Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finalized their adoption of Pax Thien almost a year after Angelina first brought him home from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Brad and Angelina went to LA County Court on Wednesday to complete the adoption process. It was initially approved in Vietnam, and was finalized by approval of a Los Angeles judge.

Pax was originally named Pham Quang Sang and lived at the Tam Binh orphanage until the age of three and a half after he was abandoned at the hospital as a baby. He was said to have cried and hid during the official adoption ceremony on March 15 of last year, but by most accounts has settled into Brad and Angelina’s blended family well. Brad and Angelina hired a Vietnamese translator for him to ease his transition, and he seems to have found a friend and protective brother in older Maddox, 6. Pax was seen riding an inner tube down the slopes at Mammoth Mountain in California with his dad Brad Pitt earlier this week.

According to OK! Magazine, [print edition, February 22, 2008] Brad, Maddox, 6, and Pax, 4, were at Mammoth skiing for two days earlier this month while Angelina was in Iraq. They arrived on February 5 by private jet and stayed at a luxury rental home right on the mountain. Maddox and Pax took skiing lessons and were said to have “picked it up pretty quick.” The trio returned home on February 7, and it looks like they enjoyed their skiing vacation so much that they went back. The whole family was spotted at Mammoth earlier this week. TMZ has the pictures, and they’re pretty darn cute.

Brad Pitt and Pax Thien are shown in the thumbnails below taking a 4×4 ride on 1/3/08, thanks to Splash News. When I saw these pictures, the first thing I thought as a mom was “that’s not safe!” It seems like something my husband would do too with my son without realizing. Pax is also shown in Mid March, 2007, when he first left Vietnam with Angelina.

Life & Style, that bastion of truth and honorable journalism, claims that the reason we never see little Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is that she has been threatened by unknown stalkers. The biological child of Brangelina, who may or may not be welcoming another sibling soon, is rarely seen and has not been photographed in public since January 4.

New threats are being made against the golden child, and Brad and Angie are beefing up security after a chilling note targeting their daughter was discovered at one of their homes in early January.

On the scary note: “Someone got to their doorstep and left a threat against Shiloh. The person included a photo of Shiloh and a note that read, ‘We got this close already.’”

On Brad and Angie’s reaction: “They’re freaked out. Shiloh has somebody protecting her 24-7, and Brad and Angie are trying to avoid taking her out of the house.”

[From the Print Version of Life & Style Weekly]

Thankfully, since this is Life and Style, we shouldn’t get too worried. However, it should be noted that there were mysterious shots fired near Brangelina’s home in Los Feliz, Calif. last November, and since then the family has rarely returned to that residence. And it does seem strange that while Brangelina are often spotted out and about with Pax, Maddox and Zahara in tow, they typically leave Shiloh at home. Some have speculated that Shiloh is frightened of the flashes of the paparazzi, but you’d think Brangelina would expose her to it with the hopes that she’ll get used to it, just like her older siblings have.

Picture note by Celebitchy Shiloh is shown in the header image with Angelina outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in early October, 2007. She is shown outside the Field Museum in Chicago below in mid August, 2007.

Update: Pitt has said that this story is not at all true, and says that it is “reckless and dangerous to put these ideas out into the world.”

Obviously those pictures of Jennifer Aniston with the teeny, tiny little belly (and great legs) with the associated baby bump speculation have gotten her worried about her figure – she’s taken up cycling, with a little help from Courteney Cox.

Courteney Cox has bought Jennifer Aniston a $12,000 Chanel bicycle.

The actress bought her ‘Friends’ pal the expensive pushbike after she expressed an interest taking up cycling.

A source close to the star said: “Jennifer said she wanted to start bike riding because it’s such good exercise. So Courteney sent her the new, ultra-chic Chanel bicycle.”

The bike features eight speeds, weighs 36lbs and comes complete with a quilted leather seat and saddlebag emblazoned with the famous Chanel ‘CC’ logo.

The source continued: “Courteney only sent Jennifer the bike two weeks ago but she already loves it! She goes out riding all the time.”

Sydney Morning Herald

Some friends are better than others – pun intended. Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston seem to have a friendship that is going to last for all their lives, which is a very valuable thing. Perhaps even more valuable than a Chanel bike. Who even knew Chanel made bikes? Do they make those horrid bike pants from the 90s still? I would love to ride around town on my Hello Kitty bike (jealous of my wheels?) with a big linked C on my behind. That would be very attractive indeed.

In other Jen news, it seems that the whole world is speculating that she is either devastated about Angelina Jolie’s pregnancy, or it doesn’t matter to her. I’m leaning on the side of not caring, since she’s probably had three years and four other children to get used to the whole concept of ‘my ex-husband has a family with someone else’. I’m sure she read the news and felt a little pang of regret or sadness, because that is only human, but somehow I can’t imagine Jen sobbing in a corner. Her life seems pretty good to me – particularly if those Jason Lewis rumours are true.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Aniston is shown in Vancouver, Canada on the set of “Travelers” on 1/14/08, thanks to Splash.

Some of the possible details of Angelina Jolie’s (as yet not officially confirmed) pregnancy are in the new issue of the National Enquirer. The Enquirer is a little shaky on some of the specifics, but according to them Angelina agreed to have another biological child with Brad Pitt before they adopted again. This was mostly at his request. However due to her weight… or lack of weight… Angelina was unable to get pregnant. The Enquirer speculates that she was truly afraid Brad would leave her, and sought the help of an in vitro specialist.

“Brad and Angelina are absolutely thrilled, but Angelina is also very relieved,” sand an insider. “She always knew having twins was a possibility, because Brad’s sister had twins. But after trying for months to conceive naturally, she also began to fear that she’d never get pregnant again. That’s when she went to the specialist. She really believes that the new babies will finally put to rest the problems in their relationship.

…the tension between them eased after Angelina agreed to postpone another adoption to grant Brad’s wish to have another biological baby, continued the insider. “Then when she couldn’t’ get pregnant, Angelina worried that Brad might leave her. Brad really is committed to the family and wouldn’t dream of leaving his kids. but that didn’t stop Angelina from feeling insecure.”

[From the National Enquirer, February 11th 2008, print edition]

The Enquirer really loves the “Angelina is so paranoid/jealous/insecure” angle. I’m not sure I buy it. She doesn’t seem to be ridiculously desperate to keep a guy, and somehow I’ve always seen her as the one who wears the pants in that relationship. I would think that if she really is pregnant, she’s doing it because she wants to be, not just because Brad wants more biological kids.

They go on to speculate that getting pregnant has been beneficial for Angelina’s health.

It wasn’t very long ago that Angelina had lost so much weight that her friends and family were getting really worried about her health,” said the insider. “And her eating difficulties definitely played a part in her deciding to get some help in getting pregnant. As it turned out, it was the best thing she could have done. While Angelina hasn’t been looking after herself so well in the last year or so, she will do everything she can to care for her unborn babies, so her health is sure to benefit.”

[From the National Enquirer, February 11th 2008, print edition]

Everyone is always saying that Angelina Jolie is pregnant, but the speculation really hit a high note at the recent Screen Actor’s Guild awards, for which Angelina wore a long, flowing dress that would hide any bump. For the first time in ages, she actually had some curves on her body. She and Brad couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and looked happier than ever.

Looking happy and relaxed, Angelina stuck to water at the function [the Critics' Choice Awards], while Brad drank beer and others at their table downed glasses of champagne. Around the same time, the “Tomb Raider” mom was spotted visiting the office of Dr. Jason Rothbart, who treated her during her first pregnancy and delivered baby Shiloh in Namibia 20 months ago.

[From the National Enquirer, February 11th 2008, print edition]

While the Enquirer talks about the in vitro like it’s a fact, it’s obviously rumor unless Angelina or Brad actually come out and say it. Lots of women experience fertility problems, so it is possible. But I’d say at this point it’s equally possible that Angie got pregnant the old fashioned way - especially considering that she and Brad have seemed so touchy and grabby lately. Either way, it’ll be fun to see if we get a confirmation soon.

Picture Note by JayBird: Here’s Angelina and Brad at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Angelina Jolie is said to have upset Brad’s sister in law, Julie, by sending her kids a violent video game. She gave the game Ghost Squad to Brad’s sister Julie’s kids for Christmas, prompting Julie to send it back with a note saying “We don’t promote violence in our home.”

[Brad's sister] Julie was shocked when Angie sent her children the commando-style video game Ghost Squad. According to a family insider, Julie and her husband Rob sent it back with a note that read, “We don’t promote violence in our home.”

Julie and Rob “shun these kinds of violent games for kids,” says the insider. So when they got the present, it was just too much. It went right back in the box.”

Angelina was not pleased. “She was really angry,” the insider reveals. “She thinks it’s normal and part of being a kid. She even bought Maddox a knife-throwing set and is encouraging him to learn to throw knives!”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, January 21, 2007]

The article goes on about Angelina’s “dark side.” She lets Maddox play with toy guns like a lot of other children, and she even had a military-themed party for Maddox’s sixth birthday last August. Maddox was seen out wearing a little gun necklace recently, which generated some negative buzz for the goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Although Angelina often speaks out on behalf of refugees and talks about the atrocities of war, she also takes violent movie roles and isn’t adverse to letting her kids play with guns.

As a mother of a toddler who is extremely interested in cars and robots I can say it’s very hard to guide what they want to play with and thankfully my son isn’t that into guns. He also hasn’t been exposed to them much, so that’s probably part of it. He’s pointed his fingers at us and made the shooting noise though, and he does have one of those guns that shoot foam darts and he loves to play with that. To me it’s something kids are interested in and will grow out of.

You have a say in it of course, but if you don’t let them play with something or make a big deal out of it it’s going to make it all the more appealing to them. Before I had a child I had a different opinion about it, and I don’t agree with the knife-throwing thing, but it might not be a real knife set and could be a dart type game geared at kids.

Maybe Angelina heard from Brad’s nephews and/or nieces that they wanted the Ghost Squad game or maybe she just looked it up and saw that it was popular with their age group. We don’t know how old their kids are and it’s possible they’re in their mid to late teens and that a game like that wouldn’t be totally inappropriate. Either way, if this story is true she should have asked their mother first if it would be an acceptable game for their household.

Angelina and Brad are shown at the Critic’s Choice Awards on 1/7/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Star Magazine observes that Angelina Jolie was seen out with a new gold band on her left hand (not visible in these pictures,) but she was careful to wear it on her middle, not her ring finger. They reported this week that it was a gift from Brad for the holidays and quote a source saying that she “was stressed… so Brad gave her the ring a week before Christmas to lift her spirits.”

US Weekly has pictures of Brad, Angelina and their kids at a Chuck E Cheese on January 4th in Brad’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri, where they were visiting for the holidays. They did the typical Chuck E Cheese stuff and played games and ate pizza. Angelina looks a bit stressed so maybe she’s aware that she’s being photographed, is having a bad day, and/or the photos are just bad. Or we could jump to the unwarranted conclusion that she’s annoyed spending so much time with her husband’s family, a perfectly normal reaction but one that we have no evidence of other than the blurry faraway pictures. Zahara’s third birthday was earlier this week, on January 8th.

Brad Pitt’s Oceans co-stars Don Cheadle and George Clooney made quips on the red carpet of the People’s Choice Awards about the rumored Brad Pitt museum that turned out to be a joke. They said they support their friend and co-star’s new museum:

Cheadle quipped: “I would run tours. I would allow myself to be ensconced in wax. I would do whatever it takes to see that the Brad Pitt museum is a 100% success.”

Clooney also showed his support saying, “I’d pay a good $4.50 to go to that museum.”

[From Monsters and Critics]

As for whether Pitt was behind the boycott of the Golden Globes, which are not going to happen this year due to the writer’s strike, he said “I certainly don’t call people up and say do anything. I follow my own instincts on those kinds of things.”

Brad and Angelina have been criticized for not making a public statement about writer’s strike, but it seems as if the newspapers, not the writers, are the ones noting that they haven’t said anything.

Star Magazine has a doozy about how former pothead Brad Pitt was caught smoking a joint with Jackass star Steve O. It’s covered in an article about how 44 year-old Pitt must feel old because he’s getting Restalyne injections and working hard as a father to four kids. They suggest that Brad is going through a midlife crisis and that he’s been going out and partying a little to cope. It all sounds catty, like the guy can’t even have a drink with friends without being talked about:

“He still smokes,” another insider tells Star “He sneaks cigs behind Angie’s back.” At the Cannes Film Festival in May, “He stayed outside, smoking and drinking,” says a witness. “He looked stressed, like he was trying to get his fill because he had a limited time to enjoy his cigarettes.”

But cigarettes aren’t the only smokes that Brad has enjoyed. A source tells Star he spotted Brad smoking what looked like a joint with Jackass wild man Steve-O on a hot L.A. afternoon. “I couldn’t believe that someone as famous as Brad Pitt would be smoking openly,” the witness says. “But there he was, lighting up a fattie with Steve-O. I was stunned!”

Angie would have been, too. “She doesn’t think Brad should smoke pot or anything else,” an insider tells Star. “She wishes he’d drop all that. A drink once in a while is OK. But that’s it.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, January 14, 2007]

Brad Pitt was known to be a heavy pot smoker in the late 90s, so this sounds like it could be true. He certainly looks like he’s been smoking something. Pitt and his much-maligned wife, Angelina Jolie, showed up at the Critics Choice Awards on 1/7/08 in Santa Monica last night and he was sporting a messy goatee, unkempt hair and a few more pounds. He still looks hot, though, and I bet it’s for a role. According to IMDB his film Dirty Tricks, about the Nixon Watergate scandal, is in production. He plays Nixon advisor John Dean, who orchestrated the Watergate cover-up, although Dean looked thin and clean cut in the photos I saw of him.

There was a story this week that Pitt’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri was set to build a museum to the famous actor, but it was based on a joke that Springfield’s public relations person made that was taken out of context. There will be no Brad Pitt museum - for now.

Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and all their kids were in Brad’s hometown of Spingfield, Missouri late last week according to the local paper. No one paid much attention to the news or tried to spin it into some standoff between Angelina and her mother in law after the holidays because we all had our hands full with Britney’s breakdown.

The famous family even dined at a pizza joint with Pitt’s family, and supposedly no one took their picture or asked for an autograph. I find that hard to believe. They get the gossip magazines in Missouri. They’ve got to know how much photos of the Jolie-Pitts are worth, and everyone has cellphone cameras. It sounds more like an advertisement for how great Springfield, Missouri is than a true account of how Angelina and Brad just hung out there totally ignored.

The entire Pitt clan — including oldest sibling Brad Pitt and his family — were out Wednesday night for food and camaraderie at Arris’ Pizza on Republic Road.

The group included Jane and Bill Pitt; their adult kids Brad, Doug and Julie Neal; Doug’s wife, Lisa; Julie’s husband, Rob; and Brad’s partner, Angelina Jolie; and the eldest Pitts’ brood of 11 grandkids.

Brian Keppy, Arris’ kitchen manager, was working when the family came in during the dinner rush.

“Yeah, we got a phone call. They just came in like anybody else. They pretty much took up the whole back section,” he said.

Other patrons left the family alone, and the Pitts didn’t seek attention, Keppy said. No one took photos or asked for autographs as far as he knows. That includes staff members who didn’t have to be told to treat their famous guests like everyone else.

“It was nice and low key. It just looked like one of those holiday (family) things,” Keppy said.

Lisa Pitt says the family enjoyed being able to go out together. It helped that one of Arris’ owners, Joe Kremer, is their neighbor, she said.

“Arris’ is awesome. Everybody was hungry, so it was great,” Lisa Pitt said.

“The kids had so much fun. They got to relax and eat out with their family.”

Though she’s sure people noticed them, especially because of all the kids, she confirmed that no one bothered them in the packed restaurant. That’s actually pretty typical when Brad and Angelina visit Springfield, Lisa Pitt said.

“We went to the movies last year when they came and people were just so cool. Even when we go shopping. I think everybody here is so used to the family,” she said.

Compared to other places Pitt and Jolie live and travel, Lisa Pitt said, “I think they really, really appreciate Springfield” as an escape from the spotlight.

[From the News-Leader.com]

Angelina and Brad might bring loads of tourism to Springfield, Missouri. They might not be there at the time, but people could flock to the place hoping to get a glimpse of these rare birds. After hearing how Brad and Angelina managed to escape the ever-present paparazzi other celebrities might try to claim Springfield as their own, essentially ruining the place, like Aspen.

Wherever the Jolie-Pitts visit they bring attention to the place. A struggling toy shop owner says that Brad and Angelina’s well-documented purchases helped bring his business back from the brink:

His store in North Hollywood is called The Blessing, but shop owner Arturo Jimenez was praying for a financial miracle to help him survive the holiday season. It arrived when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt walked in the door in early December. The power couple purchased $70 worth of toys including a monster truck and two dolls and then told Arturo to keep the change from $200, reports Splash News. Since news of Angelina and Brad’s visit got around, new customers have been flocking to the family run store. “It’s a blessing, something I asked God for,” Arturo told tmz.com. “I prayed to God, send me a sign. She’s an angel!”

[From In Touch, print edition, January 14, 2007]

If it’s good enough for Brad and Angelina, it’s good enough for the rest of us. Our consumer choices are controlled by celebrity endorsements, and like sheep we flock wherever our saintly shepherds guide us. Watch as Arris’ Pizza in Springfield, Missouri is also hit with a sudden influx of customers. If only Britney didn’t ruin it for the struggling business by going crazy that week.

Brad and Angelina are shown at the Beowulf premiere in London on 11/11/07, because the management of Arris’ Pizza didn’t realize that they could get more money for pictures then they could manage in increased business.

Despite all the hoopla that “In Touch” drummed up (and we repeated) about Zahara Jolie-Pitt’s adoption, Zahara isn’t going anywhere. To be fair, “In Touch” made it clear they didn’t think there was any way that Zahara’s birth mother could get her back. They just said that she was still alive, Zahara was not an AIDS orphan, and that the mother thought she’d be able to see Zahara again and was devastated that she couldn’t. Reading the article, your heart does go out to the birth mother. She was raped, became pregnant, and was dirt poor and unable to care for her child. The grandma who gave Zahara away is another story. Though she manages to come off like a victim too, she was a bit more duplicitous. She told the adoption agency that her daughter was dead after she ran away. It wasn’t really possible to tell from “In Touch’s” article if the grandmother really thought her daughter was dead, or just said that so Zahara could be adopted. But the grandmother produced three witnesses who also verified that her daughter was dead.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s 2005 adoption of daughter Zahara was “legal and irrevocable,” the head of adoption agency Wide Horizons for Children said Thursday, calling bunk claims that the girl’s birth family is seeking her return to Ethiopia. Tsegaye Berhe spoke out to clarify the legitimacy of Jolie and Pitt’s adoption in the wake of reports that members of two-year-old’s family, including her presumed-dead birth mother, want Zahara back.

Mentewab Dawit Lebiso, a 24-year-old Ethiopian native, made the challenge, claiming to In Touch Weekly she was Zahara’s birth mother. On the adoption papers filed two years ago, it indicated that Zahara’s birth mother had died of AIDS and that the identity of her birth father was not known. Both Lebiso and another woman claiming to be Zahara’s aunt also said they didn’t fully understand what it meant to put a child up for adoption and that they believed Jolie and Pitt would be bringing the child back for frequent family visits. Berhe said that even if their account were true, the stars would be under no obligation to keep in touch with the family.

“The court in Addis Ababa approved the adoption after studying the document her grandmother wrote…saying her daughter, the mother of Zahara, had died and she was too poor to bring her up… the grandmother brought three witnesses to court who testified that Zahara’s mother had died and that her father was unknown…The court also investigated the social status of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt before approving the adoption.”

[From E! News]

If nothing else, it sounds like Zahara’s birth mother had nothing to do with giving her up for adoption. It could be argued that by running away, she gave Zahara up. But you have to remember that she was a young woman who was (presumably) severely traumatized by a rape and a new baby. She was also dirt poor and struggling to feed her baby. Overwhelmed isn’t even the right word for how she must have felt. It really does seem like the mother has almost no legal recourse at this point, though I’m guessing she’s pretty upset at the grandmother for giving her daughter away. Hopefully she’ll get to meet Zahara someday, and they’ll both have good lives.

Who has the most enviable figure in the celebrity world?

A UK poll by fitness firm Premier Training International has come up with some less than predictable answers in a hot body poll.

Enviable Women

Myleene Klass - Big Brother contestant
Halle Berry - actress
Jessica Simpson - singer
Madonna - singer
Sophia Loren - actress
Angelina Jolie - actress
Uma Thurman - actress
Jennifer Aniston - actress
Gabby Logan - Strictly Come Dancing contestant

Enviable Men

Daniel Craig - actor
Jonny Wilkinson - rugby player
Brad Pitt - actor
Hugh Grant - actor
David Beckham - soccer player
Orlando Bloom - actor
Johnny Depp - actor
Lee Mead - Any Dream Will Do winner
Colin Firth - actor
Sir Sean Connery - actor

New Zealand Herald

It seems that being over 70 isn’t going to stop you from having an enviable body – Sophia Loren is 73 and Sir Sean Connery is 77. Checking out the pictures on IMDB I can only hope I look that good when I’m that sort of age, although I passed my mirror this morning and turned it to face the wall – but maybe by the time I’m old I’ll look better than I do now. Do you have to be good looking in your youth (I use the term loosely) to look good in your old age?

Also, it’s amazing that three of the celebrities are from reality TV shows. Myleene Klass was on last year’s Big Brother UK edition and she gained notoriety for her physique in a bikini. I’m amazed anyone can remember Big Brother from last year? Who can remember even last night’s reality TV?

Picture note by Celebitchy: Myleene Klass pregnant bikini picture from The Daily Mail. Die another Day, Dukes of Hazzard, and Troy movie stills from allmoviephoto. Brad Pitt Premiere cover from members.fortunecity.com/mattdamon. Shirtless Becks from PRPhotos.