Ben Affleck
Gossip

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have officially welcomed their second daughter - and one of the first celebrity babies of 2009!

The actress's rep tells People magazine as of last night: "Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck gave birth to a healthy baby girl."

The baby was born Tuesday in Los Angeles. No other details were immediately available. Garner and Affleck, 36, are also parents to daughter Violet, 3.

According to reports, a smiling Garner was spotted being wheeled on a roll-away hospital bed as she was taken to her room. A blanket was draped over her, and it appeared that she was holding the baby. Shortly after, the hospital staff brought in a portable bassinet and heart monitor to check on the baby.

In the weeks leading up to the birth, Jennifer Garner stayed close to home, picking up Violet from preschool and even treating herself to a mani-pedi.

Just days before giving birth, Jen was spotted with Violet at the Farmer's Market in Pacific Palisades and grabbing a decaf coffee at Caffe Luxxe in Santa Monica with a girlfriend. Ben was probably there for moral support.

Garner confirmed her second pregnancy in August.

While the rest of us are out popping champagne this New Year's Eve, Jennifer Garner might be popping out the last celebrity baby of 2008 - or the first of 2009!

That's just us speculating, of course - but here's a picture of Jen and her husband Ben Affleck spotted about an hour ago going into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center ...

They could just be going in for a routine visit, or for something unrelated, but if this is the day Violet's little brother or sister is born, we couldn't be happier!

Click to enlarge more photos of Bennifer ...

[Photo Credits: Splash News Online]

Ben Affleck has shown us that he's more than just a stay-at-home husband.

With wife Jennifer Garner slowed by another bun in her attractive oven, the actor is left to take care of daughter Violet.

The adorable baby has been taught well by her famous parents: never stare directly at a celebrity gossip photographer...

Click the photos below to see more of the adorable Violet Affleck and her Mr. Mom, Ben Affleck...

It looks like Violet gets her looks from her mom, and her sense of style from her dad. [Photo Credit: Splash News]

As Jennifer Garner enjoys some rest and relaxation, Ben Affleck takes daughter Violet on a date.

Don't get Violet hooked on Starbucks, though, Ben. Do you want her making 1 a.m. coffee runs in front of celebrity gossip reporters, like Britney Spears has been known to do?

It's always great to report about celebrities giving back to the community and few, if any, are a better example of that than Brangelina.

Former President Bill Clinton, too, is no slouch in that department. Bill hosted his Clinton Global Initiative University, while Pitt, the founder of the Make It Right Foundation, posed with supporters and promoted an all-important cause.

The political and Hollywood stars greeted volunteers and broke ground for new homes in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday.

Brad Pitt and Bill Clinton walked along the street as hundreds of volunteers on each side, wielding shovels and rakes, prepared the land for homes, clearing overgrown grass and weeds that were covering drains and sidewalks.

The foundation headed by Pitt plans to begin building affordable homes for Hurricane Katrina victims, and the 9th Ward was one of the hardest hit.

"We hope to see a huge change here in the next six months," Pitt told a group of residents as the 42nd President stood by his side.

Brad Pitt, Bill Clinton and a young lady named DeeCarla Rogers.

While Brangelina continued rebuilding New Orleans, Bennifer (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner) had politics on the mind, hosting a fundraiser for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Sunday in Boston, Mass.

Wearing a gray suit and black Converse All Star sneakers, Ben Affleck said he and his wife were just doing "their part for society."

Calling the Illinois senator a "genuine, real force" he said "there are a lot of things" he loves about Barack Obama, "but I won't bore you with all of them. I'm an actor. I'm not going to create 10-point policy details."

Affleck has been a Barack Obama supporter since he first met him at the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston, according to the Boston Herald.

Their relationship hasn't gotten too close for comfort.

"I'm just grateful he didn't ask me to do a sexy YouTube video with him," Affleck said, referring to his raunchy music video with Jimmy Kimmel.

Credit goes to People magazine for this terrific collection of celebrity quotes from the past week. As you can see, many topics are covered ...

"Angelina Jolie couldn't be here - it's hard to find 17 babysitters on Oscar night."
- Host Jon Stewart

"Clothes!"
- Johnny Depp, on what he was wearing to the Oscars

"It's fun trying to get pregnant."
- Gwen Stefani

"I don't know a lot about balls."
- Ellen DeGeneres, to Heidi Klum, during a cooking segment on her show

Like Zac Efron, neither of these couples is actually gay... or are they?

"You had to be painting toes and blow-drying hair."
- Ben Affleck, on teaming up with Jimmy Kimmel to spoof Sarah Silverman's video with Matt Damon

"You know when you go around to your aunty's and the little chihuahua gets on your leg because they think it's something else? That's my relationship with Ryan. It's like: Off!"
- Simon Cowell, on how he gets along with American Idol co-star (and celebrity gossip presidential primary candidate / partner) Ryan Seacrest

"My cheeks hurt, I'm so happy."
- Drew Barrymore, on beau Justin Long

"I like Barack. He's like a great boyfriend. He's a great talker. You wake up the next morning and you go: 'I don't know how I took my clothes off.'"
- Sherri Shepherd, on Barack Obama

"It's double the love, and it's also double the crying and the screaming."
- Diddy, father of twins, giving advice to Jennifer Lopez

By now, everyone knows that Sarah Silverman is f@cking Matt Damon. The girlfriend of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel made this information public via an hilarious, taunting music video.

Last night, however, we learned of a new twist in the saga: Kimmel is getting it on with Damon's best friend, Ben Affleck.

Among the celebrities that take part in the following video, touting this new relationship, are: Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz, Don Cheadle, Robin Williams, Rebecca Romijn, Macy Gray, Pete Wentz, Josh Groban and Christina Applegate..

Brad Pitt even delivers a special congratulatory cake. Check it all out now:

Celebrities. They're just like us. They hang out with their friends! Only in their case, those buddies are also celebrities. In our case, they're just celebrity gossip writers. Oh well.

Here's a look at some notable celebrity BFFs ...

Men (like Paul Sculfor) may come and go, but everyone knows that best friends are forever. Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox-Arquette have long been tight on and off the screen. Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, meanwhile, are two low-key celebs, but have been spotted chilling together quite often recently.

Ever since they co-wrote and co-starred in Good Will Hunting, Boston natives Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been inseparable. The same can't be said for socialites Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, but they were totally, like, best friends at one point - bonded by mutal love for hooking up with dozens of guys, being rich and partying a lot.

Growing up in Texas, Jessica Simpson and CaCee Cobb were good friends. As Jess made it big, she brought along CaCee as her personal assistant! The Hills' Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag were roommates and two of reality TV's closest gal pals... until the slimy Spencer Pratt burst on the scene and stole Heidi's soul. But it's not all sad, folks - at least Hayden Panettiere and Rumer Willis are hitting it off of late!

She's one of the less publicized celebrity babies. But that doesn't make Violet Affleck any less important.

Or any less baptized after Sunday night.

The adorable daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who turned 1 on December 1, was baptized on Christmas Eve at Christ Church United Methodist in Charleston, W. Va., where her mother grew up.

Garner's parents, sister and brother-in-law are members of the church, where Violet's cousin Alex was baptized the same day, the Associated Press reports. It was the sort of loving, low-key ceremony that probably made Jayden James Federline very jealous.

Affleck, a Golden Globe nominee for Hollywoodland, said earlier this month:

"Yes, I've changed diapers ... Parenthood, the whole thing is wonderful. All the clichés that all the people bore you with are, in fact, true."

We're sure Gwen Stefani would agree when it comes to little Kingston. Her, Affleck and Garner really do seem like some of the best famous parents around.

 
We make fun of Ben Affleck a lot. The guy just isn't the best actor on the planet and supports the Boston Red Sox in an annoying fashion.

The more he talks about his family, however, the more Affleck appears less and less like an attention-starved star who dared to put us through Pearl Harbor.

In an interview with USA Today magazine, the actor appears to have learned from the 2004 split from Jennifer Lopez that made international headlines. He says he's changed his ways since becoming a dad.

"I've never been very judicious about my own behavior or choices until they had an impact on people other than me," Affleck said. "Obviously, my wife. And my daughter, who's going to have my last name â€" I don't want her to mutter it over a drink. I want her to be proud of her old man."

Affleck and his wife, Jennifer Garner, never released photos of 1-year-old Violet, as the race is on between who the public sees first: her or Jayden James Federline.

"I'm extraordinarily lucky and privileged," Affleck continued. "And I've tried not to be bitter, but I have developed a reactionary defensiveness."

"But for my child, she didn't make the bargain I did. She didn't make that choice. And I don't want her to have to pay for the parents' sins. I try to protect her privacy. I'll end up in the magazines, and that's life, and I can live with it, but I try to shield my daughter."

Look out, Kevin Federline, someone's trying to outdo you for Father of the Year.