SAN ANTONIO – Two San Antonio toddlers are headed for the bright lights of Broadway.
Ethan Hepworth and Leo Huntsman's cute smiling faces will light up Times Square on Sept. 14 to kick off Down syndrome Awareness Month.
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On one day each year, the video monitors in Times Square feature photos of children, teens and adults with Down Syndrome doing ordinary things such as working, playing and learning. The idea is to promote acceptance and inclusion and to highlight the gifts that people with Down syndrome bring to their communities.
Ethan and Leo are among the ambassadors. Their picture was picked out of more than 2,000 submissions and will be one of 500 on display that day.
Ethan is 19 months old and Leo is 23 months old so, of course, they're unfazed by the attention, but their families are very excited and proud.
"I got tears in my eyes (when I found out they'd been chosen) and immediately texted my husband and Leo's mom," said Emily Hepworth, Ethan's mother.
The toddler twosome became best buddies after their moms met on a Facebook groups for mothers with babies with Down syndrome.
"Leo and Ethan have a lot in common, besides an extra chromosome," Hepworth said.
"When we met, there was an instant connection. They feel very much like family. There is a saying in the DS community about all people with DS having a connection. They call them 'chromie cousins.' The minute we met, it was like that. Ethan and Leo are chromie cousins. They always gravitate to each other, even from a younger age when kids don’t seem to notice each other."
The boys have older siblings who have also become best friends.
While the Hepworths and Huntsmans would love to be there in person when the boys' pictures are displayed, it's not likely either family will be able to make it.
The Times Square video presentation happens on the morning of the National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk in New York City. Whether or not they're able to be in New York for that, they're already fundraising for the Buddy Walk of South Texas on Oct. 19.
Click here to sign up for the walk, where you might be able to see Ethan and Leo's adorable smiling faces in person.