Tampa toddler competing in national competition for 'Toddler of the Year'

Bay Area boy in running for 'Toddler of the Year'

A Tampa Bay area toddler is competing in a national online competition for Toddler of the Year.�Ariel Plasencia reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - Julie and Garrett Jackson have always known their son, James, 17-months, is one of a kind. After all, he was born on Leap Day last year. 

"Yeah, he's special in a lot of different ways," Julie Jackson said of her toddler. "He's our little one-in-a-million guy."

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The backstory:

There was a time when Jackson wasn’t sure she’d be able to have kids with her husband, a quality assurance tech sergeant at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. 

"My husband and I had some fertility issues. He had three daughters in his first marriage, and then when we met, we wanted to have one of our own. And, we weren't able to naturally," Jackson said. 

Julie and Garrett went through in vitro fertilization (IVF) at a Largo fertility clinic. IVF is an assisted reproductive technique, involving several complex procedures. 

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"Hundreds of shots, lots of different hormone things, everything. It cost about $30,000 from start to finish to have James," Jackson said. "We ended up with two viable embryos out of 15 eggs that were harvested. So, we were lucky to have anything, I guess, is what they said."

It was a difficult – and expensive – two-year journey. 

"All the things we had to go through were worth it to get to this point," Jackson added. 

Dig deeper:

Today, James is a thriving little boy – "a dream come true," Jackson told FOX 13. He’s currently competing in the Toddler of the Year award. First place wins $25,000. 

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"All of those medical expenses were a lot. And we chose to do it, because we felt like it was important to make our family the reality that we wanted it to be," Jackson said. "But, it would help us get out of debt."

As of the writing of this article, James is in second place in his group. 

"He is a little ball of energy," Jackson said. "He just is all smiles, running all over the place." 

If he wins, you could see him star in a national ad campaign. 

"I mean, he doesn't even know he's in the competition, obviously, but he would just be over the moon to win," Jackson said, chuckling. 

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What you can do:

Voting ends Thursday. Click here to cast your vote. 

The Toddler of the Year competition is powered by Colossal, a nationally registered professional fundraiser, and is also presented by toy company, Hasbro. Additionally, the competition benefits Toys for Tots.