Minnesota toddler with rare genetic disorder wins national title

A Minnesota toddler is heading to Hollywood after winning a national title.

Sarah McNamara, of St. Cloud, wasn't expected to make it to birth; she is now 3.5 years old and the winner of the 2026 Toddler of the Year contest.

Amber Traxler spent her morning stealing kisses from her daughter; it's something she wasn't sure she'd ever get to do when she found out she was pregnant.

"It was torture; getting that diagnosis, having all of her doctors tell me that she wasn't gonna survive, that we would be lucky if she survived until birth," Amber Traxler said.

Her baby had Thanatophoric dysplasia (TD). According to the National Institutes of Health, it occurs in around 1 in 35,000 births. It's a form of dwarfism where the skeleton is too small for the organs; it's listed as lethal.

"I did find a couple of case studies online about other kiddos with TD who had survived. But you had to dig, probably. I had to dig, yes, and the doctors were just telling me that, well, that's just one kid. I said, whether she lives or she doesn't, that's going to be up to her, but I'm going to do everything that I can to make it possible for her to have a longer life," Amber Traxler said.

McNamara is getting her checkups at Gillette Children's before she flies to Hollywood to receive her crown. There, she will be part of the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

"Yes, it's exciting that we get to do the photoshoot and, you know, she gets a cash prize and she gets the parade. But our ultimate goal from the very beginning was to help spread awareness for TD, to give that hope. That's the part of it that brings tears to my eyes. Hope, she's hope," Amber Traxler said.

Proving that despite all odds, a star was born.

McNamara continues to meet milestones no one predicted. She's holding a bottle and eating food by mouth. The next big goal is to learn to walk.