Hello Baby!!!!

Here are the details:

Baby Mason was born at 3:30pm on Friday August 31.

He weighs 7 pounds and 15 oz.

He is 22 inches long.

Mother and child are resting comfortably.

We went into the hospital last night at about 8pm and Michele began a Pitocin drip at about 10:30. Throughout the night she had contractions so she didn't get much sleep. early in the morning she got the epidural and was able to sleep for a while. By 8:30 am Michele was dilated to about 6-7cm and we had a moment where we thought maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. Well, our little guy was not positioned very well. We didn't know it at the time but he was face up and stuck on Michele's pubic bone! Although no one said it, we were all thinking about the possibility of a C-section because he was not moving. At 3 pm a new nurse came in and really encouraged Michele to push and Michele did. She worked extremely hard through a series of contraction and got the baby moving. At 3:30 he was born!

So its a wonderful day for us, exhausted but so grateful for the wonderful new life blessing our family and for Michele's strength an spirit.

Rain

This week southern California is suffering from a heat wave. Temps are above 100 - up to 107 in some areas. Needless to say - we're hot!

But last night, around 3 in the morning I was lying awake as usual. Strange flashing lights and low rumbling noises were bothering me - and I was starting to get mad at whichever neighbor was causing the rucous! Suddenly I realized - hey I think I recognize this noise - it's thunder! At this point, Douglas was awake as well and we opened the window and listened as the thunder got louder and closer. We held our breathes, hoping that actual rain might follow. And sure enough, we finally heard a sound that has been absent from our lives for months! Rain!!!

We both grabbed our shoes and ran out into the driveway and stood under the cool drops for the full two minutes that they fell. It was heaven and over way too soon. We got back into bed and fell asleep listening to the few more waves of rain that came by.

This morning, except for a few puddles here and there and dirty streaks on the cars, you would harldy know it had happened. Today is going to be another 3 digit scorcher and no more rain in sight for months. But I have one small moment to cling to while I wait for the next rain to fall.

No Baby Yet

Grandma April arrived on Monday evening. On Tuesday the doctor stripped my membranes, we went on an hour long walk, ate a "labor inducing" salad from Caiote's Pizza Co. in Studio City, took a hot bath, but still no baby! I am scheduled to go into the hospital for an induction on Thursday evening. Until then, I'll keep working on starting naturally. As soon as we have pics we'll post. We'll also let everyone know the name!

Thanks for all your support and concern.

Bye Mia!

Today In Treatment said goodbye to Mia Wasikowska the wonderful actress that plays the role of Sophie in the show. Mia is such a terrific kid, last week we did 8 straight hours of ADR (automated dialogue replacement) together at Warner Brothers and she was a total trooper, lots of fun, tons of energy, and a great sense of humor about it, even in the last hour when I started adding cues "just to be safe."

Mia is from Australia and so she has lived with her Mom in a little house in Culver City all summer while shooting. She has been acting for four years so she's still pretty new which just makes her that much more impressive. In Treatment is probably the biggest things she's done, she's made a huge impact on the show and everyone working on it. Her performances have been so consistent and so magnificent. She is one to keep an eye on in the future! Tomorrow she flys to Europe to start a feature about children in World War II. I wish her good luck, I hope my kids are as nice and as well adjusted when they are 17!

Pictures taken on the set of the show.

Picking Baby Names

I love baby name books - where do they come up with these names?

Here are some of my favorites!

Theron - means hunter

Names Having to do with Rocks:
Safwan
Urvang (mountain)
Topper
Sutcliff or Stancliff or Stanbury
Steinar (rock warrior)

Wolf Names (Wolf Hunter - get it!)
Ulrich
Udolf
Ulf

Just Plain Funny Names:
Lutardo
Gundelberto
Didier
Pardulfo

As of yet, we have not found a name that means second son of a filmmaker - but when we do!! Watch out.

Bergman

Last Monday Ingmar Bergman past away, while this was not unexpected it was still a big loss for the film community. I know that I am not alone in having watched his films many times, both as a viewer enthralled with the stories and as a filmmaker seeking understanding of what he did, and looking for ways to improve what I do when making a film. The New York Times has run two articles about Bergman in the past two weeks, this weekend's piece was written by Woody Allen who remarked that Bergman's films are philosophical and challenging. This got me thinking, why is it that film viewers of the 1960's and 70's were willing to be challenged by films that were emotionally so complex, and at times delved into philosophical and intellectual realms? Certainly to film viewers and filmmakers today words like "philosophical" and "Intellectual" are considered pejorative. In fact in an interview last month the EP / Director of In Treatment (the show I'm currently working on), Rodrigo Garcia (son of Gabriel Garcia Marquez) said that In Treatment "is not intellectual, it's a soap opera on steroids." Now, he may have been saying what he thought needed to be said about the show in order to get viewer's interested in a show about therapy but I thought it was too bad that he said it was not intellectual because on one level it is, and that's part of what makes it a good show. So anyway, philosophical cinema or TV can be a very good thing and I hope that in the near future it won't be considered a bad idea to challenge viewers, to encourage the kind of fascination that comes when we are invited to both think and feel when watching a film. Bergman's work stands as a reminder of how exciting film can be when the focus is on emotions and the mind.

Some of my Fav. Bergman films:
Persona
Wild Strawberries
The Passions of Anna
Shame
Cries and Whispers

Telecine!

HA-HA!! good news. Had the telecine session last night and the film looks great. Its always a nervous time when you have your film in the can but have not seen it yet. Well last night I went to Technicolor Hollywood and had the footage transferred to video. We had a great bay and a great colorist.( he is the guy that does the color for CSI Miami.) I really don't like living in LA but there is something to be said for having access to the best production and post production resources in the world for my little film. Any way, its official the dailies look good and the audio sounds good, time to get into high gear with editing!

An Emergency Makeover By Mom!

Here is what our family looked like before mom arrived.



I am so grateful to my mom! This past weekend she made a special last minute trip to Pasadena to help me clean and organize before the baby’s arrival. I was in desperate need of rescue and, like the super hero she is, she came through for our family.



She had no idea what she was getting into!

She convinced us to get a storage unit, which we did. That was the smartest move we could have made and should have done it years ago! So this weekend we packed boxes, made trips to the Goodwill and purged, purged, purged. We filled up our dumpster! Mom cleaned and scrubbed and organized and got our little home ship shape! I finally feel that I can bring a new baby into the house without endangering its health.

If you ask her, she will claim that she hardly did anything. She’ll humbly say, Michele and Douglas did most of it. Baloney! She is a dynamo. Nothing would have been accomplished without her as the catalyst. She even motivated Douglas to purge and store his belongings, something I have never been able to do!

I am in complete awe of my mom! She is a woman of such integrity and love for others. She has served me her entire life, with very little reward I feel. And she doesn’t just serve me. She is a wonderful homemaker and wife to dad. I know that she also helps my siblings the same way, with the same gusto and love. She is kind and thoughtful to all she knows. She has always served so diligently in all her callings as well. She is my role model. When I think of integrity and selflessness – I think of my mom.

My goal now is to keep everything looking good. She is still planning on coming down when the new baby arrives and I want her to have a more relaxing trip this time. Just time to enjoy the grandchildren and not worry about her crazy daughter’s inability to organize!

I love my mom! She is the best.

Shooting the film

I am very superstitious about making films which means I don't like to say good things too soon. So without too much celebration, let me just say that the shoot last weekend went very well. It was a bit slow but short of any disasters such as camera scratches or bad lenses etc I think there is going to be some beautiful footage. Susan was a dream to work with and so was the crew and location. Of the shoots I've produced and directed, so far this has been the smoothest.

Here are some shots from the first day of shooting.

I've been Tagged!

Here are my lists.

Jobs I Have Held

1. Raging Waters group coordinator
2. Taco delivery girl
3. Telephone Surveyor (lasted less than 2 weeks)
4. Grocery clerk
5. Customer Service Rep for Franklin Quest/ Covey
6. Teacher – 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, Private, and so on
7. Rock climbing instructor

Places I Have Visited

1. Germany
2. Florence, Italy,
3. Bern, Switzerland
4. Portland, Oregon
5. Barbarato, Honduras
6. Hawaii
7. Mexico
8. Addison, Maine
9. Catalina Island
10. Glen Rock, Pennsylvania

Places I Have Lived

1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Logan, Utah
3. Glendale and Pasadena, California

Books I Can Read Over and Over . . .

1. The Harry Potter Series
2. the Lord of the Rings Trilogy
3. Young Adult Fiction/ Novels
4. The Thorn Birds (cheesy I know!)
5. Pride and Prejudice and other Jane Austen works (sorry Franz)
6. Poems by Billy Collins
7. The Book of Mormon

Comfort Foods I Love

1. See’s scotchmallows
2. lasagna
3. homemade chicken noodle soup (the creamy kind)
4. chocolate chip cookie dough (not the cookies so much)
5. cereal
The Things I Most Likely Thought When I Met My Significant Other

1. Dude, he’s such an aaawwesomme climber!
2. I wonder if he knows I exist?
3. I gotta get me some private coaching.
4. I wonder if my boyfriend wants some coaching too.

Things I Haven’t Done Yet but Want to Do Before I Die

1. Finish knitting a sweater
2. Read the entire Bible
3. Own a Home
4. Compete in a mini triathalon (and look good doing it!)
5. Have a clean, organized home (LOL! – maybe when the kids move out!)
6. Take a painting class
7. Earn my Masters Degree
8. Travel to exotic beaches like Fiji and the Riviera

A weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

This past weekend we visited with Grandpa and Grandma Hunter. They came out from Pennsylvania for a wedding - Fred's great-nephew Hunter Gaspar.

The wedding took place in Fallbrook which is just over the San Diego Co Line and about 15 miles inland. It was a beautiful weekend.

We spent much of our time at Douglas' cousin Tom's retirement home. (Wow! that was a mouthful!) His home is on a 5 acre lot, surrounded by a lime grove. There was a pool, all sorts of games, and a very fancy 4 wheeler. Addison was exhausted by the end of the weekend!



We miss grandma and grandpa and it was great to spend time with them! Hopefully they will be able to come and meet Baby Bash this fall.

Obsessions

I have an insane obsession as of lately. I blame it on having pregnancy brain. It is a proven fact that women tend to lose the ability to think clearly and rationally during pregnancy!

Anywho, I constantly fantasize about winning the lottery! I've decided that I win $64 million dollars. Why? I have no idea.
I then go through and decide how much to invest in retirement, I set up mission and college funds for all the children in the family. Then I pay off evereyone's school debts, including the neighbors and friends in the ward. Finally, we buy homes in every state where we have family, and I get a personal trainer. Oh yeah, and the next family reunion is in New Zealand - on me.

The craziest part is, I've never bought a lotto ticket - I don't even know how! This baby needs to come so that I can get me brain back!