Jessica Biel on Seeing Her Young Son Grow Up: "It's Just Amazing to Watch"

Jessica Biel didn’t let the L.A. heat get in the way of celebrating the weekend with style. The actress and mom to 5-month-old son Silas, with Justin Timberlake, stepped out yesterday for a joint fête honoring the new animated Amazon kids' series Tumble Leaf and her latest business venture, Au Fudge restaurant, with fellow co-founders Estee Stanley (below, left), Monica Weinberg (below, center right) Kimberly Muller (below, right).

Jessica’s floral 2nd Skin Co. dress was perfect for the nearly 90 degree weather. “It’s really comfortable. I knew it was going to be hot. I have a little backspace for some airflow in the back. I think it’s kind of hard to find the right outfit for 11:00 to 1:00 on a Sunday. It felt appropriate,” said Biel, who has teamed up with her friends and stylist of 14 years, Estee Stanley, to open the kid-friendly restaurant later this year. “I’ve always been interested in baking,” she explained.

To bring the animated series to life, Stanley’s personal backyard was decorated to allow kids to make their own little garden box, face paint, and design custom picture frames (below). Soleil Moon Frye provided gifts from her toy company, Seedling, and guests indulged in Nutella pancakes, French toast, watermelon slices, and mini leaf-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches from Au Fudge.

So how did these talented women come up with such a unique business venture? “I’m interested in creating things that are supposed to be treats in a way that they’re really healthy for you, but you have no idea,” Biel adds. “It was initially Estee and Kimberly’s idea to have a space where you could bring your family and everyone gets great food, conscious food, and a great experience. I really understand the need for a space where you can take your family and you can have a good time.” Stanley shared similar sentiments: “We just want people to come and have a good time, because parenting and life is so speedy and nuts right now on planet Earth. We just want people to come and chill.”

A new mom herself, Biel is excited to see her son growing up. “There are so many wonderful things about it, it’s kind of hard to put into words. I guess it’s when your baby gets a little older and starts to react to you. You feel like you’re having almost a wordless conversation with them everyday. They speak their own language, you’re speaking your own language, but yet you’re communicating,” she said. “It’s just getting more fun. He’s becoming a little person. It’s just cool. It’s cool to see him look at something that he’s never seen before, that I’ve seen a million times. He’s seeing it for the first time. It’s a blade of grass. Whoa, he’s freaking out on that. It’s just amazing to watch that happen for him.”

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