Playpennies

Isla and Sacha Keeping Mum...?

Whilst I admit to idly flicking through celeb' news in the magazines when I'm out and about (for work purposes obviously!) I can't say I'm a big fan of the exclusive-rights-sell-your-soul-to-the-devil type deals and I have a lot of respect for the famous guys and gals who choose not to go down that route.

Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen are among my favourite of the few tight-lipped celebrity couples who don't spill the beans at every given opportunity.  In fact, they are 'notorious' for keeping things to themselves - the birth of daughter Olive was kept very quiet as was their recent wedding.

So pictures of Isla sporting a rather impressive bump have sent the rumour-mill into overdrive - is she or isn't she?  Well, look at the picture and decide for yourself.

Phonecalls to the couples' 'people' have revealed nothing, it seems the order of the day is to just 'keep mum'.

Good for them I say!

Minnie Baby Wishes

The mother with, possibly, one of the coolest names on the planet, Minnie Driver, was spotted out and about with her 19 month-old son Henry throwing coins into a wishing well.

I love seeing celebrity parents doing simple things with their kids like playing on the swings or just hanging out with an ice cream.

Sure these kids can have pretty much anything they want but I'm willing to bet that time spent with their parents just doing 'stuff' is worth more than any expensive toy, huge party or extravagant holiday.

Or perhaps I'm being overly romantic...maybe I'll just throw my own coin in that wishing well and hope that I'm not wrong.

Ooh, it's not often I'm right, but I'm right!

Remember my prediction that England footballer Joe Cole and wife Carly were keeping their baby daughter under wraps because of an exclusive deal with a glossy mag?

Well, Ruby Tatiana Cole is proudly presented in the current edition of Hello! magazine. Very cute she is, too.

Personal trainer Carly says she left the decision about their daughter's name up to husband Joe, as a thank you for his support during her labour, which last 16 hours.

I wonder if Denise van Outen will be doing the same, when her babe arrives?

With only 2 weeks to go until her due date, Denise is still rocking the groovy Mama-to-be look.

She's also still hard at work and today launches the npower Climate Cops Green Fingers Campaign.

It's a scheme to help primary school children understand environmental issues, with the chance to win a growing makeover for their school, worth £5000.

Denise and husband Lee Mead are said to be expecting a little girl and in a recent interview with Closer magazine she claimed she is in no rush to get back into her pre-pregnancy clothes; "Luckily I haven’t ballooned during pregnancy. I still go power walking three times a week with my personal trainer Nicki Waterman. Although I want to get back into shape gently, there are a couple of things in my diary that I would like to look nice for – I’ve got David Walliams’ wedding a couple of weeks after the birth."

The celebrity rumour mill is in overdrive with speculation that Victoria and David Beckham are hoping to hear the patter of more tiny feet in their household in the not-too-distant future.

According to various reports, Victoria has David on a strict, um, regime, to ensure that she falls pregnant.

I don't know how the papers reckon they know this stuff, but they're all saying the star couple had planned to try for a baby after the World Cup but have brought their plans forward due to David being ruled out of the World Cup because of his injury.

Watch this space to find out if it's going to be a Party of Five for the Beckhams this year...

Also in the world of celebs and their babies, Gwyneth Paltrow has reportedly pulled out of her latest film in favour of spending more time with her family.

The Daily Mail had this to say on the subject:

"The 37-year-old has just finished shooting Love Don't Let Me Down in Tennessee and was to start work on the new film with Nicole Kidman.

But Gwyneth, who has two children with Chris Martin, dropped out, saying: 'Some days I feel like everyone in my world has plugged themselves into my kidneys. I'm so tired.'

A spokesman said: 'Chris and Gwyneth have spent a lot of time apart. This way she gets more family time.'

Gwyneth told Harper's Bazaar that her husband's reaction to her decision had made her appreciate him more.

'When I pulled out, he said, "I think you'll be happy with your decision." I really lucked out with him,' she said.

'He's deeply lovely and special.'"

All together now: Ahhhhhh...

What's new in the world of celebrity mums and babies?

Well, for starters Natasha Kaplinsky has had a baby girl.

The Channel 5 newsreader and her husband Justin Bower posed for pictures outside their home in London to announce the arrival of their daughter, Angelica Pearl Bower, a sister to little brother Arlo, who is 17 months old.

Natasha's publicist said she was 'over the moon' after the safe arrival of her baby girl at a London hospital.

Colleen Rooney was photographed with her son Kai at the Grand National on Saturday.

It looks like baby Kai is living up to Colleen's report that he looks just like his Daddy, Wayne Rooney.

The Daily Mail reports: "Baby Kai's outing to the races was the first time he has been photographed since his birth at Liverpool Women's Hospital on November 2. The couple surprised fans when they shunned lucrative magazine deals to debut their son to the world - despite being paid a reported £2.5million for the photographic rights to their 2008 wedding in Italy."

Meanwhile Suri Cruise is still exhibiting a flair for fashion, as exhibited in this pic of her wearing bunny ears and fluffy rabbit slippers shows.

The uber-famous celeb tot gets a hard time from the tabloids because of her penchant for wearing high heels and I can't imagine they'll be any more impressed by the sight of her hot-footing it around New York in fluffy bunny slippers.

I'm always inclined to think that normal rules just don't apply to celeb kids - their lives must be pretty far from normal at the best of times so to my mind it makes sense that they're not going to be parented in the same was that we civilians parent our kids.

Admittedly, those slippers look like ankle breakers for schlepping round New York City but who's to say that Katie didn't whip out a pair of proper shoes as soon as they got wherever they were going?

As well as being a WAG, Colleen Rooney is famous for going on holiday on a regular basis. But according to the current issue of Hello! magazine, her hols aren't quite what they used to be. Colleen and Wayne recently took their son to their villa in Barbados for his first holiday but it was reportedly far from relaxing. She admits "When I used to go on holiday I'd just sit on the sun-lounger and not move, because I love spending time in the sun, but now I'm up and down keeping Kai entertained. It was so different to any holiday I've ever had before because you've got someone else to look after."

Also in WAG world, Carly Zucker and Joe Cole are still keeping their baby's name under wraps. Before Carly gave birth there were reports that they had settled on the name Scarlett but the couple have yet to make any public announcement about the name they've chosen for their daughter.

They've also managed to stay out of the way of the paparazzi, with no photographs yet appearing in the papers of their newborn baby girl, although the couple were snapped strolling around over the Easter holidays accompanied by precious cargo.

Expectant Mum Danielle Lloyd is blooming!

The glamour model and Celebrity Big Brother star is expecting a baby with fiance Jamie O'Hara, and the couple are currently on holiday in Dubai along with Danielle's parents.

Danielle can't hide her bump or her excitement about the arrival of her first child, and tweeted: 'Yeahhhh 6 months gone today. Not long to go till baby O'Hara gets here.'

The Daily Mail reports that Danielle recently confessed to craving corned beef hash and having a huge appetite during her pregnancy. If that's true  we reckon pregnancy must suit her because she looks blooming marvellous to us!

While Danielle Lloyd is happily showing off her bump, A-lister Beyonce seems to be intent on covering up amid rumours that she and husband Jay-Z are expecting their first baby.

Beyonce was pictured recently wearing some very short shorts. Are her efforts to show off her legs just a way of drawing attention away from her midriff?

Who knows. My money is on Beyonce having a bun in the oven and I might even wear a pair of denim hotpants myself if her people don't announce her pregnancy within the next few weeks.

All the signs are there; the denials from her publicist, the awkward pose with her hand across her tummy and of course the age-old show-off-your-legs trick when trying to hide a bump.

But only time will tell...

See? We told you little celebs in tutus was going to be The Next Big Thing.

Now Harlow Winter Kate Richie is getting in on the act, although she manages to rock the rock-chick-ballerina look with a groovy black ensemble.

The little dancing girl was papped out and about with Mum Nicole Richie.

Harlow has a little brother, Sparrow James Midnight, but at six months old he's obviously too young to be digging out the dancing shoes.

Give it time though, and we reckon he'll be throwing some moves too...

Speaking of cute little dudes, while out getting some fresh air in Los Angeles on Thursday, a shirtless Levi McConaughey enjoyed the warm weather as he stopped to investigate some funky flowers, reports People magazines baby blog:

"It’s no surprise that the 20-month-old enjoyed his nature walk. According to dad Matthew McConaughey, while 13-week-old daughter Vida is a breeze to care for, he and Camila Alves must always keep their eye on their busy boy!"

Dad Matthew is said to have joked that he can't even go out and walk in the backyard and daydream for five second because of the likelihood that his son will end up on the roof in the seconds that his father's back is turned!

Just the other day we were ooh-ing and aah-ing over Isla Fisher's daughter, Olive, and her snazzy get-up for a dance class.

And now here she is again, going back for more in the dance studio.

Only this time she's sporting the ultimate celeb accessory, a pretty groovalicious pair of shades. We like.

The two-year-old tot and her parents are currently splitting their time between London and Paris while Isla is  filmsing Burke and Hare, a black comedy about 19th century grave robbers. The movie is due out Stateside later this year.

Continuing the celeb-tots-and-their-dance-classes theme, Suri Cruise has been pictured in the papers recently wearing her tutu and ballet pumps, and twirling a Princess-themed parasol.

Suri, who will be four this month, was pictured with her Mum, Katie Holmes, en route to dinner in new York. Ballet must work up an appetite, naturally!

The media gossip-mill is in overdrive that Katie is 'being prepared' Scientology-style to become a Mum again.

I don't know about that but something about recent pics of Katie in the papers made me suspicious that Katie was dressing to hide a bump. I could be wrong, of course, but I reckon there might be the patter of tiny feet in the months to come, Chez TomKat.

Question is, will it be another little Ballerina, or, as they say in Italy, a Ballerino? Place your bets...

Jennifer Ellison and boxer husband Robbie Tickle have been proudly showing off their latest addition to the family.

The happy parents took their new baby son, Bobby, who is 8 weeks old, to Liverpool's Cotton Exchange to register his birth.

According to newspapers, the little dude slept throughout the entire appointment and was clad head to toe in snazzy designer baby gear.

Jennifer plans to return to work in September and has landed a part in the Liverpool tour of the hit West End show Calendar Girls.

Meanwhile, new parents Carly Zucker and Joe Cole have been keeping their little lady under wraps since leaving hospital over a week ago.

They went to great lengths to keep their daughter hidden from the cameras as they loaded up their car and got ready to head home.

And of course that can mean only one thing: there must be a Hello! or Ok! deal in the pipeline.

I'd wager that it won't be long before little Miss Zucker-Cole makes her debut appearance in the pages of a glossy mag. I wonder if we'll find out what she's called then, too?

Not so long ago the extra-curricular activity du jour for celebrity toddlers was break-dancing, following the trend-setting sight of Cruz Beckham throwing some moves on stage when his Mum was on tour with the Spice Girls.

But it seems things are rather more conventional for little ladies. Judging by these pics, no toddler celeb's life is complete without a pink tutu and a pair of satin ballet shoes.

Check out newlywed Isla Fisher and  her 2-year-old daughter, Olive. They were snapped leaving a dance studio in California last week. Can't you just imagine Dad, Sacha Baren Cohen, helping his little lady get her pirouettes perfect? Now there's a pic we'd like to see!

Likewise it seems Nicole Richie's adorable two-year-old daughter Harlow is also something of a dance diva in the making.

Harlow and mum Nicole were papped indulging in a little well-earned refreshment after attending a dance class in LA last week.

As you might expect given that Nicole Richie isn't exactly famed for her love of all things conventional, Harlow's tutu is a little more extravagant than plain old boring pink ones. But here in the PlayPennies office we're loving the very grown-up black dance shoes. None of your silly girly-sparkly-spangly stuff on these little feet, but proper bona fide jazz pumps.

There's a girl who takes her dance class seriously!

In today's Celebaby we have Cam Gigandet for us PlayPennies mums and Denise Van Outen for the dads (and the mums!) *grin*

Cam Gigandet - forget hot mamas...he's a HOT papa!

Hold on to your hearts ladies because here's one of the hottest dads around (apart from the one to our own children of course....)

Cam Gigandet is hot poperty and you'll probably know him best from The O.C and playing BAD vampire James in Twilight.

He was spotted out about having coffee in Los Angeles recently with his girlfriend Dominique Geisendorff and their b e a u t i f u l little daughter, Everleigh - isn't that a stunning name!  Unsual but elegant and understated and I don't think she was drinking coffee...

There are few things more alluring than a man who's totally smitten with the women in his life!

DVO Maternity Wear

In theory, Denis Van Outen should be loved by men and loathed by women - she's talented, she's STUNNING, she's funny, she's clever, she's an independent career woman, she's stylish and she's got a hot husband (ok, maybe the men won't be so keen on that bit) BUT men fancy her something rotten and us women ADORE her!

Looking nothing less than fabulous when preggo too (ok...actually, maybe I'm not liking her so much the more I carry on...would it have been too much to ask that she looked less than jaw-droppingly beautiful at least once!) the lovely Denise has launched her new maternity range 'DVO'.

At a recent press launch she said...

"I am so excited about the new maternity collection I have created with very.co.uk.  It is designed for expectant mums, who want to be comfortable during their pregnancy, but don't want to compromise on style.

The collection is a mix of glamorous dresses and lounge wear with every piece made in soft and stretchy fabrics - perfect for gentle exercise and also for wearing post pregnancy.”

The 16-piece collection is going to be available in sizes 8 to 20 and launches on Very today (27 March) and I've just had a quick scoot over there to have a look and at the moment there are only three dresses on the website.

They're lovely though and the price pitch is perfect in my opinion; if the rest of the collection is as good then I'd say Denise has come up trumps again!

Former glamour model and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Daniel Lloyd  is expecting a baby with her footballer fiance Jamie O'Hara. Danielle is due in around 4 moths' time.

According to the Daily Mail, Danielle recently confessed to having a huge appetite in pregnancy, along with cravings for corned beef hash.

In an interview with OK! magazine she said: 'I’ll wake up in the morning and be like: "I really need corned beef hash." It’s a good excuse to eat chocolate too. And last night I said: "Jamie, I need an ice cream now!"'

Meanwhile,  bad boy of Rock 'n' Rolll Noel Gallagher and his girlfriend Sara MacDonald are also expecting a baby.

The Sun reports that Noel, 42, and 39-year-old Sara are 'thrilled to bits' after a three-month scan this week confirmed the pregnancy.

According to the Daily Mail, the pair have been together for ten years and already have a two-year-old son, Donovan, while Noel is also the father of a daughter, Anais, 10, from his marriage to Meg Mathews.

The paper reports that a friend said; 'Noel and Sara are over the moon... They're so happy that little Donovan will have a little partner in crime to play with. Their family is complete.' All together now... Aaaahhhhhh...

In today's Celebaby we'll have a look-see at the exciting news announced that the pitter-patter of tiny feet nay grace 10 Downing Street again and Goldie Hawn's reaction on becoming a grandmother again.

Baby News at No.10

I sit here and wonder which is the harder job?  Being Prime Minister of the country or becoming a parent again?  OH hang on, I know!  Becoming a parent again AND trying to convince the country that you're the best man for the top job (although WHY anyone would want that job is beyond me and the pay's not THAT great either, considering all the agro that goes with it!)

David Cameron, leader of the current opposition party, and his wife Samantha announced earlier this week that they are expecting a new baby in September this year.

They are said to be 'over the moon' and when asked recently about his views on over-population in the UK, Mr Cameron said, "I don't believe Britain is overpopulated. I don't have any plans to reduce it.  I would quite like to add to it, personally, by quite possibly one, at some stage in the future."

Looks like that's one promise he's made good on then...now for the rest!

Granny Goldie

Mind you, Goldie Hawn looks SO fabulous perhaps I should call her Golden Granny!

Goldie Hawn became a grandmother again on Friday 19 March when her son, Oliver, and his wife, Erinn Bartlett, saw the arrival of their new son.

Goldie became the next celebrity grandparent to announce the birth of a grandchild on Twitter - Jim Carey did the very same thing earlier this month - by posting this message on her Twitter account...

“Hurray! Baby BOY born to my son Oliver and his beautiful wife Erinn TODAY.  So happy! A new life! I’m Dancin my happy dance!”

She's hiding her excitement well I know, but I think we can safely say she's more than a little bit chuffed!

Congrats to everyone from all of us here at PlayPennies - there's nothing quite like happy baby news to cheer us up on a Wednesday.

We have baby news!

Carly Zucker and Joe Cole are the proud parents of a baby girl!

Their daughter was born at The Portland Hospital in London early on Thursday evening, weighing 6lb 3oz, following a labour that lasted 16 hours, according to the Daily Mail. Both mother and baby are said to be fine. Earlier reports indicated that the proud parents knew they were expecting a girl and planned to call her Scarlett, but they have yet to confirm their daughter's name.

Meanwhile news reader Natasha Kaplinsky is just a couple of weeks away from her due date but was snapped looking rather bumptastic and glowing at a charity do this week.

Natasha, who already has a son named Arlo,  became Britain's highest-paid newsreader when she left the BBC to join Five in a £1million-a-year deal.

She reportedly took a £300,000 pay cut when she returned to work after five months maternity leave so that she could spend more time with her son. Eight months later, she was expecting again! Expect more baby news soon... and good luck, Natasha!

The world's highest paid supermodel has irritated lesser women everywhere in an interview for Vogue magazine in which she shares her tips for how to look good post-pregnancy.

Gisele, who gave birth to a baby boy in December last year, reckons her knock-out figure just months post-partum is down to 'muscle memory'. She says she continued practicing kung fu up until two weeks before she gave birth and carried on doing yoga three days a week.

She also said: 'I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals.' In contrast, Gisele says she was mindful about what she ate and consequently only gained 30 pounds.

Also this week Dannii Minogue's lovely bump put in an appearance when she was photographed arriving at the Australia's Got Talent auditions in Melbourne. The pregnant star is a judge on the show. Dannii is five months pregnant and is definitely beginning to 'show'  as you can see from these pics.

Dannii reportedly plans to give birth in her native Australia but hopes to be back on the UK's X-Factor in time for the live shows in September. There's no telling what her muscle memory is like but I predict she'll be suitably glam and glowing in time for her return to our screens.

Expectant Mum Denise Van Outen was snapped today looking pretty snazzy with a defininte hint of a bump appearing.

Her baby is due in May, and Denise and husband Lee Mead have nicknamed the baby Teapot, at the suggestion of their friend's little girl!

DVO is also expecting a little girl, and as well  as that she's also bringing out a line of maternity wear and a book about pregnancy health.

According to the Daily Mail, her maternity line will be available from the end of the month at www.very.co.uk. If it's anything like as stylish as Denise herself, we reckon it'll be worth a look.

Just in time for Mother's Day, BBC Radio 1 DJ and former ladette Sara Cox gave birth to her third baby this week.

As is the norm for celeb parents these days, she announced the arrival on her Twitter page, saying 'Hi y'all, we had a beautiful baby girl at 8.30 this morning. She's called Renne. So happy xxx'

She later followed up with another Tweet, saying; "Ta for all your tweets my loves. Phone running out so just saying night night. Renee watching her first corrie, a crucial part of her heritage."

The Daily Mail reported that Coxy had been tweeting just hours before she gave birth to the little girl... I wonder which celeb will be the first to Tweet live updates throughout labour?!

Sara already has a daughter named Lola, aged five and and a two-year-old son called Isaac.

Have a lovely Mother's Day, Sara!

Behold the cuteness! And the baby's pretty lovely, too...

Sorry. Ahem. Matthew McConaughey was papped this week out and about in New York City with son Levi, 20 months.

According to People magazine's Celebrity baby blog, Matthew recently told US talk show host Jay Leno;

“Levi is into everything. You don’t go out and walk in the backyard and daydream for five seconds or they’re on top of the house... Levi's going to be an astronaut because he’s always like air traffic control. From a bird to a plane, sun, moon, cloud, everything in the air.”

The family are in the city while Mum Camila Alves promotes her role as host of the hair styling reality TV show Shear Genius. While she did the press rounds with Levi's little sister, baby Vida, and Camilla's Mum, Matthew and Levi took to the zoo, stopping only to refuel along the way.

I've occasionally wondered what I'd be like if I was a celeb' parent - would I adopt the casual approach and just dress down to go out, championing the cause and heading up the 'going out without makeup on' brigade (ok, maybe a smidge of mascara and lip gloss perhaps)?

I don't think I'd have the stamina, or the inclination to be honest, to do a Mrs Beckham and be very rarely seen out and about in anything other than ridiculously high-heels and the latest extortionately priced outfit, even when just popping down the road to help out serving school dinners at lunch time at her boys' school.  OH yes!  Haven't you heard?  This the latest in the 'I'm a normal mum' campaign (I wonder if she has to don a standard issue Health and Safety pinny and hairnet...?) speaking to US Glamour magazine recently the down-to-earth Mrs B said,

“If I’m not working, I go to the school and help serve lunches to the children. They just love that. It’s like, ‘Oh there’s Mummy serving me!'”

Is it wrong to want to see pictures of this...? Although, having said all that there has been a recent spat of photos of her dressed DOWN! Personally, I think she looks better in a pair of scruffy jeans and a little vest top.

Maybe I'd be like Gwen Stefanni, papped here with Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale (18 months old) and go and play on the swings looking nothing less than perfectly coiffured and glam' but casual at the same time?

Or perhaps I'd just mooch around and take the kids for ice cream a'la the Brangelina bunch who were all snapped out for ice-cream; looking less than movie-star-smooth there Brad!

One thing is for sure the most enduring of item in the celebrity parents wardrobe is that of the gargantuan sunglasses.  If I grabbed a pair from the £7 faux-bling range in Tesco and donned a silly hat and pouted a bit, d'ya reckon I'd feel a bit like a celeb for the day...?

I can't say I blame them though, would you fancy being papped-and-splashed all over the media when you're looking less than your red carpet best?  No, nor me...thank goodness for anonymity without needing the dark glasses that's all I can say!