Little Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Georgia, is the first Gerber Baby to have been born with Down syndrome.
The happy, smiling boy won the Gerber contest after his mother submitted a photo of him wearing a tiny bow tie and a very big grin.
"He's very outgoing and never meets a stranger," his mom said Wednesday during a family appearance on the Today show. "He loves to play, loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh."
His mother said she entered the contest on a lark after a relative told her about an ad seeking entries. She posted her baby's photo on Instagram with the Gerber competition hashtag.
They were later notified that Lucas had been picked to be the 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby — out of more than 140,000 submissions.
"We're hoping this will impact everyone, that it will shed a little bit of light on the special needs community," said Lucas' dad, Jason Warren. "They have the potential to change the world, just like everybody else."
Gerber president and CEO Bill Partyka said the baby's exuberant smile melted the hearts of judges.
"Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber's longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby," Partyka said. "This year, Lucas is the perfect fit."
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