his head side-to-side, and goes to town!! Tunes of choice- Three Blind Mice and Tyson's Ringtone.
• He has started saying "hey!" to everyone we come across- whether we are in the grocery store or parked at a red light, he just waves, smiles, and gives them the sweetest "hey!"

As usual, I can't remember everything I wanted to write about my sweet Jake at 18 months. For the most part, he's just all over the place and talking up a storm. He is really starting to come out of his shell and is showing a little more of his personality in public; he can still be shy at times, but for the most part, he's finally letting everyone see the sweet, smart, bubbly child that Tyson and I have become to know and love. Happy 18 month birthday my sweet boy!

Reality

Reality=Football season. It's right around the corner, so that only means one thing- the vacation is definitely over. I think we still have about 7 more weeks to go, but they are going to fly by! I'm still kinda in denial about the whole thing (specifically the part about losing my husband for the next 5 months), so I'm not exactly ready to go there yet.

Tyson's vacation has come to an end; he reports tomorrow for a prospect camp and has spent the last 2 days at the office preparing for it. These have been the best 4 weeks, though! We got home Wednesday after spending a couple of days in St. Simons just the 2 of us; Jake spent that time with his Grandmama and was spoiled rotten. I wish I had some pictures, but I not only took a break from the blog, I took a break from my camera. We had the best time! I can honestly say, though, I've never spent so much time at the beach but so little time on the actual beach itself. Having a toddler can do that to you, I guess.

Tyson has a couple more weeks of "office stuff" to do before he goes into "lock-down"- no joke, that's what it's called. Ugh. I'm not looking forward to him being gone at all.

My crazy work schedule of working every. single. weekend. during. the. summer is winding down, thank goodness. I'm only going to be working two shifts a month during the season, so that's good. I am going to start keeping Ryan in September, so that will add some excitement to the Summers' household. It's kind of like having twins, huh? Well, twins that are 2 weeks apart.

Jake. Oh, Jake. My darling child. Baby boy is definitely going through that phase- the terrible two's. Yes, he is only 18 months, but the literature (and this mama) states that the terrible two's can begin around 18 months. We are there. Maybe not in full force, but getting there- lot's of "no!" and "mine" can be heard from inside our house. I am proud to report, though, that he only acts like this at home (and in the car)...or at least it seems. He has been doing really well at Mother's Day Out and is the "sweetest child in the class" per his teacher. She constantly brags about how big of a helper he is and how well he minds. I'm so proud of him, even if he acts a fool at home.

Well, back to reality. I promise to have some pictures of Jake up really soon. Have a great weekend!

A Visit from the Summers!

Before we left for our trip to Port St. Joe, Tyson's dad's first cousin, Keith, and his family stopped through on their way to Chicago to see us and to meet Jake for the first time. (Jake showed off in true Summers' form, too!) It was so nice to see Keith, Donna, and Leigh Ann and to catch up...I think that's the first time we've all been together since our wedding! Keith brought us some Summers' memorabilia (which was really interesting) that included a precious photo of Tyson's dad and his twin sister, Ann. I'll have to scan that sometime and put it on here...it was adorable! Thanks for stopping by Summers family!!

Jake meets Jace

Me and my lil' boys!
Jake checking Jace out
A lapful!"Peeezzzz?"

Jace was staring Tyson down!

MaMa and her 7th great-grandchild

Pat Pat was there, too!......but Jake was more interested in the dogs!

On our way back from Port St. Joe, we stopped through Tifton to see our families, and Jake finally got to meet his first-cousin, Jace. My sister, Amy, and her husband, Courtney, just made the move from Atlanta to Tifton, which is where we grew up. I know they'll miss Atlanta, but we are so excited for them to be back "home."

When Tyson arrived at Amy and Courtney's house with Jake, I was feeding Jace a bottle. I was really afraid that Jake would be jealous and possessive of his "mama," but he actually did pretty well. In fact, he ignored Jace for the most part; he did finally come over and check Jace out after me coercing him over. It was pretty funny...he accidentally knocked Jace's foot as he climbed up on the sofa, and I said, "be gentle, Jake." Of course, my sweet little boy who is quickly entering the terrible two's, looked up at me with the sweetest eyes and spitefully thumped Jace's foot again. Man that lil' boy likes to test me! Other than that, the first meeting went over pretty well. I'm sure it won't be too long until they're chasing each other around and tormenting each other...and the adults.

The Beach!

Well, I think Jake's first trip to the beach went pretty well. He didn't exactly love the beach, but he didn't hate it either. We stayed at Port St. Joe, Florida (which is where Tyson grew up going to the beach) for about a week, and each day got better and better....or should I say that each day Tyson and I figured out more things that Jake enjoyed doing. Jake definitely was not into the water, but he did enjoy playing in the sand, picking up sea shells, playing chase, running after the birds, and going fishing.

Jake turned out to be quite the fisherman. He actually caught his first shark- a little baby black tip! I was teaching Jake how to fish, and I decided to let him reel in the line. I didn't think anything was even biting at the line, so I thought it would be a perfect time to reel it in and re-cast. I held the pole and he started reeling it in. Next thing I know, I felt a little tug at the line; I looked up and saw that Jake had just reeled in a baby shark! I was in shock! Of course, Tyson (who is the expert shark-taker-off-the-line) was out in the water fishing, so it took him a little while to get to us. I was really worried about the shark being out of the water for so long and dieing, so unfortunately, we had to rush to get him back in the water and I didn't have a chance to snap a picture. Jake did get to pet it, though, before we threw it back in; he was such a big boy...he wasn't scared at all! On a side note, that darn shark kept taunting us. No joke, he kept swimming up on the shore at our feet! Tyson eventually picked the shark up and moved him to another part of the beach; needless to say, we didn't go back in the water after that.


We had a great time at the beach! Next year, we are definitely bringing help with us, though! Keeping a toddler occupied on the beach for so long and for so many days is hard work! It's definitely worth it, though, especially to see my sweet little boy make the most precious fish face!