Ashley Jones stretches his mouth in a big smile and reaches his arms out, trying to grab the ABC microphone.
It has been a big day for the nine-month-old, and 25 other babies born in the Goldfields this year, who took part in a traditional welcome to the world ceremony.
Norma Cooper's smile is just as wide as her son's.
"It is very exciting to do this welcome to the world," she said.
"It means a lot."
Held at Kalgoorlie's Lord Forrest Park last week, the ceremony was organised by Connected Beginnings, an initiative that aims to bridge the gap in school readiness between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in WA's Goldfields.
The ceremony was a celebration of motherhood, culture and the infants' connection to the land on which they are born.
Connected Beginnings' Ana King said they wanted to organise something special, to help people feel and celebrate strong ties to culture.
"Today is a beautiful celebration of culture, of family," Ms King said.
"All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies who are born this year are able to come and feel acknowledged, feel welcome and have a sense of belonging here at Kalgoorlie-Boulder."
Connecting to culture
'Nana' Joyce Nudding, an elder from the Maduwongga/Walgen tribe, helped deliver Aboriginal babies at Leonora Hospital in the early 1960s, and blessed the babies at the ceremony.
"That is how we are connected to the land, through the things that help us," Ms Nudding said.
She gifted each mother a sandalwood seed, which she said symbolises the connection to their country and culture.
Ms Nudding said that women would crush the seeds on flat stones to make a black paste they rubbed over the babies from head to foot to protect them from sickness.
Connecting to community
The welcome to the world ceremony celebrated the families' connection to country, but also to community.
Norma Cooper, who became a mother at 18, said she was proud to help other young mothers and women in the community.
"I have a lot of family support, and I have heaps of friends, " she said.
"My baby gets to grow up with their babies."
Ms King said the joyous event was a chance to strengthen the community and promote intercultural understanding.
"I truly believe that we need more events like this, not just for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but for the whole community," she said.
Ms King said she would love to see both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people join the celebration.
"If the whole community was able to come down, they would then understand and learn more about somebody else's culture and have a true appreciation of who they are," she said.
"Once you do that, you just feel we are just all one".
