Athlete in Training.

We live two minutes away from the University, and there are so many athletic events that we could go watch, but we hardly ever think to do it.  We finally did go to a basketball game and a softball game.  They were lots of fun! :)

These pictures are from the basketball game we went to.  I think she liked this outing the most, and that makes her basketball-loving dad very happy!

She clapped, laughed, and cheered/screamed the whole time.  It was so funny to watch her reaction to everything.  She even followed the ball most of the time.  I guess she can't help it, it's in her blood!  She eventually fell asleep from getting so excited and worked up.  I don't know how she slept through all the loud whistles that make you feel like your ears are bleeding, but she did it!

The softball game we went to was on a nice, chilly day.  That's complete sarcasm.  It was sunny earlier in the day and then it turned cloudy and the temperature dropped.  It was still fun though because we got to watch some ball and spend time with our good friends Tiffane and Franklin :)

^Yes, Franklin is that handsome pup you see staring deeply into Jane's eyes.  It was love at first sight.

^She loves to be around him, but she's definitely not used to being licked in the face.  The cats don't show their love quite the same way...

^This little whatever-you-call-it is hilarious.  And so cute.

Once the weather is warmer we'll definitely go to more softball games (especially since sometimes they have special treats, like free cotton candy (!!!).  Hand it over.)

Andrew isn't in any of these pictures, but I promise he was there with us :)

To show you just how much she's loving basketball, here are some pictures of our little athlete in training.

^Live it.  Love it.  Eat it?

^I dare you to block that cute face from taking a shot.

^Trying to take a cute picture of her and I, but the basketball won her attention.

And one more of our little lady, for good measure :)

Eating Machine.

Jane is quite the eating machine lately.  She loves to sit in her seat at the table and eat real food.  Some of her favorites are peas, pasta, edamame, applesauce, bread, crackers, cheese, oatmeal, and the list goes on.  I know I'm forgetting some, but this girl just loves to eat.  Just like her mom! :)  

^SO GOOD!

^Just letting us know that she's too cool to clean up the mess she made.

Where are you, Spring?

Not much has happened for us Brandt's since Valentine's day, except trying to get outside as much as possible.  I'm so tired of winter.  We keep getting these beautiful, sunny, warm days in between days of freezing cold rain and snow.  In fact it's snowing right now as I'm writing this.  When will it end?!  I usually love cold weather, but now that I've gotten that taste of spring all this winter weather can't be gone faster!  I've taken lots of pictures of Jane in the sunshine (and eating pasta, because that is FUNNY) and I know that she is so happy to be outside.   She loves it!

^We've been to the park that's a few blocks away several times and she loves to sit in the swings.

^It was funny to see her play with the snow and try to figure out what it is.  And a handful of muddy grass is always fun to play with too.

We've had a few picnics out in the backyard, too

^An awful attempt at getting a close up of Jane.  Ended up just getting an out-of-focus Jane and Piper creeping on us in the background.

^She could eat peas ALL. DAY. LONG.  

^And dead leaves and grass are just as tasty.

^On those warm days we like to wait outside for Andrew to get home from work.  

Valentine's Day Fun

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

I have always liked Valentine's day, and it's really fun to have a permanent date night set every year with Andrew :)

Last year for our Valentine's date I think we went to The Southern Inn Restaurant for a fancy little dinner (which I usually get the meatloaf... but man, that is some fancy meatloaf with the most delicious mushroom sauce).  Andrew worked there as a server a few years ago -Jane just rolled over by herself, pardon me while I give a hearty WHOOP WHOOP!- and two of his nieces have worked there, so he still knows some of the people there.  So we sometimes get a little discount when we go :) (it's nice to be married to someone people like).

This year we decided to stay home, and Andrew wanted to make me dinner.  Andrew is a pretty good cook.  He knows the basics, and he LOVES to cook meat.  Which is perfect, because I love to EAT meat :)

He bought some super delicious New York Strip Steaks from a local butcher and whipped up a super delicious dinner for him and I.  He even went as far as to make potatoes au gratin.  He's more of a baked or mashed potato guy, but he decided to get fancy! (anything that sounds French is fancy right?)

So there was Andrew making this mouth-watering meal, and it's as if Jane knew that it was time for her to go to sleep and let mom and dad have free hands to stuff our faces with.  Right as Andrew was done cooking I put Jane down in her room.  A sleeping babe, a perfect meal, my handsome man.  It was a nice Valentine's date.  

We didn't talk much except to say how amazing the steaks, asparagus and potatoes were.  Seriously.  We STUFFED our faces.  Andrew did a good job on that meal.  We still talk about it.

"Hey remember those steaks we had?" (dreamy look on both our faces)

"Yeah.  Those were GOOD steaks."

Andrew was re-creating the first meal he made for me while we were dating.  He said he needed to make up for it, cause that first one was... not so great.  I thought it was yummy, but he just keeps making it better and better.  I'm so lucky to have a man that loves steak as much as I do :)

Beside that, Andrew is just the best.  The best dad, best husband, best friend.  That's why Jane and I made him this sign!

^Those two.  Just the best.

I tried a couple of ideas to get Jane's footprints on there.  It wasn't working too well... so I tried a hand print.  Even worse!  But that's OK, it added a little character to the sign.

^Jane in her Valentine's Day outfit :)

^Laughing away!

Sorry for the explicit description of the dinner we had.  I just wanted to share the deliciousness of it with you all :)

We Got Snow!

I was giving up hope that we would see a good, solid snow storm this winter (this part of Virginia almost never does...).  We got a little here and there, but it was mostly just a mix of ice and rain.  I wanted SNOW!  Thank goodness we got some!  It was so fun to watch it fall and get deeper and deeper.  It made this cold winter worth it.  For now anyway.

 ^This is the view from our porch the morning after most of the snow fell.

^This shows how deep the snow was, and it still wasn't finished!

We took a walk up to Andrew's parent's house, since driving was out of the question, to help shovel their driveway.  BV isn't all that great when it comes to snow preparedness... The roads also had a thick layer of ice underneath the snow.  All sorts of craziness going on with this storm!

^This little miss hadn't seen this much snow.  All she knew was that it was really cold outside.

While we were walking the 5 or 6 blocks to Andrew's parent's we passed several people that were out shoveling like we were.  One guy stopped to talk to us and he was so funny.  He loved Jane and thought she was so cute and he commented how it's good that we have her out in the crazy weather.  

"My generation would say 'Don't take them outside! They can get sick and die!'"

So he was applauding us for taking our child out into the freezing cold snow storm :)

Jane is healthy as a horse, and we had her bundled up pretty good, so we weren't too worried about her.  And it's not like we were walking 10 miles or anything.

So that was our fun snow day.  Most of the snow has melted, thanks to this warm weather we're having now.  I'm glad we got the snow, it's what I've been waiting for since Christmas... but now it's time for spring.  Please.  

Six Months.

This little miss is 6 months old!

It's so fun to look through all the pictures on my phone and see how much she's changed.  And she still has a lot more changing to do!  

Some things she's digging right now:

- Being outside (when it's on the warmer end of things).

- Gnawing on carrot and celery sticks.

- Playing with spatulas and spoons.

- Being with mom :)

- Peekaboo!  All day, every day.

- Watching (and grabbing) the cats.  I'm talking handfuls of fur, people.

- Watching mom sing and dance and make a fool of herself.

- Hanging out with dad while watching basketball.

- Seeing dad right when he gets home from work.  She gives him the BIGGEST smile.

- Babbling and spitting.  So lady-like.

- Sticking her tongue out so she can feel the single tooth she has.

^Sorry for some not so great iPhone pictures.  But the subject of the pictures makes up for that :)

So there she is!  A teething, fun-loving little miss.  She's been quite the momma's girl lately, which I don't usually mind, but sometimes I just wanna sit by myself for like 5 minutes! :)  It also makes me feel bad for Andrew because it makes him feel a little useless.  I just keep telling him that she will go through a phase at some point where she'll only want to be with him, and that she'll realize daddy is the fun one. haha!  

Her first tooth popped through a few days ago and she loves it!  She keeps that tongue out all day long and it's hilarious.  We've started giving her some softer food to try chewing and eating, though she doesn't quite get the concept of eating food yet (we're not planning to go the babyfood route).  She likes the flavor of steamed carrots and cut up bananas, but once she puts it in her mouth she just sits there like... Why is this still in my mouth...  haha.  It's pretty funny to watch her discovering everything.

^Reading a book with dad.

^Chillin' outside in some warmer weather.  That cat loves to climb on the stroller, whether it's inside or outside.

^That face.  You can barely see her tooth about to come through on the bottom left side of her mouth.

^Lashes for days.

^Hanging out with dad while looking at basketball stuff.

^She kills me.

^Little lady.

And her hair IS growing.  I promise.

Lemon-Garlic Chicken, Potatoes, and Green Beans

Hey Everyone!

For dinner last night Andrew and I had one of our favorite meals, Lemon-Garlic Chicken, Potatoes, and Green Beans.  It's so fresh and tasty, and also SO easy to make.  I found the recipe here.

^Again, not my picture.  But it looks tasty, eh?

Ingredients- Serves 4

6 Tbsp. olive oil

2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 pound trimmed green beans

8 small red potatoes, quartered

4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4 pounds)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Arrange lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.

2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices.  Add the potatoes to the same olive oil mixture and toss to coat.  Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans.  Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive oil mixture and coat thoroughly.  Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet.  Pour any of the remaining olive oil mixture over the chicken.

3. Roast for 50 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet.  Place the beans and potatoes back in the oven for 10 minutes or until tender.  Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally (or not :)).  Serve warm.

Easy right?  And pretty darn healthy too.

I half the recipe since I only need to cook for 2 people.  I also make other changes to suit what ingredients we have in the house.  I use whatever potatoes we have, and I usually cut them smaller so they take less time to become soft.  I don't use chicken breasts with the bone in, I just use regular, trimmed chicken breast.  I also try to use less chicken and more green beans and potatoes.  We REALLY like our meat over here in the Brandt house, so I feel like we are constantly buying meat from the store, beef and chicken.  So to try to save money we try to eat a little less meat with our meals and more vegetables.  It also saves our bellies... cause too much meat isn't great. (Unless it's a nice, big steak cooked on a smoking hot grill smother in some steak sauce... then it's ok)

So there's an easy week-night meal!  Toss it all in one pan and you're good to go! And it's chicken, potatoes, and green beans... what kid (or adult) doesn't like that stuff?  Good for the whole family!