Actor Mark Wahlberg sent out a special message to his son on Wednesday, celebrating the teen’s 17th birthday. Both Mark and wife Rhea Durham got a little retrospective on Instagram, sharing photos from Michael’s life while wishing the teen the best birthday possible.
Mark shared some snaps from Michael’s younger days.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mark Wahlberg (@markwahlberg)
The proud father shared two photos alongside his thoughtful caption. “Happy B Day Mikey,” he began the emoji-filled post. “Can’t believe you’re 17 already. Time goes by so fast. So proud of the wonderful young man you are.”
Considering the quality of the photos and the brief caption, this is totally a typical dad post, but we have a feeling Mark’s son wouldn’t want it any other way.
The 51-year-old’s message was well-received by fans, who also chimed in to wish the teen a happy birthday.
Mikey’s mom also wished her baby boy a great day with a series of photos.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rhea (@byrheawahlberg)
Rhea’s carousel of photos covered a wider range of ages, and fans got to see snaps of the teen from the time he was little all the way up to more recent shots. Although Mark’s other son resembles him, it’s clear that Mikey got most of his mother’s genes.
“Happy 17th Birthday my sweet boy,” Rhea wrote. “I love you more than you will ever know.”
The pair have four kids together.
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In addition to Michael, Rhea and Mark share 19-year-old Ella Rae, 14-year-old Brendan, and 13-year-old Grace Margaret.
The family recently relocated to Nevada , where Mark said he was hoping to give his children more opportunities than what they could find in California. Based on all Mark and Rhea’s Instagram activity, we’re confident that they were successful!
The kids have been able to explore all of their hobbies since the move.
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By all accounts the Wahlberg kids have been loving life in their new town. When Mark first announced the move, he mentioned how he wanted each of his children to have a chance to really dig into the things they were passionate about.
“So to be able to give my kids a better life and follow and pursue their dreams — whether it be my daughter as an equestrian, my son as a basketball player , my younger son as a golfer — this made a lot more sense for us,” he told The Talk at the time.
Happy birthday, Mikey!
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Although we still can’t get over the fact that Mark has children this old — he’ll always be teen heartthrob Marky Mark to us — we want to send a birthday salutation to the teen as well.
Mark really is right: Time does fly, and children grow up so much faster than we’re ready for them to. Happy birthday, Mikey!
