Angelina Jolie Really Loves Her Adopted Kids, Opens Up About Her Life With Brad
Angelina Jolie talked to Reader’s Digest about her efforts to help her newly adopted son, 3-year-old Pax Thien adjust to life in a family, after spending his early years in an orphanage.  The newest addition to the Pitt-Jolie clan has been with the family almost two-months now, since being adopted from Vietnam back in mid-March and is beginning to adapt to his new life.  But the transition has had challenges and some funny moments.  The things most kid’s take for granted growing up in a family with a mom or dad, or hopefully both, were quite foreign to little Pax.Â
Baths have taken on a new meaning for Pax, Jolie explains:
“Pax is almost three and a half and has never made a real decision for himself because everybody does everything in a group in the orphanage. There were all these things he’d never had. The first time I gave him a bath, he was suddenly laughing, out of his mind. He took five baths in one day. We’d be talking and he’d take his clothes off and run into the bathroom.”
I have to say though, that’s very normal for 3-year olds. My son’s 3 1/2 and he takes great joy in dropping his pants in the yard, so it’s great to see Pax doing normal toddler boy things. Angelina also talked about the first couple of days home with Pax after leaving his “institutionalized” life behind. His new mom, an international celebrity devoted some special attention to him hoping to make him feel more comfortable and secure in his surroundings.
Nighttime rituals settled in pretty quickly Jolie says:
“The first two days, he cried a lot. I hired a translator, and he would explain what was going on. The first night, I slept alone with him. I was expecting him to wake up and scream, but he woke and just stared at me. I handed him a stuffed animal, and we walked around the room pointing at things. By day three, he didn’t want me to put him down. I think he got used to the reality that somebody loves you and that’s what a mommy is.”
Angelina also talked about her and Brad’s decision to have a biological child, despite her early choice not to:
Before I met Brad, I always said I was happy never to have a child biologically. He told me he hadn’t given up that thought. Then, a few months after Z came home, I saw Brad with her and Mad, and I realized how much he loved them, that a biological child would not in any way be a threat. So I said, “I want to try.”
Does Brad bring out the best in Angelina? Angie thinks so:
“He encourages the right things. If I’ve had a full day and just really been a hands-on mom, he’ll make a point to let me know that’s something he’s proud of. If I’m writing an Op-Ed, he’s the first person to want to read the drafts. I could be dressed up in the sexiest outfit for a photo shoot, and by his behavior, he’ll let me know that’s nice, but it’s nothing as sexy as when I’m home surrounded by the kids or reading books, educating myself. He slows me down to kind of get it right, to relax into the strength of my family and the love.”
With all these kids, how do they make time for themselves? Angie reveals her secrets:
“Right now, that’s our problem! We hang out. We try to talk over the swing set. We’ll have a date night once everybody is settled…..Especially now with Pax; he still gets scared if I’m gone more than a few hours. But we’ll get them occupied with a movie and popcorn and try to run off and lock the door for a bit. “
Ewww, TMI!
How do they cope with all the negativity and gossip that surrounds, and those pesky marriage rumor:
“Our first question is what paper is it in. The New York Times? If not, do we really need to worry? …. There’s no big conspiracy behind our decision not to. We’ve both been married before. Our focus when we got together was family, and we are legally bound to our children. That really seems to be the most important thing.”
Clearly Angelina comprehends the needs of a child and seems quite committed to helping her adopted children feel the love they deserve. I applaud her efforts, I just hope in her quest to save the world, her own biological child is getting what she needs from her mother as well. Even in the best of circumstances with a family of normal people (non-celebrities) taking care of four kids can be challenging at best and very stressful at worst. I am sure the Pitt-Jolie family have an army of people to help them though, and certainly someone’s looking out for Shiloh while her mom tends to the needs of her adopted siblings.
And there’s some more good news, Pax Thien Jolie will soon have a new surname, as Angelina has almost completed the required legalities to change his last name to Jolie-Pitt like her other children. Even if she employed some rather stealthy techniques. Jolie is like genius or something; a mad, child-saving, homewrecking, gorgeous genius!
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This interview was all about damage control. She claims not to care about the tabloid news, yet she basically addresses all the bad press about her recently, one by one. I will give her this much. She is brilliant at managing her image. Just like GW Bush (at the beginning).
Comment by echughes — May 11, 2007 @ 5:52 pm