Pharrell Williams and his wife, model and designer Helen Lasichanh, welcomed triplets into their growing family. A rep confirmed to Vanity Fair that the triplets were born earlier in January. The sex or names of the babies have yet to be released to the public, but a rep confirmed that Helen and the babies are “happy and healthy.”
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images
The two tied the knot in 2013, and have an 8-year-old son Rocket Ayer. Cheers to the happy family!
One of the only celebrities that can read a profane children’s book with charm is Jennifer Garner. The mother of three hilariously read Adam Mansbach’s Go the F**k to Sleep aloud for parents to laugh and relate. Oh Jennifer, this is why we love you.
Disclaimer: Contains strong language
Photo & video courtesy of Vanity Fair via YouTube
Can you relate to the book? What do you wish you can say to your children at bedtime? Tell us in the comments below!
— Noelle Buckband
Living in the dream factory is never more exciting than when it’s Oscar time (the Oscars take place this year on February 22). Hollywood Boulevard is closed, parties take over favorite restaurants, and viewing parties are where we’re at on Oscar Sunday. While we don’t have an invitation to the Vanity Fair party for you, we do have something even better—three free ways to go behind the scenes of the Oscars that parents and kids will enjoy.
photo credit: Hollywood & Highland’s facebook page
See the Red Carpet: Yes, That Red Carpet.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are the Oscars. It takes a lot of workers bees buzzing for weeks leading up to the ceremony to get everything in place. And the night before the show it all has to come together. So if you take the kids to Hollywood & Highland on Oscar Eve (Saturday, February 21), you can watch the last minute flurry. Watch them roll out and tack down the red carpet. Watch the lights get hung, the flowers and palm trees get rolled into place, and camera crews doing sound checks. The golden man himself, guarding the doorway, is in place and all is in readiness for movie stars tomorrow. Head up to the 3rd floor, where you get a birds eye view behind the scenes. Then on Sunday, kids get a kick out of watching the arrivals on TV and knowing they were right there.
Need a snack? Hard Rock Café is perfect family fun and lets you get a little rock and roll as well as movie star glamor this weekend, or for a sweet treat, there’s nothing sweeter than Sweet!
On Saturday, February 21 the Hollywood & Highland Center is open and accessible to the public (except the red carpet area where they’re setting up) from 10 a.m.–10 p.m. It is closed to the public on Oscar Sunday.
Dolby Theater
Hollywood & Highland, Hollywood
Phone: 323-467-6412
Online: hollywoodandhighland.com
photo credit: FIDM
Visit the Costume Department: The FIDM Exhibit
The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibit is the perfect way for mini-fashionistas to celebrate Oscar Weekend. Actually, it’s a fun exhibit for the whole family, since the costumes are from movies kids will recognize, too. This year you can check out last year’s winner of Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby. You can also see costumes from all of this year’s nominated films: Maleficent, Into the Woods, Mr. Turner, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Inherent Vice. In addition to seeing the wicked queens capes and horns and the fairy tale costumes from the Sondheim flick, kids will love seeing the costumes from The Boxtrolls, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Night at the Museum and X-Men.
While they dream super hero or fairy tale dreams, you can marvel over the tiny waists and beautiful gowns and do a little dreaming yourself. (Like dreaming that this is your closet… )
When they get tired of looking-but-not-touching, right in front of the museum is a big grassy lawn where kids can run and play (and ride the brass dogs that dot the landscape). Also sharing the square is an urban playground, complete with bouncy bugs, slides and shaded climbers. Then a tiny walk up the street and everyone can be relaxing with wood-fired pizzas and perfectly sweet macaroons at Bottega Louie, a family favorite spot downtown.
The exhibit runs February 10-April 25, and the FIDM Museum is open Tuesday- Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
FIDM Museum and Gallery
919 S. Grand Ave.,Downtown LA
Phone: 213-623-5821
Online: fidmmuseum.org/exhibitions/current
photo credit: Shoshana via Creative Commons
Go On Location: Paramount Ranch
Get out and celebrate what the Oscars are really about—making movies! At Paramount Ranch you can take part in “Oscar Goes Outdoors,” a celebration of the Oscar nominated and award winning films connected to Hollywood’s movie mountains (the Santa Monica Mountains). See where and how early Hollywood pioneer filmmakers transformed the SoCal mountains into Africa, China, Germany and even the South Seas. There will be presentations, photo displays and more.
Today, kids can still play wild west with the amazing “ghost town” left behind from those movie frontier days. Bring a picnic (and costumes) and after exploring, you can set up your own craft services and have a photo shoot that will make your kids feel like they’re in the movies.
The celebration takes place from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday, February 15.
Paramount Ranch
2903 Cornell Rd., Agoura Hills
Phone: 805-370-2301
Online: nps.gov/paramountranch.htm
How do you celebrate the Oscars – in style, ignore ’em, or TV time?
-Meghan Rose
After welcoming a newborn, it doesn’t take long for you to realize that the mantra “sleep like a baby” is one big myth. Still, there are products and hacks that can help! From bedtime rituals to noise making apps, here’s how to help baby (and yourself) get some serious zzz’s.
1. Learn to swaddle (or faux swaddle).
Soon after baby is born, a nurse whisks her away and wraps her perfectly and snuggly in a blanket like a burrito. Once you’re home, re-swaddling a Houdini baby in two seconds flat (like the nurse) at 3 a.m. is not easy. Enter Swaddle Strap, a swaddle blanket that velcroes around baby’s arms. No folding, tucking or tightening needed.
Photo: Anna & Eve via Facebook
2. Hang blackout shades.
Those block-out-all-semblance-of-daytime curtains worked for you in college when you were trying to take a disco nap. And it will work again for your sleepless babe. Look for something that is lined with black polyester, like these cordless roman shades from Pottery Barn Kids. Word to the wise: Don’t hang all-black curtains, lest you want the nursery to resemble a vampire lair.
Photo: Pottery Barn Kids
3. Add a humidifier.
For nights when kiddo is sick, a humidifier is a must-have (though you really can use them whenever). How it works: A humidifier boosts a room’s humidity, which can relieve congestion, chapped lips, and dry skin — all reasons your cherub wakes up in a panic. One that’s freakin’ adorable with high humidity output is this one by Sunpentown.
Photo: Sunpentown
4. Give baby a massage.
The proof is in the pudding. Research says that infant massage promotes better sleep. If you’ve never given your bambino a pre-slumber rub down, start with an “I Love U” tummy massage. Simply trace the letter I down your baby’s left side. Then trace an L, starting under her arm on the right side and going across the belly along the base of her ribs from her right side to her left. Next trace a U, stroking from high on the baby’s right side, down and around the navel, and up the left side.
Photo: valentinapowers via Flickr
5. Download an app.
Rain, Rain is a free iPhone app that comes with 25 different rain sounds, including “downpour” and “rain on a tent.” Warning: You might fall asleep before baby! If one baby sleep app isn’t enough, add the Sleep Pillow Baby app to the mix. The new parent fave features some of the most out there lullabies and ambient sounds (think: hypnotic Frère Jacques remixes and soothing night owl hoots).
Photo: Rain, Rain App
6. Get a lovey.
If lights out sends baby into a tizzy, Cloud B’s Twilight Turtle might do the trick. This plush toy’s shell transforms a dark room from scary to starry, by projecting real constellations onto bedroom ceilings and walls. Talk about sleeping under the stars!
Photo: Cloud B via Facebook
7. Paint (or repaint) walls.
Check the shade of the nursery’s walls. Reds, oranges and yellows are stimulating and can keep baby up. Chillaxing shades include blues, green and neutrals.
Photo: The Farmer’s Nest
8. Warm those wipes!
It may seem like one of those vanity items you gratuitously add to your registry, but a wipe warmer (like this space-saving variety) can actually make a difference between baby falling back to sleep after a diaper change and, well, not. Let’s put it in perspective, wouldn’t you be wide awake if you wiped your tush in the middle of the night with a cold, wet wipe?
Photo: Dex Baby
How do you maximize your baby’s sleep time? Share your secrets in the Comments section below.
— Ayren Jackson-Cannady
