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Letter from the Tooth Fairy

This letter just arrived from the tooth fairy. I'm not making this up. It's the actual text from the letter.

June 24, 2008
Mr. Myles Lazerow
[ADDRESS REMOVED FOR SECURITY REASONS]

Dear Myles:

It is with great excitement and a tad of jealousy that I send you this $2 in exchange for the wonderfully brilliant tooth you sent my way. Based on my inventory manager’s initial count, I believe this is tooth #6 from you. That is great news. You are well on your way to having a mouth full of adult teeth.

With progress comes responsibility, my friend Myles. These adult teeth are the teeth you will have forever. You will need to take care of them dearly. For if you don’t, they will go away and you will be forced to live a life of toothlessness. I have included a picture of my last client who did not take care of his teeth. 

Congratulations once again! Please send me all your other teeth.

Your friend, “Toothy” The Tooth Fairy

Video: Jungle Anyone?

I only have one question: Where did we go wrong? Enjoy!

Myles Goes Around The World

Kass and I hosted about 15 munchkins in our basement for Myles' 6th birthday party yesterday. He wanted a basketball-themed party, so we asked one of the teachers at Calhoun, and Myles' basketball coach, to run a basketball clinic. Despite one bloody nose, no one got hurt, which is my new guage of birthday-party success with the boys.

Everyone who has seen Myles' one-year video can attest to Myles' affection for the hard court. This video shows how far he's come in the last 6 years.

The Myles Mix, Vol. 3

I meant to post this on Monday night. Anyway, here it is.

I get home from work. Myles and Cole are rocking out in their room. As you all probably know by now, they love music. Myles' Phish concert escapades are legendary. Cole can now hold his own. Myles decides that he needs to create a new mix CD. I sit him down at my Mac and let him select the songs. Here is his mix. I have to say that, despite the JT and the Who Let the Dogs Out, it's pretty friggin awesome. I'd workout to this mix anyday of the week.

• SexyBack (Justin Timberlake) FutureSex / LoveSounds       
• Brianstorm (Arctic Monkeys) Favourite Worst Nightmare
• Who Let the Dogs Out (Baha) Men Who Let the Dogs Out       
• I Like to Move It (Jens O. Radio Edit)    Bang Gang I Like to Move It
• Army (Ben Folds) Ben Folds Live
• Tiny Dancer (Ben Folds) Ben Folds Live       
• Robert Holiday (Corn Mo) The Magic Is You!       
• One More Time (Daft Punk) Discovery       
• Rock Your Body (Justin Timberlake) Chad Hugo & Pharrell            
• Five for Fighting (John Ondrasik) The Battle for Everything
• Life of a Salesman (Yellowcard) Ocean Avenue
• Back Where It All Begins (The Allman Brothers Band) Where It All Begins

Redskins at Hill Country

One of the benefits of owning your own restaurant is that you can pick what's on the TVs. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Marc showed the Skins game today on the main projection TV at Hill Country. The DC crew -- plus wives (Kass, Chloe, Kristin), kids (Ava, Myles, Cole, Austin) and parents/grandparents (Epsteins) -- got together to watch the Skins beat the Dolphins.

Hill Country is a great place to watch the game. The BBQ is awesome, as you all know already. There are TVs everywhere (upstairs and downstairs bar and downstairs stage). And Marc makes BBQ wings in the smokers that are out of this world. The ones with sauce are great. The plain ones are even better.

I plan to spend many Sundays and Monday nights there this NFL season. Please join me.

Video Narrative: An Evening in Turks and Caicos

Video Narrative: An Evening in Turks and Caicos

I took these videos last evening. I don’t have my Mac (and video editing software) here, so the best I could do was put together this video narrative. Watch, read and enjoy!

We have a grill here. So I’ve been doing most of the cooking. After chicken fajitas, a dance competition broke out. So you think you can dance?

Myles clearly won the indoor competition. Would he extend his lead in the beach portion or would he break down under the pressure of competitive dance?

The judges scored the first round 36 for Myles, 32 for Kass and 21 for Cole. So Kass decided to pull out all stops and showcase her secret moves.

Exasperated, despondent and danced out, Cole gives up and decides to go swimming.

They then play in the sand.

And Myles takes a break to take care of business.

And finally, it’s time for a bath before bed.

This one is an extra from the DVD version.

Video: Pool Time

Another great day in Turks. Golf, swimming with the kids, snorkeling with Kass and the kids and then swimming again. Other than the $4.90/gallon of gas, all is well.

Here's the latest video. Enjoy! Make sure to watch until the end as I included some bonus footage of John abusing Myles.

Back in NYC

So we're back in NYC. We spent the last week in Vail. We had a really relaxing time. Thanks to my amazing wife who knew I needed a break, I got in 4 rounds of golf. The highlight was a 79 on Wednesday. I went birdie-birdie on hole 13 and 14 of the Country Club of the Rockies course. I hit a 6 iron to within a foot on the gorgeous par 3 over the Eagle River! In addition to some golf, we swam with the kids a bunch, Kass and I saw Bourne Ultimatum (loved it) and worked out most days and we ate a ton, which is typical of a Vail trip. The best meal was probably Splendido in Beaver Creek. (Kass, for the record, would not share her chocoloate souffle with me!).

This week we're catching up on work and hanging in the city. It feels great to be back. I walked around the Upper West Side this afternoon and realized that I actually missed the energy of the city even though we loved the clean air and open space of the mountains.

On Saturday we're heading to Turks and Caicos for 2 weeks. We rented a house on the beach. Though I'll need to work to get a new company I'm starting up and running, the plan is to recharge, spend time together as a family and enjoy the beach. We have several visitors while we're there and plan to enjoy the end of summer (hopefully hurricane free!) in the Caribbean.

We have a few days with an empty bedroom. Let me know if you want to join us! Turks and Caicos is great for the soul.

Why do kids need to take dumps at the worst times

Warning. I am posting this directly from Riverside Park.

Why is it that kids only go to the bathroom when the available facilities are at their worst? It's like kids' bowel movements are inversely related to the cleanliness of the world's bathroom. Why can't they be mutually exclusive? Nasty bathroom, no dump. Instead, the closer the bathroom is to Iraq outhouse, the more they have to go.

Case in point: we're having a wonderful time at Riverside Drive. My friend Eli shows up. Myles needs to take a crap. Come on, Myles. We live in a beautifully clean apartment thanks to Kass (and Erica). Why don't you use those bathrooms? Why now?

Please send toiletpaper if you read this. There's none here. Oops.

A beautiful Saturday in NYC

Red Bird

Myles and I took a little adventure yesterday afternoon. The impetus was to pick up contact sheets and negatives of portraits Renny took of Vivian. But as is the case so often, the adventure spun in a whole new direction.

We headed via subway to Duggals at 23rd and 6th. We were walking on 23rd and ran into Dave Linn and his wife, Jen. Dave is a friend from NU. Great guy. (The strange thing here is that I didn't connect with Dave for the first 17 months that I have lived in NYC but just connected via email last week and then ran into him the following weekend. Strange.) Anyway, he was walking to the Madison Square BBQ Festival across the street. I had forgotton about the festival. Hill Country, Marc Glosserman's amazing tribue to Texas BBQ and music, had a booth.

So Myles and I decided to hit the festival after Duggals. We briefly watched a blues band on the main stage and then walked toward the BBQ pits to see if we could find Marc. On our way, Myles noticed this bright red bird that is pictured above. (I walked right by.) He was mesmerized. He tried to touch it but the owner said it might bite. I incidentally told birdman the same about Myles. The birdman didn't believe me as Myles was wearing his favorite Phish tshirt.

Marc was not at the Hill Country stand. He was a few blocks away at the restaurant. So Myles and I walked to the restaurant. We walked in. I told Myles this was Marc's place. His reaction? "Are they going to have video games." Marc and Michael G were there getting ready for night #2 (opening night was a huge success and Kass and I went back Saturday night and it was packed. We hung out with Marc and Kristen, their families and friends. Great band. David Byrne, former head man of Talking Heads, showed up at around 10:30 pm, which was super cool. David runs a great blog that can be found here).

Anyway, this is why I love living in NYC. Spending time with Kass and the kids. Running into friends on the street every day. BBQ. Random bands I have never heard of but rock.  Wandering  knowing its the adventure that matters and not where we're going. Meeting random people, and birds, with the added danger that they may just bite (or eat) my kids.

What a Day

Walking home from park with Mama Kass.

Nice ... Kass is back in action

3 Monkeys and Daddy

Cirque du Solazerow

Cirque du Solazerow. Coming. Summer 2008.

Snakes, Roaches and More

Myles' 5-year birthday party came and went without any major injuries. I assure you this was quite a feat given the attendees included several large and ugly snakes, three giant cockroaches, a fuzzy tarantula, a cute little rabbit, a white ferret, two frogs (only one was poisonous), a mouse and her baby, and a half dozen lizards (iguana, gekkos, etc.). Oh yeah, and a few of Myles' friends came as well. Enjoy this video recap.

Robert, The Snake Master

Who would have ever thought Myles and Cole's cousin Robert would love snakes so much?

Collage

Click and enjoy!

Scary Times

These indeed are scary times. Here are the pictures to prove it. And yes, Kass and I actually spent a night on the town wearing these costumes.

New Photo Galleries Are Live!!!!

The great photo purge of 2006 is complete. I have downloaded all pictures since February 2006 from my digital camera and posted the appropriate ones to the site. New galleries include the following:

• Kids in DC: Anabel, Harol, Myles and Cole. Together again!
• New York Welcome Party: Robin and Mark hosted a wonderful party for about 50 friends at their amazing place. It was a great, great evening.
• South Beach Spring Break 2006: Kass, the boys and I hit South Beach for Spring Break 2006. Thanks Louis for letting us use your amazing place.
• Cole Turns 2: The headline and pictures say it all!
• May 2006 Photogasm: Enjoy the hodgepodge of pictures from May 2006.
• Summer 2006 in NYC: School's out and summer's in. Kass and the kids enjoy their first summer in NYC.
• July 4th and The Wedding in The Butte: Kass, the kids and I headed to Crested Butte for 2 weeks for the Fourth of July and Kevin & Ashley's wedding.

The Fourth on the Island ... Randalls Island

A little putt putt in the park.

first haircut in the hood

first haircut in the hood ... Cozy's on amsterdam and 82nd.

Runaway Train

haircut day!

Cartoon Cuts. We came. They cut. Cole screamed his arse off. And a pile of hair and 4 lollipops later, all's well in Lazerland.

Who said it's too early for video games?

He's a little too good at the driving game.

Apple Pickin'

On Sunday, Sept. 25, we threw the kids in the car (mini van, not MINI Cooper) and hit an apple orchard outside Poolesville. Based on both the quantity of apples picked and the fun had, the trip was a huge success. Leslie and her kids joined us, as did Laurie, Gary and Ethan Cohen and Nan Nan and Pops Zirkin. Little Ethan is a Gary clone, which is a little scary but I won't go there right now. But hey, people say that about Myles and me. Enjoy the pictures. And feel free to write if you need any rotten apples.

Official 2005 Family Pictures

Jennifer Hughes paid us a visit earlier this month. She's amazingly talented. Jennifer is great with the camera and even better with kids. She was once again able to capture both Myles and Cole's personalities (at least those personality traits we find most appealing!). To access the pictures from our shoot, please click here and use the event code "Lazerow". You can purchase any pictures you like directly from the web site. If you ever need a professional photographer for your kids, a wedding, a birthday, whatever, give Jennifer a call. She's phenomenal.

Birthday Party Weekend

Two birthday parties this past weekend -- Myles' friend Drew's from Abington Montessori and Danni Kane's. Myles loved the moon bounce. Spent about 2 hours jumping with his buddy Lorenzo and the other birthday party goers.

Friday Fest Fun

2 car rides, 2 flights, several movies, some legos, salami, Crispex, granola bar and a nice dude who let us park in his front yard later. We finally made it. Good day at the Fest. Nice weather. 80+ degrees. Sunny. Swampy. Sweaty. Great food (as you can see in the pics). And great music. It didn't hurt that the first band we saw was one of Myles' favorite. They also played the song from Myles' 1 year video (Extraordinary) as we walked in. He only asked for Phish 3 times. Enjoy the pics. Stay tuned for more tomorrow. Long day. Need to go to sleep. Tomorrow is assorted morning activities broken up by quality Myles/daddy cartoon time in bed as daddy sleeps followed by Galactic, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dave Matthews and as much New Orleans cooking I can stuff in my face.

NEWS FLASH -- MYLES AWAITS SIBLING

This just in. The rumors are true. Lazerow.com has learned that Myles is expecting a sibling on April 13, 2004. While the due date rarely matches the actual birthdate, April 13 is an interesting birthday. Garry Kasparov (1963), Eudora Welty (1909), Samuel Beckett (1906) and Thomas Jefferson (1743) were all born on that day. If Baby #2 is born a day early, s/he will share a birthday with 90210's Shannen Doherty (1971), the Late Show's David Letterman (1947) and music icons Herbie Hancock (1940) and Lionel Hampton (1913). Let's hope that s/he is not a week late. April 20 birthdays include actors Joey Lawrence (1976) and Carmen Electra (1972), washed-up in-fielder Don Mattingly (1961) and Adolf Hitler (1889).

Myles' Wish List

Many of you have asked me what you should buy Myles for his birthday (12/21) or Hannukah. Some of you just want to get Myles a gift because he's so darn cute. There are others who will go unnamed who believe that a gift here and a gift there will increase your chance of winning a Mylie Award this year (Best Uncle in a Supporting Role, Best Aunt in a Supporting Role, Best Grandparent in a Starring Role, Best Great Grandparent, etc.).

On the right side of this page, you will see Myles' Wish List. If you do buy something from this list, please let me know so I can remove it to prevent multiple purchases of the same item. And those of you who would rather support Myles by contributing to his education fund, please click here. Myles accepts all credit cards.

The following have already contributed to Myles' education fund through Lazerow.com:

John Lazerow
Josh Meyers

Fine Print: Several of you have asked ... Will you or Myles need to pay taxes on this contribution? The answer is no, as long as your gift is less than $11,000 (or $22,000 if you and your spouse contribute together). You see, any US taxpayer can gift up to $11,000 to Myles EACH YEAR. Actually, you can make $11,000 gifts (or $22,000 if you're doing it with your spouse) to as many different people in a year without any tax consequences: your lifetime unified credit ($1 million) is not affected, and the recipient (Myles in this case) pays no tax. Of course, I encourage you to consult your investment counselor or estate planner if you have any further questions. If you don't have one of those, please call Harold Zirkin. If you don't want to talk to Harold, call Levy in Chicago, or just send Myles $11,000, or $22,000 if you're married and you get approval from your spouse. I don't want this whole process to create undue marital strife. That's not my intention. I'm just trying to send my kid to college.

The Myles High City

From Aug. 6 - Aug. 19, we spent two weeks in Edwards, Co., now known as Kobe Country. We had a fantastic time. The newly rehabbed Zirkin Colorado house is amazing -- two floors of fun.

Click here to view the pictures!