Jennifer Garner says being a mother has changed her life more than she ever could have imagined.

“Having a baby fills your life in such a way that no matter what you’re doing, there’s something bigger,” the mom of 1-year-old Violet said Saturday while promoting her new movie Catch and Release. “I’ve just been in heaven being with her the past year.”

In the new issue of PEOPLE, Garner, 34, shares more about bringing up baby with husband Ben Affleck, also 34:

How motherhood changed her: I call my mom now and say, “You know all the dinners you made that I said ‘No’ to and went off and ate peanut butter? I’m sorry. I get it. I slaved over roasting this, and (Violet) goes, ‘No, no, no!’ ”

Lessons learned: I was rocking her, and she was fascinated by the light hitting the ceiling. I thought, “God, for the past five years, I haven’t stopped to look at light on the ceiling for (one) second.” To slow down and go at her pace has been such a gift.

Losing the baby weight: It took me a long, long time. I just wasn’t that motivated. I wanted to play with her. Then I got on the treadmill, stopped stuffing my face and lost the weight. I cut out croissants, bagels and muffins – all the good stuff. And went back to having a salad once a day and protein.

Ben Affleck on daddy-duty: He does a good job. I mean, okay, maybe I wrote out what he was supposed to make for her (to eat) today while I was gone. But that’s just me being paranoid. He’s great – he can do it.

On the Mommy-Daddy bond: There’s nothing more emotional than seeing your partner – the man you love – with your baby at any time: the first time, the second, yesterday, today. There’s nothing more beautiful.

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 ****SORRY GUYS, HAD TO REMOVE PICS!  SEE THEM AT THE SOURCE****

Erin, it’s me you - and a bucket o’ popcorn. I can’t wait!

Jennifer is carrying a copy of a script - maybe her next movie?  The movie is “Christmas in Connecticut” and was originally filmed in 1945.  From IMDB:

Journalist Elizabeth Lane is one of the country’s most famous food writer. In her columns, she describes herself as a hard working farm woman, taking care of her children and being an excellent cook. But this is all lies. In reality she is an umarried New Yorker who can’t even boil an egg. The recipes come from her good friend Felix. The owner of the magazine she works for has decided that a heroic sailor will spend his christmas on *her* farm. Miss Lane knows that her career is over if the truth comes out, but what can she do?

That totally looks like a Jennifer Garner movie…great casting!  The movie has been remade before, back in 1992. From Wikipedia:

In 1992, a remake of Christmas in Connecticut was made. It starred Dyan Cannon as Elizabeth, Kris Kristofferson as Jefferson Jones, and Tony Curtis as Mr. Yardley. It was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. In this version, Elizabeth “Blane” is the hostess of her own cooking show. When her manager, Alexander Yardley introduces her to Jefferson Jones, a forest ranger who lost his cabin in a fire, he asks her to make Jones Christmas dinner live on her show. As in the original, Elizabeth isn’t as talented as she seems.

This version was not as well liked as the original. Many people called it a disaster and wondered why Arnold Schwarzenegger was directing a Christmas movie. As one critic stated, “You’ll be hungry for a better movie after suffering through this film.”

I totally saw that version…it was on TV years back.  Too funny.

For a couple as low-key as Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, it was fitting that their daughter’s baptism was a down-home affair.

Little Violet Affleck, who turned 1 on Dec. 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.

If congregants were star-struck by the movie stars in their midst, they didn’t show it, Pastor Randy Flanagan told the AP.

Affleck, 34, a Golden Globe nominee for Hollywoodland, told PEOPLE earlier this month that he’s a hands-on dad: “Yes, I’ve changed diapers,” he said at a New York City screening of Hollywoodland. “Parenthood, the whole thing is wonderful. All the clichés that all the people bore you with are, in fact, true.”

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