At just 10 months old, Alexandria baby Ava Pasley has earned her place in the national spotlight.
Ava is in the top 10 of the 2026 Baby of the Year competition run by Colossal Management to support nonprofit Baby2Baby. She has advanced to the round of voting that will determine the top five babies. She comes from an Air Force veteran mother who is now a deputy sheriff at the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office and active-duty Air Force father.
“Our family has been incredibly grateful for the support she has received from friends, family, coworkers, and members of our community,” Ava’s mother Gabrielle Pasley told ALXnow. “We’re hoping to continue rallying support from the Northern Virginia and greater DMV community as she moves forward.”
According to Ava’s family, she is a “happy, curious, and very social little baby who is almost always smiling or laughing.” Her favorite activities are enjoying music, books, the outdoors, time with her family and playing with the family goldendoodles.
“She recently started clapping and saying ‘yay,’ talking up a storm, dancing and wiggling whenever she hears music, and pulling herself up to explore everything around her,” Pasley said. “She has such a big personality for such a little person.”
The winning Baby of the Year will win $25,000, be featured in a national ad campaign with The Honest Company and appear in Variety Magazine. The family says Ava’s winnings would go toward her education and future, with a small share going toward “meaningful family memories.”
Pasley said the competition’s support of Baby2Baby resonates with the family, as the nonprofit helps families in need with essential items like diapers, clothing and food.
“As parents, it is difficult to imagine families having to choose between necessities their children need every day,” Pasley said. “Knowing that this competition also helps bring attention and support to an organization working to make sure children have those basic essentials makes participating feel even more meaningful to us.”
Voting in the latest round is available daily and runs until 10 p.m. EST Thursday (Oct. 1).
