Cole's 14th Family Day

Dear Cole - 

On February 17th we celebrated your 14th Family Day. It's been FOURTEEN years since we first found out we were expecting you. Oh boy! Were you quite the wonderful surprise! Just 3 days later, we would get our very first glimpse of you. You were itsy bitsy.

And now 14 years later, you are a big teenager! Time sure does go by fast.

For your celebration dinner, you picked your tried and true, absolute favorite restaurant…Red Robin! You ordered the same meal you've been ordering for years - a burger and fries with a cranberry juice. But Red Robin dropped the ball and forgot your juice. But that was okay - you were happy with just your tasty meal.

For dessert, Red Robin's cinnamon and sugar donuts hit the spot!

The celebration continued the following weekend with a trip to the arcade for just you and Pa. You had a blast playing all your favorite arcade games. 

Cole, you are such a kind soul. You love to share and help out whenever asked. You are my go-to guy when I need an extra hand. You happily pause whatever task you are doing to assist me whenever I ask. You have a heart of gold, always putting others needs in front of your own. 

You continue to be WWE's #1 fan. You can not get enough of wrestling - whether watching it on YouTube, playing it on the Xbox, or practicing your moves on your baby sister. You own every edition of WWE released to the Xbox. Every year you eagerly wait to hear if a new game will be released. This year, we discovered that WWE 2K23 was set to be released on March 17th. Oh boy! You were thrilled. Every day you'd ask me how many more days until 2K23 would be released. You simply could not contain your excitement! We had to make a countdown calendar so you could check off each passing day until it was finally available to play. But patience is not your virtue and despite the visual count down, you would still ask daily how many more days are left. Needless to say, you are SUPER excited for the new WWE game!

When you were little, you used to say, "I love you like a chicken nugget." While this may seem odd, most people didn't realize just how much you love your chicken nuggets! That love continues on to this day. You could eat chicken nuggets for breakfast, lunch AND dinner without growing tired of them. But only certain nuggets will do. Ian's gluten free nuggets are your all-time favorite! You are a boy who LOVES his nuggets!

Speaking of your favorite things, your favorite room in the house is "Mom's Room" (aka, the master bedroom). If you aren't in sight, I know exactly where you are hiding out. Mom's Room is your retreat from the busyness of the household where you can relax and enjoy your favorite shows on the big screen without the worry of a bossy sister wanting to change the program. In fact, there is the perfect Cole-shaped indent in the carpet where you love to lay and kick the dresser in front of your feet. On occasion, I will even find you curled up in bed taking a catnap after a busy day.

"Parties with Pa" as you like to call them are often held in Mom's Room, although not your typical "party".  It's your quite time chilling with just you and Pa (no girls allowed!)  Typically Pa is on his iPad and you watching your favorite YouTubers. You love your quiet time with just Pa.

You are our silly jokester. You get the biggest kick out of making people laugh. Your face glows with pure joy whenever your audience lets out a big belly laugh from your silly antics or jokes. You love making people smile. 

You are the best big brother to your trio of little sisters. For a boy that was not quite so sure about being a big brother, you have stepped up to the task. All they need to do ask and you will bend over backwards to help. Sometime you are even preemptive assisting them before they even have a chance to request help. You love being the helpful big brother. 

Cole, you are such a sweet, caring, empathetic young man. You brighten our days, fill our hearts with joy, and our home with laughter. We have been so blessed to watch you grow into a wonderful young man. From one of life's biggest surprises to one of our greatest joys, you are our miracle, and we are so blessed to celebrate this day with you. A very happy 14th Family Day, Cole!