thekurths.com

An email I just sent

Here's an email I just sent to this guy, detailing a weird coincidence from today.

Here's something: Anytime someone makes a Twitter post that includes the word "Kurth," I get a notice. It's the lazy man's way of googling yourself, I guess.

Also, my wife's name is Karianne, but in high school she went by Kari.

So a few minutes ago, I got a pop-up that said: "(darinmcwatters): Instant messaging with Kari Kurth is like trying to have a conversation with a toaster."

Which is really funny, because, since we have 2 kids, talking with Karianne can be like talking with a toaster. Interruptions (and pieces of toast) pop up all the time.

But then I got to thinking, who's this "darinmcwatters" fella, and what's he doing instant messaging my wife? So I googled you and found your website. Since we live in Texas and you used to live in Texas, I thought maybe you knew her from high school or church or something. So I called her up and asked,

"Who's Darin McWatters?"

"I have noooo idea."

Pretty quickly we figured out that there is another "Kari Kurth" in the universe (what are the chances??). While we were talking, I saw a link on your site to the band "Everybodyduck." I bought that CD like 10 years ago, and I've never met anyone else who'd heard of them (no offense!). Then I discovered that you're the lead singer. What a weird circle of coincidences!

Given all that, I felt compelled to email you the story. Have a good day!

Derek Kurth

Kaeta's Quesadillas

The other day Kaeta had quesadillas for dinner. While I was getting them ready, I told her, "Mr. Schroeder likes to say, I've got a bad case of the dillas!" She just stared at me.

But then a minute later, she said, "Mr. Doh-dah like to say, I gotta bad case of dee-yas!" And she's repeated it many times since.

So, Gottfried, your joke is popular with 2 year olds.

Whatever Wednesday: April 23, 2008

Jonah calls them Swoot Potatoes.

The first night Jonah ate sweet potatoes, I misheard Karianne and thought she said "swoot potatoes." Now whenever we feed those to Jonah, we say (in our "Jonah voice"), "Ooh, swoot potatoes, my favorite!" And boy, can he wolf them down!

Granola Thievery.

On Sunday we went to Whole Foods, and we stopped at a display of some fresh-baked granola (no, we are not hippies. Granola is good, people.). We were looking at the different flavors, when I glanced in the cart and saw that Kaeta had grabbed a box of granola, opened it, and started munching away! So we bought that one.

Thank God for Reflexes.

Outside Whole Foods, we were about to walk to the car. To make it easier to carry everything, I hoisted Kaeta up on to my shoulders. Then I reached to pick up something else, and the next thing I new, my arm had snapped back and caught Kaeta by the ankle, saving her from falling on her head on the concrete.

This was really scary, and it was several seconds before I even understood what had happened. She sits on my shoulders all the time and has never fallen. Another dad with his daughter was walking by, and he said, "Whoa, that scared me!" Me, too, buddy!

Jonah needs his space!

The other night after bedtime, Jonah was screaming his head off, so I went in to comfort him. As I stepped into the room, I glanced over at Kaeta's bed, and something didn't look right. I walked over to it... and she wasn't there! I flipped on the lamp and looked around -- no Kaeta.

Then I looked at Jonah's crib. She had climbed up into his crib with him, she was snuggling with his little blue bunny, and she was sound asleep with him screaming right into her ear. So we figure, she wanted to snuggle, but he was upset. "I need my space, Kaeta! Quit crowding me!"

Where? Where. Where?

It's hard to convey how funny this was in person, but I'm going to try. Last night I was reading Kaeta her favorite story, Peter Pan. But randomly while I was reading, she would point somewhere on the page and say, "What's that?" So it went kind of like this:

K: What's that?

D: Tinker bell.

K: [moving her finger] What's that?

D: Peter Pan's knee.

K: What's that?

D: Peter Pan's hat.

K: Peter Pan's SHOES! (She wasn't even pointing at his shoes, she just gets excited whenever she thinks about shoes. Girls...)

Then her finger moved over to the words on the page.

K: What's that?

D: The word "ship."

K: What's that?

D: Pirate.

K: What's that?

D: And.

K: What's that?

D: Where.

She looked up at me, then kept her finger on the word "where."

K: What's that?

D: Where.

K: What's that?

D: Where.

Pause.

K: What's that there?

D: Where. It's the word "where."

K: That's a WORD!

I looked over at Karianne, and she was totally cracking up. She said it was like "who's on first?"

Five Months

Only four months until varsity try-outs! Every time we mention it, Jonah vigorously flaps his arms in excitement. Jonah's big news is that he has started solid foods this month, and he loves it. Dinner time is his second favorite time of day; his first being right before bath time when he gets to be naked. It is adorable how he smiles and giggles at being a naked baby. I need to get this on video so that I can embarrass him in front of Brinnly someday.

Getting these pictures of him proved to be a little more challenging this time, between Jonah grabbing onto Tigger the whole time, and Marty charging into the frame and sticking his nose right in Jonah's face. Jonah didn't seem to mind though, he is really fascinated by Marty, and only grins when the dog slobbers all over his face.

No One Hides Hooters Like the Hooter Hider

Allow me to make a plug for a great product I've discovered. To all the nursing moms out there, if you don't have a "Hooter Hider" -- get one! It is one of the best inventions ever. (Plus it has such a great name!) When Kaeta was a baby, I had no idea that anything like this existed. Whenever I had to nurse in public, I struggled with a blanket -- with it falling, with Kaeta pulling it down, not being able to see what I was doing.... it was so awkward and stressful. The OPPOSITE of what you want for a nursing experience. It would help if Derek was with me, so he could hold the blanket up while I got situated, but that only seemed to draw attention to the spectacle -- I think people were expecting us to do a magic trick. Needless to say, nursing in front of someone was a last resort.

But then when I was pregnant with Jonah, I found the Hooter Hider (queue cheesy miracle music here). Nursing in public is a totally different experience. It has a strap that goes around my neck, so there's no worry about it falling down or the baby pulling it off. It is plenty long, so I know I am fully covered. And best of all, it has flexible boning around the collar that makes it possible to see the baby. So nursing is easy and pleasant, no matter where I am. I know I am starting to sound like an infomercial here, but it really is that great. The Hooter Hider goes wherever Jonah and I go.

You can get the Hooter Hider for about 35 bucks, which may seem like a lot, but in my mind it is totally worth it. If you're crafty, you can be like my friend Jamie and make your own. She said it wasn't hard and cost her less than $10. Or, you can go to this website and enter this contest by April 11th to win a free one. Oh, and believe it or not, you won't find it at Babies R Us. My new favorite baby store, Baby-Wise, has them.

Decatur MP3

Here's something handy: Lifehacker has posted some instructions for converting YouTube videos to mp3s. Often I only care about the audio content of a YouTube video.

A couple of years ago, I posted a video of my good friend Johnathan Fowler and me singing Decatur by Sufjan Stevens during a concert Johnathan gave at his house. Using the tip from Lifehacker, here is the mp3. (And here is the YouTube video.)

Whatever Wednesday: April 2, 2008

1. Historically, April Fool's Day used to be celebrated on April 2nd.

Betcha didn't know that.

2. Jonah's on Solids

As of this past Saturday, Jonah is eating rice cereal. He loves it, can't eat it fast enough, and can't wait to see how much bigger his muscles are getting.

3. I actually completed a page in Kaeta's scrapbook.

You know, the scrapbook of her first year. Yes, I know she is two and a half this month. But it took me five years to finish our wedding scrapbook, so I will be thrilled if I could get this one finished by the time she leaves for college.

Anyway, the spread I did was based on the children's book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Kaeta's favorite book when she was 10 months old. We read it so many times I could recite the whole book by memory.

(Next time you're over, ask to see my scrapbooks sometime. It will make my day. :)

4. Peter Pan Sword

I (Derek) made Kaeta her very own Peter Pan sword out of an old fence board. I painted the handle/hilt black and the blade gray. She doesn't really swashbuckle with it, though. She likes to carry it around, set it carefully in a chair, maybe sing Away in a Manger to it (I'm not kidding). Anyway, here's a picture of her holding the sword while sitting on her Elmo couch and watching, you guessed it, Peter Pan.

5. LSD Cheesesteak

We ate lunch on Sunday with our friends Colin, Gottfried, and Sara at Texadelphia. On the wall by the cashier was this bit of Texadelphia fan art:

Yes, that's a man (?), utterly hairless, eating a cheesesteak (also utterly hairless), complete with a flying unicorn and rainbow. i just thought that was worth sharing.

Baby Cam

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