Happy Father's Day

Even before he bonded with Maddox (in Calgary Oct. 16), Pitt had confidence in his parenting skills: "I'll be able to figure it out when I get there," he told GQ. Photo by: LDP Images

When Brad Pitt finally realized that he was ready to be a parent, his rationale was characteristically self-deprecating: "I'm finally at a place where I won't mess 'em up too much," he told reporters back in '04. But on Dec. 3, Pitt embraced fatherhood with unabashed pride.

A day after Pitt announced that he would be seeking to adopt Angelina Jolie's children Zahara and Maddox, the beaming actor was surrounded by well-wishers on the chilly Calgary set of his upcoming movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Says a source on the set: "There was a lot of handshaking, hugs and backslapping all around."

The cause for celebration was proof that the actor, who turns 42 on Dec. 18, was entering a new chapter in his life. The adoption petition – including a move to change the children's last name to Jolie-Pitt – is the first step, say insiders, in a carefully conceived plan to become a legally recognized family.