Buddy Valastro's Son's Birthday Has Fans Feeling Old

"Happy 17th Birthday to my son @buddyvalastrojr, our smart, loving, independent, fearless, and handsome son," Buddy Valastro gushed on his Instagram page. Though the Cake Boss posted this a mere four hours ago, it already has over 135,000 likes and counting. "I hope your day is filled with lots of happiness, fun, and excitement," the post continued. "We're so proud of all your accomplishments and we love you more than you will ever know." 

The sweet birthday post was accompanied by two photos of the handsome and athletic Buddy Jr., one taken in Valastro's gorgeous kitchen, and one taken on the lacrosse field. Valastro also wished his son a happy 17th via Twitter, where the response was also as sweet, warm, and gooey as that very first cake the beloved Cake Boss ever baked, which, by the way, was for his mom. 

For the elder Valastro, seeing his son turn 17 is deeply significant. He lost his own father, Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro Sr., when he was just 17, according to TLC. For the rest of the world, seeing Valastro's namesake and second child grow up is also meaningful because it has a way of reminding us how quickly the years pass. Of course, that's really just a sugar-coated (would you expect any less?) way of saying that Buddy Valastro's son's 17th birthday has his fans feeling old — for good reason. 

To be fair, birthdays in general have a way of making us feel a bit old. But the occasion of Buddy Valastro's oldest son Buddy Jr. has fans feeling particularly long in the tooth. 

"My goodness have I been watching 'Cake Boss' for so long already," one Twitter user replied to Valastro's tweet. "Seems like the other day he had his first communion." Indeed, the younger Buddy's first communion was celebrated more than five years ago, in February 2016 (via YouTube). Valastro's fanbase has been watching the baker's four beautiful children grow up since 2009, when "Cake Boss" premiered, and Valastro has never been shy about letting his kids turn up on his show (via The Sun). 

"Jesus I remember watching the show when all your kids were little...damn times a pancake, my little cousin just turned 14 and was talking about a boy she likes and my brain instantly went into protect mode," wrote another Twitter user. Is this possibly an overshare? Perhaps, but nevertheless, she certainly gets her point across, and that would appear to be as follows: For parents, watching our children grow from newborns to adults with lives of their own, even as we don't necessarily see ourselves changing all that much, can feel downright surreal!