How cute! Simon Cowell became a dad for the first time four years ago — and now, being a dad to son Eric Cowell is his favorite role yet. The cutest part of the father-son duo, however, is that Eric is turning into Simon’s mini-me as he gets older.

The toddler stepped out in Malibu with his famous parents on Tuesday, June 26, and looked absolutely adorable in his new pair of black eyeglasses. Not only did the little boy look grown up as ever, but Eric resembled Simon, who often wears specs himself, so much in the paparazzi photos.

simon cowell son eric

Ironically enough, in a previous candid new interview, the 58-year-old X Factor judge gushed about life with his son, and revealed he and Eric have very similar taste now that he’s growing up. “The older he gets, it’s quite interesting how we have similar tastes,” he told Us Weekly at the AGT semifinals in September. “Either we like the same thing or we don’t like the same thing. But he loves the show, I mean he really does.”

In a previous interview, he even gushed that the two are “buddies!” now. “Eric’s old enough now to be my buddy. We talk to each other all the time. We’re friends and he’s fun to be around,” Simon recently told Extra. Aww! The former American Idol star welcomed Eric, his only child, with girlfriend Lauren Silverman, 40, in February 2014.

Last year, Simon similarly opened up about Eric and heartbreakingly revealed outliving his son is one of his biggest fears in life. “Knowing you will outlive your own child is everyone’s worst nightmare and I am more aware than ever that it can happen to anyone,” he told the Mirror. “Now that I am a father I understand on a much deeper level how devastating it would be to hear the news that your child was unwell.”

In 2016, the star also gushed Eric is “the cutest little boy.” Simon shared, “I’ve got to tell you, he’s going to be my little right-hand man — anything he likes I like. He’s brilliant, he comes down to [America’s Got Talent] auditions and really enjoys the acts. He’s very good to watch, funnily enough, because I can see when he’s bored and when he’s up dancing. He’s a good critic already. He’s unpaid, but he’s helping me!”

Simon added in another interview, “[Fatherhood is] much more fun than I thought it was going to be. [Kids] adapt to your schedule quicker than people think, or at least I thought. For the first six months, I honestly [had the] most one-sided conversation I’ve ever had in my life. ‘I’m not getting anything back here. Maybe [my son] hates me.’ And then after about a year and a half, suddenly you get this connection and they start talking to you. And you can teach them things. It’s an amazing feeling. “He sounds like the greatest dad!