The family isin town for Jennifer’s new Broadway show, Cyrano de Bergerac, whichopens on November 1st.

Photos by INF.

Violet is wearing Ecco kids glow in marine ($66).

Parade

Ben says that he considers Violet ‘the best thing that ever happened to me.’ He continues talking about Violet saying:

She is happy as hell and talks like crazy! She has the ability to make me smile and feel so good and be so charmed that, when I’m not with her for a while, all I want to do is go home, just to be around her again.

Ben’s own childhood wasn’t as stable as he would have liked it to be. He tells Parade that he dealt with feelings of loneliness when he was a child.

I grew up in a home environment where I wasn’t getting esteem for anything I did. I played sports, but I wasn’t great at them…There was alcoholism at home because of my father. I changed schools [at age 8], and I didn’t really know the kids at the new school. I felt alone.

Ben concludes his interview with Parade saying:

Life is very good. Am I a happy man? I am when I’m around my daughter. Then I’m a very happy man.

Source: Parade via People

Having a child had a big impact on me and changed how I see everything, including work.

Mom is actress Jennifer Garner, 35.

Source: OK! Magazine

See the full-size image at Us Weekly.

Violet wears Kee-Ka’s long sleeve organic cotton pumpkin tee ($24).

Violet is also wearing Ecco kids glow in marine ($66).

[Ben] is the best. There’s nothing better than seeing your guy being a loving, tender, sweet [father] — It’s a roll of the dice.  Now [that Violet's] big enough…all of a sudden they get big enough that they can talk, and the guy all of a sudden is like, ‘Oh! Hi.’  They’re pals.

When I’m working, he’ll take her to the little class with all the moms.  It will be him at the gym class, I’ll go back the next week and say [to the other moms], ‘How was he?’  They’re like, ‘He’s great.  Didn’t talk to us, just focused on her.’  You’re supposed to talk to the moms, but that’s okay!

Source: Regis & Kelly; video in the extended post for those that missed the appearance.
 

Jennifer Garner

My husband [Ben Affleck] shot a movie in Boston called Gone Baby Gone. I went to Boston with him and I trained with the trainer from the Boston University hockey team.

What working mother has time for herself? I miss sitting down and reading the paper all in one go.

[He's] super involved, competent and loving. Ben will be there and the nanny is fabulous; Violet has known her since she was a week old and loves her.

I’m six months pregnant. No, but definitely some day.

Click below for the baby-related highlights — including marriage to Ben Affleck, nursing, Violet, and more — and photos from the shoot (which took place during the joint Affleck-Damon family vacation in Hawaii earlier this summer).

On pregnancy weight: I wasn’t a woman who stayed thin like I thought Iwould. I definitely gave myself the freedom to eat what I wanted. Ithought, ‘Oh, it’s going to drop away; I’ll have another cookie.’ Nexttime around I won’t go quite that hog wild. I did not have a huge baby[Violet was 6 lbs, 10 oz] and I was ginormous!

On being able to say no: It got a lot easier once I had a kid.

More on heat and nursing: Jennifer expounds on previous statements she made about filming The Kingdom in Arizona in summer ’06.

[The heat] made people crazy. It was like another character inthe movie. Your whole body is saying, ‘Go inside. Find somewherecooler.’ And there you are, just standing there, baking. The crew hadit worse than we did.

I checked with a pediatrician, I checked with my gynecologist, and they said, ‘Breastfeeding? You’ll be fine. Just drinkplenty of water.’ But the rules when it’s 138 degrees are different. Well, it sent me to the hospital a couple of times. I guess I was getting heatstroke. All my electrolytes weregoing to the baby — I wasn’t keeping any of the potassium in my body. Iwould never pass out or anything, but I just got so dizzy that Ithought, ‘I can’t pick up my daughter when I get back to the hotel.’ It happened twice. It was scary.

I made it through, though. I really didn’t want to give [nursing] up, and Ididn’t.

All in all, shenursed Violet for 14 months — pumping in the car on the way to the Oscars, and in airplane bathrooms.

I really loved [breastfeeding]. It gave me peace and a sense of purpose.

On Violet, now 21 months: She’s pretty awesome. We’re in that sweet spot before the terribletwos. She sleeps till 7! Yeah, we lucked out. Supposedly [when] youhave one that’s this easy and great, you’re screwed the next time around.

Jennifer says she is with Violet in the morning ‘four out of five workingdays.’

Then I put her down for her nap, I run out and have a meeting, Irun back. Sometimes I get home before she’s even woken up.

On the paparazzi: [The paparazzi] justnips away at anything you’re doing, the small pleasures. Iwould give just about anything to make it go away, especially for mydaughter. I feel like she has a right to her privacy, and it’s kind ofencroached on.

The family is still considering a possible move away from LA — Jennifer is from West Virginia, while Ben hails from Boston.

I can’t live in West Virginia and do what I do — I’m not going to get a lot of jobs there. We’re far from Ben’s family as well. It bums us out. We haven’t figured it out yet.

On marriage to Ben: I don’t know what makes it work. Butit does. One thing that makes it work is that we’re both pretty nice.He’s not someone who’s ever going to blow up on anyone. What I mean is,if he’s ever angry with me, he doesn’t act out on it in a weird way oryell at me. And I am the same. So we handle conflict in a very lovingand adult way.

On having more children: We definitely wonder what it would be like to have another — hopefully, knock on wood, someday. [raps table] My job is great to have as a mom. I get to take breaks and then work in a really concentrated way. During that concentrated time, it sucks, but whatever.

On Ben quitting smoking: Three weeks before we had Violet, he went to a hypnotist and has not smoked since! I so admire him, because it was so painful. But he is sick so much less often, and I don’t lose him every 15 minutes while he wanders around outside. He smells great. It’s a huge gift that he gave me — and our daughter as well. I probably annoy him, I celebrate it so much.

On her possible future talk show: I feel like women, and especially mothers, are disenfranchised from our families; we don’t have the same support group around us that we did a generation ago. All my girlfriends and my sisters were having these same issues, and I felt like, ‘Why isn’t this being addressed?’ There are tons of talk shows, yet there’s nothing that’s specifically for them. But I’ve never gotten the balls to go out and do it.

Source: Marie Claire, October issue, p. 86-91

Photos by Ramey.
Violet wears Naturino’s 7477 pink glitter t-strap ($55).

Photos by Ramey.

Violet wears a barrette by Leslie & Zoe — The Clip Fairies. They are offering CBB readers an introductory special of 3 clips for $10. Click here to shop their selection and order your clips.

She also wears Naturino’s 7477 pink glitter t-strap ($55).

Photos by Splash News, splashnews.com, splashnewsonline.com.

Violet is wearing a top from Baby Gap‘s Spring Rosebud collection — check eBay!

Violet wears a pink crochet flower clip from Belle’s Bowtique ($4.95).

Violet wears Cayman Crocs Mary Jane style in Cotton Candy ($30).

Ben holds a Playtex 7-oz First Sipster($4).