Before her Thursday night performance in All My Sons — while in her stage make-up, Katie Holmes carried 2 1/2-year-old Suri back to their NYC apartment.

Yesterday we saw the mother daughter duo heading home, after spending the afternoon shopping together.

Photo: INFdaily.com/Pacific Coast News

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A pregnant Naomi Watts kept her belly warm and juggled a tray full of coffee cups and a bag of clothes from Daffy’s this morning in the East Village. Naomi’s mother also came along for the walk.

Naomi and fiance Liev Schreiber are expecting their second child soon; they already have son Sasha, 15 months. The couple have been taking it in easy in New York City while they await their baby’s birth.

Photos: Flynet

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Reese Witherspoon, the 32-year-old Oscar-winner for 2005's Walk the Line, is currently promoting her new movie, Four Christmases, a comedy about family ties co-starring Vince Vaughn. Reese recently sat down with Parade and discussed her own family values and the importance of raising her children with a sense of balance and structure.

On how she and ex-husband, Ryan Phillippe, co-parent their two children, Ava and Deacon: "My ex-husband is very involved in raising our beautiful children. We're very lucky because we both grew up in working families in middle America. We're on the same page that way. When we're with our children, we're very good about checking ourselves.”

On the values she hopes to teach her children: "I'm teaching the children what we were taught growing up-a real set of rules, discipline, and love. Children thrive with a sense of structure, and they're frightened without it. The ways you behave, how you speak to other people-those things don't leave you."

On her worries about her children’s safety: "After my second baby, I was scared. It's hard to protect your babies from the press and all the people out there wanting a part of you. It made me hibernate a little bit more. I got very 'Mama Bear' and protective. You give birth, and worry and guilt come with it. It's a natural part of being a parent. But for me, the most difficult part is seeing my children being followed and harassed. They've been treated terribly. They were shouted at in their Halloween costumes, photographers screaming, 'You don't look scared!' We used to take our daughter to a wonderful school, and she was so harassed that we had to take her out. I hope not to live in this place forever.”

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Jack Black looks on as wife Tanya plays in the sand with their 2-year-old son Samuel at Coldwater Canyon Park in Beverly Hills earlier this week. The couple also have a 5-month-old son Thomas David.

Photo: Fame

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Jennifer Garner comes out of the Shutters hotel in Santa Monica and tries to hide behind an umbrella from the hounding paparazzi.

Jennifer was recently granted a restraining order from a man she believes is endangering her family. In her declaration, Jennifer stated, "I am currently pregnant and fear for the safety of my second child once born."

Photos: Splash

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Adopting an older child is a completely different experience than adopting an infant, and it comes with its own set of unique challenges. Angelina Jolie has three adopted children, but only middle child Pax, 5 this month, was adopted as an older child; he lived in an orphanage in Vietnam for the first three years of his life. Angelina has shared before some of the funnier parts of helping him adjust, saying when they first adopted him, “he would take five baths a day,” they “had trouble convincing him underwear is not pants” and that he went from being the “shyest” to the “wildest person in the house”.

Unfortunately, not all aspects are as lighthearted, and little Pax is still carrying some emotional scars. Hello! magazine interviewed her about her recent trip to Afghanistan, where she saw children in horrid conditions, and the magazine asked specifically about her own children adapting, being from “similar deprived circumstances.” Angelina answered,

“Children respond to affection quickly when they have been starved of it, so they are very loving soon after coming home. But Pax, for example, still wants to save food. He often puts parts of his dinner away for another time, even though we explain there will be more tomorrow.”

Source: Hello! Magazine Nov 18 print issue
Photo: Flynet

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I was recently able to catch up with Rebecca Martin, musician, mother and community organizer for a phone interview last week. As she has been very busy with a 21 month old son, releasing a record and organizing a neighborhood civic group, we were excited to catch her in between projects. I first asked Rebecca to tell me a little about herself. For people who don't know her, Rebecca has been involved with music her entire life and moved from Maine to New York City to follow her music career a few years back. She has recently released a new CD, "The Growing Season" and is enjoying all aspects of being a new mom to her son, Charlie James.

Celebrity Babies Blog: When did you decide on Charlie's name and did you have any other names picked out?
Martin: Charlie James was born in December 2005. We both knew he'd be a "Charlie" before he was even born though added "James" to ground the name. As my parents were antique dealers, I had many antique items in the attic and happened to hang an etching of a baby in a cradle over his crib. Upon looking closer, I found that "Baby Charlie" had been etched in to the piece. I knew then that I'd definitely chosen the perfect name.
Celebrity Babies Blog: How are you adjusting to life with a baby? How have you changed?
Martin: Having Charlie deepened my experience as a woman. The journey is unique and different for every mother. I was lucky to have a small and fantastic support system and a community of friends having babies at the same time around me. Being a mom has made me more flexible as a person. Charlie needs both structure and freedom to flourish, so I work to create a "disciplined structure" per say for him to move out in. A contrast, I know, but they go together. I encourage Charlie to be creative and free. Raising him has taken the focus off of myself.
Celebrity Babies Blog: After Charlie's birth, did you make any changes in your personal and social life?
Martin: The experience of becoming a mother is very cocoon-like. The new feelings of love, the life changes and responsibilities have transformed me completely. After Charlie's birth I just wanted to be around him so I stayed in my bed at home for a while. It's terrible that maternity leave in America is only three months. That's just not enough time to give a mother with her new child. I was just getting my sea legs at three months. I'd like to lobby new legislation one day to extend it to a year. At least.
Since Charlie's birth, I've also developed a broader sense of the world and I've deepened my own commitment to being a more responsible human being. Charlie is being raised in the garden, at soup kitchens, caring for animals, being outdoors and in the woods exploring. Very similar to my childhood in fact in the woods of Maine.
Celebrity Babies Blog: Did you have a lot of experience with children before you had your own?
Martin: In a word, no. I've always loved children but have been consumed with work and my own path throughout the past few years. Becoming a mom has me so present, that I can enjoy the simplicity of things. I find that now I take the time to appreciate the little things that make Charlie happy.
Celebrity Babies Blog: What is more stressful, managing a music career or being a new mom?
Martin: As a new mom, anxiety was more of a problem to manage then anything else. It was an overwhelming feeling to drive out of the birthing center with a 7 pound baby in the back. My husband is a great partner and friend - and very active in taking care of Charlie. Of course, I was able to call my mom too.
Celebrity Babies Blog: What's the one baby product you can't live without?
Martin: I love Welleda's Diaper Cream - it is the best! Will clear up any kind of diaper rash. Also, I use Born Free glass bottles for feeding and had good luck with Seventh Generation Diapers. I was drawn to Seventh Generation diapers because they are made without chemicals. Plus, they fit Charlie pretty snugly and didn't leak!
Celebrity Babies Blog: What is the one piece of advice you can give to a new mom?
Martin: Hire a doula! It's the best money I ever spent! Throughout, they will explain what is happening as it's happening and advocate for you during the birth. They work great with your partner at home or at a birthing center and/or hospital - whichever one you may choose. It's comforting - and I don't even want to think about how the day might have gone without her (Mary Riley, serving the Hudson Valley area in New York State).
Celebrity Babies Blog: For the upcoming holiday season, what do you think would be the perfect gift for Charlie James?
Martin: Without a doubt, the 5 piece Today's Tot Drum Set!
Celebrity Babies Blog: What is the most important lesson you want to share with your son?
Martin: I want to teach Charlie that nothing in life is disposable and that the choices we make, even the smallest of ones, matter. I want him to grow up with a strong sense of worldly awareness and responsibility. And I want him to know and feel that he is deeply loved.

Thanks to Rebecca for taking the time to share her experiences with us. We wish her the best of luck with her music career and family!

Britax is one of the top sellers for parents including celebrity moms and dads. Jamie Lynn Spears even had one on her gift registry before she had her little girl. Britney Spears purchased a Britax car seat after getting nailed with putting her baby in her lap while driving. Health Ledger and Michelle Williams had a Britax Roundabout car seat for their daughter Matilda and took her everywhere in it. Even Brooke Shields has a Britax convertible car seat for Rowan Henchy. The list goes on and on…
Britax car seats should definitley be considered for your little one or as a gift for a friend or family member. Britax brand car seats have also been featured on “The View” in the past and have been the leader in the car seat industry. Not to mention they offer products made in the USA with U.S. and global components.

I was researching Britax seats over the weekend and I found an AMAZING sale on them at BabyAge.com. It just started and lasts until Sunday, Nov 23, 08.

On the way off the set of his new movie State of Play in Los Angeles, actor Russell Crowe paused to give son Charlie, 5 next month, a kiss, while younger son Tennyson, 2, rested on comfortably on his shoulders. Tennyson also had fun playing with his dad’s long hair. Russell definitely isn’t shy about hugs and kisses in public!

State of Play is due out next year, as is Nottingham.

Photos: PhamousFotos/Splash News; Anthony Monterotti, PacificCoastNews.com

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It’s been a busy year for actress Melissa Joan Hart, between potty-training her 2 1/2-year-old son Mason and welcoming her now 8-month-old, Braydon. Melissa credits the “constant workout” of raising two boys for staying fit post-pregnancy.

“You don’t have time to eat because you’re chasing them all the time!” she said Friday at the Jonas Brothers launch of 77 Kids by American Eagle in Los Angeles. “You kind of lift them in the car seat, out of the car seat, in the highchair, out of the highchair.”

Luckily, Mason has been a dream as a big brother, although he is “just getting to the stage where he kicks [Braydon] when he walks by him. But for the first eight months he’s been a dream.”

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