Love, Learn, Play: Week Four

This week started in a pretty spectacular way. Well, depending on who you ask! On Monday we got a terrific snow storm- it snowed the entire day we were on set. By early afternoon we had gotten close to eight inches and it was just beautiful outside. Except that Jon and Grammy were scheduled to fly out of LaGuardia at 4:45pm. By about 2:00 when they were supposed to leave for the airport, we knew there was know way they could get there and very little chance that their flight would get out at a decent hour, if at all. Jon was pretty stressed about it being that he hadn't planned to take any additional days off of work. Luckily two of the days he was here ended up being snow days so he had those to fall back on, but he was more worried about his students having last minute sub plans. We were able to get Grammy on a flight home Tuesday afternoon but there was only one seat, so Jon couldn't get out until Wednesday afternoon. I felt terrible that he was a little stressed out about it, but two extra days with daddy here was about as awesome as life could get!!!

Monday the boys had an incredible day of filming. It was a split day with Matthew working five hours in the morning before Caleb clocked in after lunch. They both did really, really well with their scenes and because their flight didn't leave Grammy got to watch Caleb film in the afternoon which was a special treat. Tuesday was a bit tougher as the boys had to film a scene in which they were supposed to be asleep while the other two actors read through two pages of dialogue. It was by far their hardest scene yet! Watching on the video monitors was really stressful. When everyone else is getting their lines right but having to do take after take because your kid decides to itch his nose or move his leg or turn his head is not the most comfortable feeling in the world. Especially when I knew the boys were trying their very hardest to stay still. It just isn't a specialty of theirs! Thankfully the director and A.D. are incredibly patient with the boys and they understood that this was a tall order for four year olds. The A.D. does a particularly good job for these scenes by keeping everything on set as calm and quiet as possible, which really isn't all that possible but he manages somehow!

Wednesday was a day off for the boys. We wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo since Jon was still here, but we got yet another snow storm- this time with quite a bit of ice as well. We were kind of trapped inside. We attempted to walk down the street and through the mall to get to the Barnes and Noble to at least get out of the apartment but we barely even made it there! Luckily they were able to get the planes back on schedule by afternoon and Jon's flight was only delayed by about 45 minutes. It was really hard to see him go this time even though I knew he'd only be home for two days before turning around and coming back!!!

Thursday was supposed to be a late night of filming. They needed to finish a scene they couldn't finish last week because it got so late. I was pretty nervous because last time they filmed this the boys were really off their game. But they had practiced their lines over and over and were ready. I forced them to take a nap in the afternoon so they'd be well rested- and by force I mean pinning them down for an hour and a half until they gave up and fell asleep! It appeared to backfire as soon as they woke up when Caleb was super cranky because he thought it was the next morning and because I didn't let him have the first bite of a banana- which to a four year old is a very logical reason to have a meltdown that could rival Chernobyl. But by the time we got to set they were both in great moods and ready for a night of filming. Matthew did the blocking rehearsal and nailed all of his lines. Then he rehearsed a few times upstairs with his cast mates and nailed them every time! It is quite strange for me to see my little boys running lines with these amazing actors as if he is one of them. By the time they did department head rehearsal, I was able to settle down as Matty hadn't missed a line yet. After the first take- the entire crew clapped and cheered... I'm sure they had visions of another long, difficult night ahead and were just as grateful as I was to see that wasn't going to be the case!! They filmed a couple of different camera angles and everyone was just spot on. But as the night wore on, watching Matthew deliver his lines took a backseat to watching him play with Bobby and Rose in between takes. When we first started filming I was quick to grab the boys between each take to give the other actors a break. I'm sure they didn't want to be annoyed by an overactive four year old for six straight hours! But by this point, some very special friendships had started to form and while I still wondered if the boys were being a nuisance between takes, I came to trust that the actors would let me know if they needed a break from them. So on Thursday night, I never once went to retrieve Matthew. Instead I hung back and just watched him interacting with Bobby and Rose. They are so wonderful with the boys and Matthew was having the time of his little life. I have to admit I got a little teary eyed a few times when it was so clear that these incredible actors had really come to accept my little boy as one of their own :)

On Thursday we actually wrapped by 7:45pm but the boys had napped so they didn't fall asleep until sometime after 11:30 at night. How long after is anyone's guess because that is when my mom and both fell asleep! So although Friday was suppose to be a late night as well, I didn't force a nap. Friday morning we went to set at 11:00am for Caleb to do some voice over stuff really quickly, then we came back at 5:00pm for two scenes. Caleb filmed a few takes and was great with his one line but he was a bit fidgety, so Matthew tagged in. Once again Scott, the A.D. went above and beyond to make sure the set was calm and quiet for Matthew so he could stay in the zone. It meant the world to me to see how much he, and everyone, has come to care about our boys. Trying to keep Matthew calm meant keeping him away from Caleb, so Matty and I hung out in Mr. Nick's dressing room between takes. Nick started showing Matthew some videos on his phone about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Twin Towers, and the Empire State Building. Matthew would crawl up on his lap, soaking up the information in the documentaries and it was just the cutest darn thing in the world. He loved every minute of it and when we wrapped at 11:00pm he chattered the entire way home, telling his brother everything he learned with Mr. Nick! As we head into our last weekend here in New York and our last day of filming on Tuesday, I'm starting to wonder how the boys are going to handle leaving all of this behind to go home. They have really come to love these incredible people and their time on set is the highlight of their days here. I'm trying to take as many mental pictures (and real ones too) as I possibly can so I will never forget these magical moments.

Monday's snow storm