Celebrity stories of 2011

• Pregnancy selfies
• Why toddlers drive us nuts!
• The best cookbooks
• Celeb birthday bashes
• Hilarious baby photos
• 20 places to take your kids

• Cynthia Nixon has baby boy

  Sex and the City star, Cynthia Nixon announced in February that she had welcomed a baby boy, Max Ellington, with her partner, Christine Marinon. The couple have not released details of the biological father.

  Source: PA

• Pregnant X Factor contestant

  Essex duo 2 Shoes became the first pregnant act to reach the finals of the X Factor when they were selected for the live shows. They were sent packing after week one, and later, Charley Bird said she hoped her pregnancy wasn't to blame.

  Source: Getty

• Amanda Holden announces pregnancy

  After suffering a stillbirth seven months into her pregnancy at the beginning of the year, Amanda put a massive smile on our faces when she announced she was pregnant again in August. The TV star finished her run as Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical early and has been putting her feet up as she nears her due date.

  Source: PA

• Beyonce announces pregnancy

  In spectacular showbiz style, Beyonce announced she was pregnant with her first baby at the MTV awards, with a bump-rubbing performance in front of millions. Countless rumours that she was faking her baby bump followed, as did a very cute behind-the-scenes video showing how excited the mum-to-be is to be expecting her first baby with husband, Jay-Z.

  Source: PA

• Justin Bieber baby-gate

  The rumour mill went into overdrive when a super-fan of Justin Bieber, Mariah Yeater, claimed the baby-faced singer had fathered her child. Justin of course denies the claims that he slept with her backstage after one of his concerts, and his army of teenage fans are up in arms about the whole thing...

  Source: PA

• Mariah Carey has twins

  After countless rumours, Mariah and husband, Nick Cannon confirmed they were expecting their first baby, and then welcomed twins, Moroccan and Monroe, in April after a miscarriage and struggle to conceive. The twins are now the couple's pride and joy, and rumour has it Monroe is already taking after her mum in the diva stakes...

  Source: PA

• Danielle Lloyd strips off...and then gives birth

  WAG Danielle Lloyd posed nude when she was pregnant for Closer magazine, but just days later she welcomed her second son, Harry 10 weeks early. The little lad spent weeks in hospital before being allowed home with dad, Jamie O'Hara and big brother, Archie.

  Source: Closer magazine

• Elton John and David Furnish are nominated for Celeb Dad of the Year

  Elton John and David Furnish became the first gay dads ever to be nominated for Celebrity Dad of the Year in May, after adopting their son, Zachary in 2010. They sadly lost out to Peter Andre, who won for the second year running.

  Source: Splash

• Hannah Waterman has a baby...but who's the daddy?

  EastEnders star Hannah was keeping mum on the father of her baby when she announced her pregnancy in April. It eventually emerged that The Bill star, Huw Higginson was the father of her little boy after a whirlwind romance.

  Source: PA

• Holly Willoughby has the longest celebrity labour ever!

  After days of a stop-start labour, TV's golden girl welcomed her second baby, daughter Belle in April. She made several visits to the This Morning studio throughout her maternity leave, and returned in September to take her place on the famous sofa.

  Source: PA

• Julia Bradbury has first baby

  Julia announced she was expecting her 'miracle' first baby in February and gave birth to her son, Zephyr in November. Julia feared she would never conceive after being diagnosed with endometriosis aged 33.

  Source: PA

• Kate and Wills dodge pregnancy rumours

  After the wedding of the year in April, Prince William and Kate Middleton have been dodging pregnancy rumours left, right and centre. First there was the American magazine that claimed they were expecting twins, and then the British press went into overdrive when Kate refused to try peanut paste while on an official visit, sparking more speculation she was pregnant with the couple's first baby. Of course this amounted to absolutely nothing, but we reckon there might be an announcement in 2012...what do you think?

  Source: PA

• Kate Silverton announces pregnancy

  After four failed rounds of IVF, BBC news presenter Kate Silverton announced she was expecting her first baby with husband, Michael Herron in May. She referred to her growing bump as a 'miracle' throughout her pregnancy after years of struggling to conceive.

  Source: PA

• Kate Silverton shows off baby Clemency

  After giving birth to baby Clemency, Kate made us all smile by sharing some very cute shots of her new arrival. She posted the pictures on Twitter, along with the message: "Here's the little one - won't tweet too many but just to say hello and thank you for all the well wishes."

  Source: Kate Silverton/Twitter/TwitPic

• Katie Price defends Harvey

  Mum of three, Katie Price stood up for her disabled son, Harvey in June when comedian, Frankie Boyle made a vile joke about her son and his condition. The model wrote an open letter in the Daily Mail which said: "'I can't overstate the outrage and revulsion I felt when I heard this attack on my vulnerable, disabled son. I am used to defending myself against insults and, at times, justified criticism."

  Source: PA

• Pregnant Jenni Falconer tries planking

  While covering Holly Willoughby's maternity leave on the This Morning sofa, heavily pregnant Jenni joined in THE craze of 2011, by planking. Not the best thing to try with a big baby belly in tow perhaps, but the presenter semed to be enjoying herself! She gave birth to Ella Rose in September.

  Source: Jenni Falconer/Twitter/TwitPic

• Katie Price praises Leo's parenting skills

  Katie Price publicly praised boyfriend-of-five-minutes Leo Penna's parenting skills back in August, saying she reckoned he was better with her three children, Harvey, Junior and Princess than her ex-husband (and Junior and Princess' dad!) Peter Andre and ex, Alex Reid. The two men didn't retaliate, but we reckon reading her comments must have been pretty tough...

  Source: PA

• Kym Marsh welcomes baby Polly

  2011 was a happy year for Corrie star, Kym Marsh, and partner, Jamie Lomas. After the trauma of giving birth to her stillborn son, Archie in 2009, Kym welcomed a baby girl, Polly in March, five weeks early. After a few weeks in hospital, the little lady is now at home with her proud mum and dad.

  Source: PA

• Lauren Goodger's abortion

  In September, TOWIE star Lauren shocked everyone by telling OK! magazine she had aborted ex-boyfriend, Mark Wright's baby when the pair were first going out. Mark reacted by giving his own interview, saying he was very sad Lauren had talked about their joint decision in public.

  Source: PA

• Lily Allen has baby girl

  After the trauma of two miscarriages, Lily Allen finally welcomed a baby girl in November, with new husband, Sam Cooper. The singer was out of the spotlight for a lot of her pregnancy, telling fans she was going to rest and enjoy putting her feet up throughout her nine months.

  Source: PA

• Pearl Lowe's daughter turns model

  Mum Pearl Lowe needed a pint-sized model for her new kidswear collection for Peacocks in October, and she found just the ticket with her adorable daughter, Betty. The little lady looked gorgeous as she showed off her mum's first kids' collection for the high street chain.

  Source: Peacocks

• Suri wears heels on beach

  We were getting pretty used to seeing Suri Cruise strut her stuff in heels and fancy frocks, but  she took us by surprise when she was snapped pottering along the beach in heeled shoes! The little lady has also shown us she can run in heels and turn on the charm for the ever-present paps this year.

  Source: Splash

• Abbey Clancy loses baby weight in weeks

  Seven weeks after giving birth to her first baby with Peter Crouch, Sophia, Abbey was back in her size six frocks and skyscraper heels, not making herself popular with new mums across the country...

  How did she do it?

  Source: PA

• Michael Jackson's children are all grown-up

  We were thrilled to see how happy and well Michael Jackson's children, Paris, Prince Michael and Prince Michael II looked at the MJ tribute concert in October. Michael's mum, Katherine also spoke about how she was bringing them up earlier this year, saying she was trying to give them a normal childhood away from the spotlight.

  Source: PA

• Victoria Beckham announces pregnancy

  ...and it's a girl! Posh and Becks revealed they were expecting their fourth child, a girl, at the beginning of the year. The pregnancy of the decade followed, with Posh snapped most days in some very swanky maternity wear.

  Source: PA

• Harper Seven arrives!

  Harper Seven Beckham finally made her grand arrival in the summer, and Victoria and David caused a stir with their unusual name choice. While Becks revealed it was after Posh's favourite author, Harper Lee. Our Facebook fans, on the other hand, thought it sounded most like a toilet cleaner...

  Either way, she was here, and the Beckhams surprised us all by choosing to tweet the first pictures.

  Source: Victoria Beckham/TwitPic/Twitter

• Victoria Beckham carries Harper...EVERYWHERE!

  After the simple, candid first shots of Harper on Twitter, Posh went all out to show off her longed-for baby girl, strutting around fashion week in skyscraper heels, balancing the little lady in her arms. We're waiting for a picture of the nanny carting all her mum equipment around to emerge...

  Source: PA

• Selma Blair goes three weeks overdue!

  Officially the longest celebrity pregnancy ever (sorry, Posh) Hollywood star Selma Blair finally welcomed her first baby, Arthur in August, after going a whopping three weeks overdue!

  Source: PA

• Carla Bruni gives birth

  After a very secretive nine months, France's First Lady, Carla Bruni gave birth to her second baby, her first with French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, Giulia this autumn. Carla sparked controversy during her pregnancy, by admitting she couldn't wait to give birth so she could get back on the booze and fags!

  Source: Splash

• Lady Gaga scares small child

  Superstar Gaga upset this little lady when she was handed her during a meet and greet with fans. Perhaps she wasn't a fan of Lady Gaga's spoof baby range that she created for a TV show?

  Source: Splash

• Surprise baby for Stacey Solomon

  After telling us she didn't want to have another baby any time soon, reality TV star, and mum of one, Stacey Solomon suprised us all when she announced she was pregnant with her second baby - her first with boyfriend, Aaron Barnham. In typical Stacey style, she was very open about the baby not being planned, but is now excited to be a mum-to-be again.

  Source: PA

• Suri Cruise wears a coat...

  ...Finally!

  Even Suri's mum, Katie Holmes admitted she can't get her daughter to wear a coat when it's cold outside, but we were pleasantly surprised to see the mini fashionista wrapping up for the cold weather, not once, but twice this year...

  Source: Splash

• Chantelle Houghton and Alex Reid announce pregnancy

  After claiming years of extreme dieting had made her infertile, reality TV star Chantelle Houghton announced she was pregnant with new partner, Alex Reid's baby in November. The mum-to-be claims she will be the ultimate 'yummy mummy' when she gives birth next year...

  Source: PA

• Rebecca Brooks expecting baby with surrogate mum

  As the phone hacking scandal and media ethics inquiry rumbles on, Rebecca Brooks made the surprise announcement she was expecting her first baby with a surrogate mum, after years of struggling to conceive.

  Source: PA

• Hugh Grant has first baby

  The prize for biggest celebrity baby shock this year goes to Hugh Grant, who announced he and Tinglan Hong were parents in November. The actor confirmed the news with a message from his spokesperson that said: ""I can confirm that Hugh Grant is the delighted father of a baby girl. He and the mother had a fleeting affair and while this was not planned, Hugh could not be happier or more supportive."

  Source: PA

• Myleene Klass holds out for a Hero

  When Myleene Klass gave birth to her second daughter, and named her Hero in March, we were left scratching our heads at the name choice. The TV presenter took to Twitter to defend the name, saying it was "amazing".

  Source: Rex