New Gerber baby Kairi makes history as first of Hmong descent

Just one year after baby Lucas made history as the first Gerber baby winner with Down Syndrome, another little one is making history.

Meet Kairi!

It was announced on Tuesday that she was selected from nearly 600,000 applicants as Gerber baby of the year. And at only 15-months-old, little Kairi is already breaking barriers as the first Gerber baby from Hmong descent.

“Kairi was chosen because of the wide-eyed curiosity and the look of wonder we saw in her eyes,” said the president and CEO of Gerber Bill Partyka to TODAY.

"Her expressiveness in the winning photo reminds us of looking to the future through a child’s eyes and being excited for all that it holds,” he continued.

“We actually debated whether or not to enter Kairi," her parents explained. "But we thought regardless of the outcome, she was going to be a winner in our eyes."

Courtesy of Gerber

The toddler currently lives in North Carolina in the same home as her mom and dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Preserving her Hmong culture is something that's very important to her parents.

“Kairi will grow up knowing how to read and write in Hmong, so that she can speak with her grandparents," they said. "Being surrounded by all her family has been a very positive influence on Kairi’s life, especially when it comes to preserving our culture and tradition."

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