Narrowing down tens of thousands of beautiful baby pictures to just eight semifinalists with our partners at Good Morning America is always a nail-biting experience. This year was especially exciting. When GMA announced the finalists on their show and the tallying began, the contest was so close that the cover baby won by only 63 votes. It just goes to show how gorgeous all these little guys and girls are. Still, it was adorable Addison Rogers who captured your hearts and our cover! Once the semifinalists were chosen, they visited New York City with their families for a fun-filled photo shoot during which the little munchkins were given the star treatment. As we got to know each and every unique personality, we discovered that Morley was a natural born model (and ham!). Samuel was also camera-ready as soon as he burst through the door, even though he was still adjusting to East Coast time.

As for our five semifinalists, little Alina was timid at first, but when her mom, dad, and our genius photographer, Denis Horan, began singing "Happy Birthday," Alina's face just lit up and we got the perfect shot. Isabella, our peanut of the crew, is also a West Coast baby, and she turned on the sunshine when it was her time in front of the camera. Julian was lucky to have his grandparents at the shoot, along with Mom and Dad. He literally came out running and everyone took turns chasing him around the studio. Quiet Keira had an extra fan, too -- her brother, Kiahn, 8, was there to cheer her on. And finally, Aidan was our ladies' man on set. Once he laid eyes on Keira and Alina, he was all smiles for the day.

To all eight families: Thank you! We hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we enjoyed meeting you.

Keep an eye out for our April '09 issue with next year's cover-contest rules -- your sweetheart could grace Babytalk next!

 Photo Shoot: Behind-the-Scenes
Meet the three finalists
Where Are Our Cover Models Now?
 Big Apple Babies
Make Your Baby Our Next Cover Model