by Whitney Barthel posted in Life

There is absolutely no denying the cuteness of 18-month-old Lucas Warren of Dalton, Georgia. But when mom Cortney and dad Jason learned Lucas was chosen out of over 140,000 entries to be the new Gerber baby, they were a little surprised.
Cortney told TODAY, "I finally decided to [enter] on a whim. I [think] he's adorable and thought maybe the world might too."
Photo courtesy of Cortney Warren/Gerber
And while Cortney and Jason are excited for what Lucas being chosen means for the special needs community, they also hope that people are able to see beyond his Down syndrome.
Cortney went on to say, "He may have Down syndrome, but he's always Lucas first...He's got an awesome personality and we're hoping when he grows up and looks back on this, he'll be proud of himself." If winning the Gerber Spokesbaby contest out of nearly 150,000 babies isn't awesome enough, the position comes with some pretty sweet perks, among them a $50,000 grand prize. Which the Daltons have said will go towards Lucas's education.
This is the eighth year the 90-year-old company has held the Spokesbaby competition and Lucas is bound to be the favorite of many.
As a fellow Down syndrome mom, I am allowed to say this. Here is my handsome little guy, Daniel, as a 7-month-old and 7-year-old. I'd say he is pretty darn cute too, but I'm obviously biased.

To see photos of the previous Spokesbabies, check out Gerber on Facebook.
Images by Cortney Warren, W...