Kristen Bell is pregnant with her second child with husband Dax Shephard. The couple already has daughter Lincoln, 18 months, and is expecting a second child. (I assume Kristen is due around Christmas because she announced in June.) In a new interview with People, Kristen talked about her easy pregnancy and about how her daughter, Lincoln, is a champ with sign language.
“[She can say] a lot of two-syllable words, but she signs mostly because she’s really good at it,” the actress told PEOPLE at This Party Saves Lives event hosted by her company, This Bar Saves Lives, on Thursday night.
She adds, “People recommend doing signs because the baby can communicate with you and say, ‘I want an apple’ or ‘Look at the black dog,’ and you can actually form sentences.”
While Lincoln works on her signing skills, Bell, 34, and husband Dax Shepard, 39, are preparing for the upcoming arrival of their second child. The actress says her pregnancy has fortunately been a breeze — just like her first.
“Thank my lucky stars, it’s been a virtually identical pregnancy,” she shares. “Pregnancy can be really hard for women, and I’m lucky that I’m not really symptomatic. I’m okay with being on my feet and I’m lucky that my body feels really good.”
Her secret to a feel-good pregnancy? Yoga.
“I’ve found pre-natal yoga to be really unbelievably therapeutic,” she explains. “The days that I do it — even I find in my mental attitude — I’m so much happier. All pregnancy really does is contract your body in these weird ways, so that’s one thing I’ve tried to commit to.”
And while she typically maintains a healthy lifestyle, the mom-to-be has been known to occasionally indulge in what she loves most: snacks.
“I suppose I give in to more cravings because I eat pretty healthy normally, but I’ll give into a lot more snack food and potato chips here and there because why not,” Bell says.
Fortunately, the family has found a fall favorite that has plenty of flavor without the added sugar.
“The whole family is really into organic honey crisp apples in the fall — I know that sounds weirdly specific,” Bell shares. “We try to stay away from sugar and when you haven’t had a ton of sugar in a while, having an organic honey crisp apple feels like you’re having a Snickers bar.”
I taught my son sign language and I remember him using basic signs for things back when he was about one. (That’s when he first “got it”) He would use the signs for simple things like bird, dog, eat or drink. It wasn’t a big deal and he didn’t graduate to full sentences, we encouraged him to speak more than sign. It can be great for a child’s development to learn how to sign.
Some commenters on People are trashing Kristen for trying to protect her daughter’s privacy on one hand (by not allowing paparazzi to photograph her) yet telling personal stories about her. I disagree that there’s disconnect between those two topics. Celebrities can talk about their children and not want them to be recognized. It makes sense that Kristen and Dax want to protect their daughter.
Also, that’s nice that she’s working with This Bar Saves Lives. It’s a snack company that donates a pack of food to children in the third world for every bar that’s purchased. I watched their concept video and it really got me.
Kaiser pointed me to this cute commercial for Samsung that Kristen did with Dax. It’s very cute and well done, but it doesn’t make me want a Samsung. I pretty much do the same thing daily with iPads.
Kristen and Dax are shown on 9-4, 9-15 and 10-1-14. That yellow outfit is awful. Credit: FameFlynet
My bestie taught her baby boy sign language and it wasn’t a conversation, but he expressed himself very basically. I think it’s interesting to have a baby bearly walk and then sign “hungry. “
Cute.
Interesting, and after what I’ve seen it can do for parents’ and toddlers’ sanities, freaking important. Most people in my circle are doing it now. They have relaxed as heck babies.
Saves so much frustration for both baby and parents since they can communicate their needs before they would normally verbally communicate! and actually helps the development of verbal language and doesn’t hinder or at all. Little Wif was a fantastic signer, and now she’s not even 2 but regularly speaks in 6-7 word sentences, on par with 5 year olds. Hey vocab is several hundred words, I can’t even keep track anymore. Totally signing with #2 due in April!
My son can sign really well as his uncle is deaf so he has grown up doing it. And also my husband culture, they use a lot of hand gestures/signs as another means of communicating. My boy talked the same as other kids his age but was toilet trained really early I think in part because he associated the sign with the act.
Knowing sign language is so useful in every day life, for example if my husband is on the other side of the shop or outside he can sign to me what he wants, or if one of us is on the phone you can sign instead of interrupting. Anyway I think because of his culture and use of signing he much more attuned to his surrounds and peoples body language than most people.
For reasons I can not exactly pinpoint, I find these two REALLY annoying.
I don’t mind her so much, but just looking at him makes me want to punch something.
Me too. I know everyone loves them, but they seem SOOOO exhausting.
Totally agree. Dax Shepard is just so Dax Shepard-y (does that make sense?) it’s like the guy from nickleback and Ashton kutcher had a baby.
I love this comment. If this comment were a guy I would let it motorboat my boobs.
I cannot stand her. She is so self-absorbed and self-righteous and annoying. Ugh.
For me it’s because they’re not super famous and made a huge deal about the paps invading their privacy. Sorry but the average Joe doesn’t know who this couple is and doesn’t care about their children. I’m sure it sucks to have paparazzi trailing you, but so many celebrities deal with much more intense media scrutiny and do not complain about it as loudly as they have.
I also thought it was weird when Kristen said she wasn’t sure if she could love her child as much as she loves her pets. Um, I have a dog whom I love dearly but there’s no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t love my child as much as my dog.
I’m in a circle where most kids are taught to sign. I have never seen one signing whole sentences…especially at 18 months. I know she didn’t say her daughter does whole sentences but she kind of makes it sound like she does
See, I never signed because my son spoke really young. Daycare did it, I wasn’t taking a stance or anything, but I wonder if it delays talking.
Studies have shown that it may sometimes delay the onset of verbal communication, but by age 4 or 5, hearing babies who also sign usually catch up to and surpass their peers as far as vocabulary goes.
I saw this with my two oldest, whom I not only signed with, but they were around it quite a lot in general as my best friend at the time was Deaf.
I don’t like the Samsung commercial. I don’t find these two funny or endearing at all.
Their commercials together are really cute. I like them as a couple. I do love apples but I can’t imagine an apple EVER replacing chocolate. Sorry, Kristen.
My 16 mo signs and has been since about 14 months. It’s so nice to be able to communicate when he can’t actually say certain words yet, less frustration on both ends.
I have an “open kitchen” policy for fruit and veggies. If the kids want that they can have it. The other day I was alarmed to find out we were out of apples. Honey Crisp – lol – when I inquired I found out that both daughters and my wife consider those apples amazing. They have always been my favorite as well. 🙂
oh, honey crisps are THE best! i will never forget when i first had them – in 2003 in vermont. haha. such a perfect apple.
They’re my favorite too, just bought a bunch. I also like Pink Lady apples, they’re very good too.
Ahhh I regret not getting the honeycrisp at the farm market yesterday. We went home with 20lbs of Gravenstein I believe.
JonaGold are really good, too.
I’m a Granny Smith girl, but my guy recently turned me onto Gala apples because the store was out of GS. I’ve always thought red apples were mushy and bland but I really liked the Gala.
Gala and fujis are both delicious!!!
THIS is an awesome thread! I love every single type of apple mentioned, so hard to choose.
How you like them apples?
I sort of disagree with the “talking about the kid” thing. It’s not so much about wanting to protect one’s privacy as opposed to trying to have your cake and eat it too.
Let’s be real here. Having a baby in Hollywood has become sort of a cottage industry on its own. There are “names” that basically are famous for their kids now (Jessica Alba, for one – although she did have something of a career at some point and just kind of let it slide to become a mommy entrepraneur). Or Stacey Keibler, or any of the others. Mommy is a business now. Talking about your child is a way to generate interest in you and sustain interest over time. I’m not saying that’s what these two are doing, but it sure veers close to it. Let’s be real – neither of them are exactly huge “names” that people are beating down the doors to get. Dax has a good thing going with Parenthood and he does smaller movie roles, but he’s not likely to ever reach that leading man status. Kristin Bell has a good thing with Frozen, but she was decidedly the second fiddle to Idina Menzel (who deserves to be the star of that, frankly) and her Veronica Mars fame is sort of cult-status at this point.
It gives off a weird feeling of “here are a couple of not-really A-listers who are totally okay with discussing their kid when they want to get their names out there or generate a little publicity but want to control the media coverage in every other respect.” And that feels…slightly dishonest. And I totally get the urge to brag about your kid – but do you need to do it to the press? You presumably have family, friends, co-workers, etc. to brag to. Does the media need to know? I compare them constantly to people like Christian Bale, who is A-list enough that he doesn’t need to mention his kids to score press, or even Evan Rachel Wood, who is more indie than anything else but who just doesn’t talk about the kid. Maybe that is to the detriment of her career, but that’s her choice, and I respect it. These two just feel like they’re trying to inhabit some “middle ground” that benefits them.
Christian Bale is a great example. We don’t even know their kids names. he is very protective but I don’t see him as a very nice or open person (I would feel intimidated to ask him about his family ^_^). I feel some celebrities have personalities that are naturally more open and when giving many interviews they sort of let their defenses down. I guess that’s a bit tricky, but if you really want to protect your kids just be evasive and don’t encourage questions about them because just like you said even if it’s not their case having babies is becoming a business (not just hollywood, look at the mommy blogs that are paid to sponsor brands) and you’ll be accused of hypocrisy. And I don’t see any middle ground in this, you do or you don’t and both have consequences.
I like the example of Maya Rudolph, who always comes across in interviews as really likable and open, but she is very, very private about her kids. The public gets to know the sex and eventually the names (because birth certificates are public info), but you never see her children and she doesn’t discuss them in interviews. I’m sure people who don’t want to discuss them make it clear to interviewers not to ask – or they have very general answers. Evan Rachel Wood just says, “He’s fine” or “He’s well” when people ask about her son. I think you can be open and friendly without divulging enough to make your kid into their own little personality.
I don’t begrudge these two the right to brag about their kid. But it’s probably better to do that to friends, family, co-workers. Not to the press. Doing that makes your child into a little media personality and then, people start to crave more exposure to them. My problem with these two is that they seem to want to cultivate their daughter as a media interest topic but want to be able to avoid the pitfalls that come with that. And I find that disagreeable. If you want your child to have privacy, that is admirable. But you need to accept what that will mean.
That’s a good example, I actually never remember she is a mother. But I never read or seen many interviews of her.
So independently of your personality there’s a way to protect kids and there’s really no barrier between paparazzi photos and talking about kids and what they do, how smart or funny they are, because just like you said they become media personalities on their own.
I sometimes think about Angelina’s kids who are stars as a whole and also by themselves and how that may mess up a kid’s head, growing up with many eyes and cameras on them. Celebrity world is not a walk on the park and it seems (to me) many follow that route and encourage it completely ignoring how that will affect their children.
Quick question: if birth certificates are public info, how do we still not know Christian Bale’s kids’ names?
We do know the name of Christian Bale’s daughter whos 5 I think. Its Emmeline. No idea on his second kid that was born earlier this year.
I think that there is a huge difference between sharing a few anecdotes about ones child and having paparazzi following celebrities around while they are taking their kids to school, the doctor, the pumpkin patch, etc. As a celebrity I am sure they know paparazzi are a part of their life but when they have pap’s following the around to photograph their child I think I’ll side w/ Kristen and Dax in this case. I find it creepy.
It’s crazy how much of a cottage industry motherhood has become. The average story on the Daily Mail exemplifies this trend. C an D listers get photos taken because of their “bumps.” In the Golden Years of Hollywood having a baby could hurt your career. Today, it’s a way that has beens and relatively unknowns can generate interest in their careers. There must be a middle ground.
Um, I adore honey crisp apples. I have one almost every day, and they’re delicious. But they are not like having a Snicker’s bar. Get real. I like Kristen and this rant is not directed at her, but I have been watching my weight since 1978 and I might just smack the next person who tells me that raw cucumbers are a good snack or that drinking enough water “fills you up.” It doesn’t, and if you deprive yourself of anything good, ever, I don’t want your life. I’m not fat or skinny. I’m healthy and if I want chocolate, I don’t eat an apple. I eat a little bit of chocolate. That is how I maintain this sunshiny personality, LOL.
I agree, organic honey crisp apples are delicious but they don’t replace chocolate for me and they are about $3-4 a piece here.
“…Honey Crisp Apples…they are about $3-4 a piece here…”
They are that pricey here in North Texas too. It is ridiculous that one apple will cost you a three dollars!
But in fairness, they were on sale last week for 1.69 pd. And I got 4. Yet, that is the only time they have been on sale in probably a year.
As a former WW and a fully committed calorie counter who reformed my life several years ago I would second that. lol
When I said I am sad because I want a donut but I know better because it will trigger a sugar binge all I want is an “I understand” from my wife. I do not want to hear “cucumber”!!! lol
I didn’t take it to mean that having an apple was a replacement for a Snickers. She said they limit their sugar intake, so when they have an apple it’s so sweet, it’s like a sugar rush you get from a candy bar. That’s how I took it. And certain apples (honey crisp especially) are indeed incredibly sweet.
That’s how I understood it as well.
Water does fill you up, but in conjunction with what you are eating. If you drink a glass of water before your snickers bar, you might not want the second one… or is that just me? Yeah, I could never replace chocolate with an apple. When I want an apple, I have an apple. When I want chocolate, I have chocolate.
I cracked my life-long weight struggle when I learned how to moderate. When I learned how to eat just a couple squares off the Hershey bar and leave the rest, I started losing weight more and faster than ever. That said, my horrible sweet tooth often can be satisfied by a sugary fruit like an apple, or a banana, or a peach, or some veg medley with peanut butter for dipping. That could be, though, because I’ve retrained myself with better habits in general, and the less I (over)indulged in actual candy, the less I craved it. It’s like the water thing. It doesn’t fill me up (opposite, it makes me pee constantly!), but the more water I drink, the thirstier I get, and so the cycle continues.
The more water I drink, the thirstier I get, too. And I have to pee every half hour, at least. Is that normal? Lol
Agree about moderation. And eating an apple does satisfy an urge for something sweet. I’m just saying if I really want chocolate, I eat a little chocolate. Two or three bites. Instead of denying myself until I get to the point where I eat the whole bar in one bite then look for more.
The individually wrapped Dove chocolate squares do the trick for me. I feel bad about the extra trash, but it’s easier to open and eat one square than re-wrap part of a chocolate bar.
What an excellent suggestion.
Individual Ghiradeli squares are my bag. Especially the sea salt and caramel. I can just eat one or 2 and don’t feel like a wretch afterwards for eating an entire candy bar.
I think Bell and Shepherd are hypocrites. They conflated paparazzi with pedophiles, and tried to shame the public for being curious about their daughter. But then we they need the media and the public to pay attention, they’re totally keen speak about her private life. They should at least be consistent.
Yeah, that rubs me the wrong way too.
I just see these two as C-list stars lucky to have made it far enough to have a good life in Hollywood. They really rub me the wrong way as well.
I totally agree.
I absolutely agree. I cannot stand their hypocrisy or them either. Self righteous egotists that are not relevant.
my son only learned a few basic signs before he started chatting up a storm, but some kids rely on it for longer. we have friends who were pretty sure that their son would have trouble speaking, and he relied solely on signing until well after 2. and then he stopped and started talking. kids just develop differently sometimes. 🙂
My cousin didn’t speak until he was three. Then he said “pass the butter, please.” I swear.
My mother told me that I didnt start talking till I was 2. She was actually worried that I might be deaf, but one day I started talking. Full sentences as well. They figured that I knew how to talk and chose not because I had an older sister do it for me.
Now I want a honeycrisp.
Yep. Now I’m having one!!! (Though not organic. I can’t afford that!)
Me too. I’m sick and need to stay in bed, but I’m tempted to drive to Trader Joe’s to see if they have them.
Personally if I were a celebrity and had kids, I would try not to talk about them much at all, or keep it very vague. But I think there’s a big difference between discussing something like baby sign language publicly and not wanting a crowd of strange men with cameras lunging at your kid on the street or hanging around outside schools.
A friend of mine had a baby who was born very premature and had a lot of developmental struggles including language, and the sign language worked wonders for them (he’s doing great now). Seems like a very good way to communicate.
But those, in my mind, are two different things. Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner have been really vocal about abusive pap tactics – but they are quick to point out that that stuff is already illegal because its harrassment. These two aren’t campaigning against abusive paps or stuff like that. They don’t want any pictures taken of their daughter at all, even in public spaces. And that is where I see hypocrisy. You are a public figure. If you discuss your child in the media, your child will probably become a topic of public interest, since you are putting them out there as such. When your child becomes a topic of public interest, guess what? Pictures of them will have a greater value, and then paps have an incentive to take them when you are in public.
There are plenty of celebrities who keep their kids private. But in doing so, they do lose the ability to use their kids to generate some publicity. But that’s the trade off they make, and they earn my respect when they do it. These two want the positive publicity of being “celebrity parents” but they don’t want the trade-offs that come with it. It reeks of having cake and eating it too, which is what rubs people the wrong way. Pick a side and stick with it.
+1 to Sam’s comment. And now I want cake.
This whole thread is making me crave cake and apples. Or apple cake.
Between Blake and Kristen, I prefer Kristen pregnant style.
I don’t see a problem with them talking about their daughter, it’s totally different than her pictures being splashed across media outlets every other day. I don’t see them talking about her often but I don’t follow them that much either, they can do what they want with their child! I think they’re adorable together, he’s so tall and goofy and she’s so angelic and sweet, really cute couple and I bet they have a lot of fun. I am curious what Lincoln looks like but respect their desire to protect her, good for them, and I can’t wait to hear what they name the new baby! I like Lincoln for a girl.
The problem is, as others have pointed out, “celebrity mom” is a mini-industry now. And the more she talks about her kid in public, the more the public will be curious about her kid, which in turns fuels the desire to see pictures. It’s a system and you can’t separate one from the other. She says, “Paparazzi should stay away from my kid,” but then the paps say, “People want to see your kid because you talk about your kid.” It’s all part and parcel of the same thing.
but every mom speak about her kid, at one time or another. Plus she is asked those questions. What would the backlash be if she said, I don’t want to answer any question kid related ?
I hate it when people act like ASL is some kind of game. It’s a real language, with its own community of speakers. And your kid is not “good at sign language”, he’s just talking in a language he’s learning (or, like some parents do now, using the 2 words they’ve been taught). Just like a 18 month old kid who says “Momma, I want water” is not “good at English”, like he’s some kind of baby Shakespeare. He’s a kid speaking his mother tongue.
It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Kids will develop speech when they’re ready to. Teaching another language to your kid, be it ASL, French or Swahili, is always nice. But teaching them how to say “black dog” in a certain language you don’t want them to fully learn? That’s ridiculous. How about you teach them how to say “black dog” in their own mother tongue? Saves a lot of trouble.
And no, your kid won’t have problems speaking English if you sign to him, be it the two dumb words you’ve learned or be it the kid’s mother tongue. If the kid hears English, he’ll learn English. You don’t need to actively teach him, we are born with the ability to learn them naturally. Or do you think that the hearing children of deaf couples can’t speak?
I never did it with my first kid, but the point is to be able to know what your baby wants before they are physically speak. A lot of frustration and screaming is due to a baby having no other way to communicate that they are thirsty/hungry, etc. and babies can sign before they can say words. Obviously babies have developed speech normally for thousands of years without sign language so it is not necessary but it can be a nice way to start communicating with your baby.
I know it’s not a game, but I’m really interested in teaching my kid this. I always wanted to learn sign language, there are too few people who can sign. If I can teach my kid and keep it going…who knows?
My son is speech delayed and sign language helps us so much. He can be so incredibly frustrated when we can’t guess what he wants. I have to have some way to communicate with my child and this is the only method we have right now. It’s not a game to us.
Parents that teach their babies signs are not treating it as a game. Your rant sounds pretty uninformed and unnecessarily condescending. My 1st child was a late talker (all his body’s focus went into walking first I guess), and he would get SO frustrated with us because he couldn’t communicate his wants/needs to us. Someone recommended signing and the change was AMAZING. Within two weeks he was using over 30 signs and the tantrums disappeared. It started with “more” and led to milk, thirsty, hungry, tired, bath, toy, different animals & objects, etc. We started much earlier with babies #2 & #3–about 5mos old. The parent/caretaker should always say the word along with the sign, so the baby is learning the sign but also the word that will eventually replace the sign. My girls were signing to me by around 7mos old and were having full-sentence conversations by 20mos. Heck, just the signs for “more” and “milk” were amazingly helpful. I also think my children have a good understanding of what being deaf or not being able to communicate is like because I’ve explained to them why we choose different forms of communication, etc.
Also: a coworker of mine knows sign language because her parents taught her when she was deaf for several months due to a childhood illness. We work in a large public library, and her ability to sign is so helpful to several of our patrons. So, yeah, not a ‘game.’
Hi. “Baby sign-language” isn’t ASL per se. It’s all of a dozen motions for “eat” “drink” “cold” “hot” “diaper” “tired”–the few things toddlers need to communicate to parents so they don’t get frustrated because they’re pre-verbal. It’s basic, easy, not complicated, and super surface. I would never equate baby sign-language with full ASL–two different audiences, two different needs.
My nephew learned a few signs and never had a single tantrum because he was never frustrated.
Awww the samsung spot is so cute! They make the cutest couple, really!
I don’t mind them talking about their daughter, it has nothing to do with showing her and such. It’s their decision and I don’t get why people have to bash them for that.
I never got the whole sign language thing. But maybe that’s because my daughter didn’t really learn to use it much before she started to talk. So the same time she was signing “more” she actually was saying more. Probably should have practiced it more. Oh well.
Did she get to keep the black dress from the commercial? Looks oddly similar to the one in the header photo.
These 2 are so annoying. Why are they relevant anyways. They should fade off into the distance, be quiet and live the private life they say they want. They are complete and ridiculous hypocrites
Signing is stupid, unless it’s used as a 2nd language. Teach your kids to talk, geez.
It’s for children who are too young to talk. Do you never use non-verbal ways to communicate? Like typing?
Freaking COSIGN on the toddler sign-language scheme. My brother taught my nephew when he was preverbal and that kid never had a single tantrum because he never got frustrated. He had his dozen or so critical signs and it was a wonder. Makes life so much easier for toddler and parents.
V Mars forever!