Dad turns baby into real, adorable 'Elf on the Shelf'

A Utah dad recently turned his four-month-old son into an adorable real-life "Elf on the Shelf."

Alan Lawrence, a photographer and father of six, posted a series of photos of his 4-month-old son Rockwell in full-on "Elf on the Shelf" apparel on his website, The Dad Blog, TODAY reported.

"My wife and I have never done "Elf on the Shelf," but we've always been fascinated by it," Lawrence told USA TODAY Network. "This idea of telling your kids this elf lives in your home and causes mischief at night; we started to wonder how would parents really react to that."

Lawrence said he got the idea of making his son into an "Elf on the Shelf" around Thanksgiving.

"A family member told me, "He's like a little elf,'" Lawrence said. "So, we decided to make it a reality."

In the photos, "Rockwell the Elf" perches atop the fireplace, wraps a tree in toilet paper, and drinks syrup from a straw. And despite an obvious knack for mischief, Rockwell sure is cute.

Lawrence said he created the pictures by posing with Rockwell and then using photo editing software to edit himself out of the image.

Gallery: Dad makes four-year-old into real-life "Elf on the Shelf"

And this isn't Lawrence's first viral photoshoot. In October, Lawrence spoke with USA TODAY Network about his photo series featuring his son Wil, who has Down Syndrome.

In the photo series, 'Wil Can Fly," Lawrence used Adobe Photoshop to create the illusion of his son soaring over a corn maze, gliding over the waters of San Francisco and eating an ice cream from the air.

Lawrence has some adorable children.

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