Kelly Ripa Perfectly Recreates Family Photo from 17 Years Ago with Son Joaquin on Her Lap
Kelly Ripa's kids are all grown up!
On Thursday, the Live with Kelly and Ryan host, 49, shared a sweet throwback from 17 years ago alongside a flawless re-creation of the treasured family photo that was taken this year.
In the recreated shot, Ripa's youngest child Joaquin, 17, sits on her lap as he pretends to be asleep. Meanwhile, son Michael, 23, can be seen grinning in the background as daughter Lola, 19, has her back turned toward the camera.
The mother of three mimics the same facial expression she had in the throwback photo while holding her teenage son.
"#TBT 2003 vs. 2020 *Objects may appear larger," she captioned the post.
Husband Mark Consuelos chimed in with his approval of the re-creation in the comments section, writing, "♥️♥️♥️Like it was yesterday....♥️♥️♥️."
#TBT 2003 vs. 2020 *Objects may appear larger
A post shared by Kelly Ripa (@kellyripa) on Aug 20, 2020 at 1:35pm PDT
Earlier this month, Ripa and Consuelos appeared on the cover of PEOPLE's Family Issue along with their three children. In the cover story, the parents opened up about how their parenting style get better with age.
"As you get older and you learn more, that youngest kid hopefully benefits from a little bit more wisdom ... and hopefully fewer nerve," Ripa shared.
"I think I had definitive ideas about raising girls versus raising boys, even though I don’t really believe in gender stereotyping," continued the morning show host, who celebrated 24 years of marriage with Consuelos, 49, this year. "My sons are just as sensitive as my daughter, and my daughter is as strong as my sons."
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Consuelos added that he's definitely softened as a father, especially to Lola. “As overprotective as I thought I would be when she was born and I was holding her in my arms, I’ve mellowed a bit," he shared. "Because I’m really aware of what a good head on her shoulders she has.”
While the parents have relished the time at home with their kids amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Ripa and Consuelos also looking forward to it being just the two of them when their youngest heads off to college next year.
“We had our kids so young — we’d only been married for one year when we had Michael, so we have had kids pretty much our entire marriage,” Ripa said. “So when it comes to an empty nest, we’re looking forward to it, honestly."
"Rob Lowe says that once your kids leave, you pretty much never put clothes on ever again; you’re just naked all the time,” Consuelos joked. "So there’s that too!”
However, according to Ripa, she knows her kids will still stay close.
"We love each other — but we also really like each other, and we respect each other," she added. "I don’t think any amount of college or growing up will take that away from us."
