A New Jersey father and son are going viral for their yearly superhero-themed photo tradition.
For the last 11 years, Nick Tomasso, 44, has shared an annual photo of himself posing for a picture with his son Jackson, both of them wearing matching Batman T-shirts.
But it wasn't until Tomasso shared a Reddit post in September with a collage of all the photos the father and son had taken together since 2014 that it really took off.
"It started unintentionally a few months after he was born," Tomasso told ABC News of the tradition's origin. "I didn't realize it was a tradition, per se, until year three."
"In year two and three, [Jackson] was sitting, and that was just purely by chance, because that was his room and that was his chair. And at year three, I thought to myself, 'This would be pretty funny when he gets much bigger, and he's either bigger than me or my size or my height,'" Tomasso recalled. "I just thought that would be a pretty funny picture, as opposed to him just standing next to me."
According to Tomasso, Jackson usually gets a new Batman shirt every year but Tomasso keeps his original Batman shirt tucked away and only takes it out for the photoshoot once a year. The duo then make sure to settle into the same chair in Jackson's room, with Jackson on Tomasso's lap, for the final shot.
Today, Jackson is an 11-year-old sixth grader who loves superheroes, "Star Wars," traveling, and playing video games. Tomasso said they both look forward to capturing their Batman shirt portraits each year.
"We realized that it really is a cool time capsule to see how much he's growing," said Tomasso. "We agreed that we'd try to keep it going as long as we can. It may end next year. It may not end for 10 more years. It may not end for 20 more years. Who knows, but I would imagine once he gets older, it's not going to happen anymore."
At the end of the day, Tomasso, who said he's "lucky" to be Jackson's dad, hopes other parents and caregivers can see their sweet photo tradition and remember to cherish their time with their kids.
"As a parent, just make the most of the good times and bad and the big moments and the small moments, because time will go by very quickly," Tomasso said.
He added, "You can remember every single thing that happened in each one of those years. But when you look at it from a total perspective, sometimes you take for granted how quickly time actually goes. Just be there for your kids, show up for them."
