Cole turns 15

Cole - On October 12th, we celebrated your big ONE - FIVE. Fifteen years have sure flown by in a blink. You were such little peanut as we loaded you up for your very first car ride home from the hospital a few days later. Oh how you have grown into a young man before our very eyes! 

For your birthday celebration, we had a small gathering with family at our home. Nana Judy, Popi Dave, Great Popi Dineen and Uncle Jason were able to join us. You were the man of the hour and started the festivities with a small gift before the guests arrived.

Your birthday lunch request was none other than Red Robin - your tried and true all-time favorite restaurant! You love their burgers and fries complete with your drink of choice, cranberry juice. You order the exact same meal every time.

After playing a bit of Xbox while everyone else finished up their lunches, it was time to open the presents. Sam, with Rose's help, delivered each item to you. You happily tore them open to see what fun was hiding inside. 

You even got a new custom Xbox controller which you of course had to try out with your favorite Xbox game WWE.

Then it was time for dessert. You are not a big cake or frosting fan so instead you opted for a gigantic 5 lb cookie from T-Rex Cookie again this year. It was delicious!

We all gathered around and sang "Happy Birthday" to you as you blew out the candles.

The rest of the party was spent having fun. You played with your new remote control car.

We then moved outside for you to drive an even bigger remote controlled car with extra special cargo - Aria and Sam!

Cole, you are most definitely our silly kid. You absolutely adore making people laugh. You think it's the best when your goofy antics bring smiles to our faces. 

You are an empathic soul. Always concerned when you see someone sad and quick to act to change that frown into a smile. You will do almost anything to cheer up a loved one, even give them your very own toy or iPad. You just can't bear seeing someone upset.

You are a huge homebody. You see no need to leave the house. While your siblings are off to the store or park or restaurant, you usually opt to stay home in the comfort of your own surroundings. 

You are a huge Xbox fan. Your all-time favorite games are the WWE series. You absolutely love wrestling with all the crazy characters and wild wrestling moves. You'll setup a two-player game then play both sides so you can easily control each player's movements and determine which wrestler you choose to win. You have somehow mastered the tricky and confusing key combinations to push in order to perform the wide array of wrestling moves. I'm left completely confused whenever you ask me to play along. I can't even get my wrestler to move and somehow you've already pinned my player to the mat. You have some wicked Xbox skills, my dear boy.

You love to eat. You can munch away all day long and seem to never fill, yet you are as skinny as a toothpick! Your favorite foods are chicken nuggets and cranberry juice. You could eat that combination morning, day and night, and you usually do! Lately you've discovered how to cook your own hot dogs and now we go through multiple packs a week. You are always popping one into the microwave and devouring it in minutes. You sure do love your protein.

Cole, you are our sensitive, helpful boy, full of energy and always on the move from one task to the next. You love taking my arm and asking me to dance on a daily basis. You are truly one-of-a-kind. And we are so very grateful that you are ours. A very happy 15th birthday to you, Cole! We love you to the moon and back.