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Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins are celebrating 8 years with their eldest daughter. Akins shared an adorable mother-daughter photo on Instagram as she celebrated “angel baby” Willa Gray’s 8th birthday on Wednesday (November 1). In her post on Thursday morning (November 2), Akins gushed that “sunshine and kindness follow (Willa Gray) no matter where she goes 🥰✨💕”
Rhett added in his own Instagram post that Willa Gray is 8, “going on 17. It feels like yesterday that you were a little baby. Time is moving too fast! I love you more than anything in the world. Happy birthday Willa gray! I love being your daddy.”
Willa Gray is the eldest of four daughters in Rhett’s family, along with little sisters Ada James (6), Lennon Love (3) and Lillie Carolina, turning 2 later this month. Rhett recently reflected on the moment he saw his eldest daughter for the first time when he appeared as a guest on the Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon podcast. The country superstar recalls seeing a photo of Akins holding a 6-week-old baby at an orphanage in Uganda, and on FaceTime, “my wife was just talking to me, like 'We have to find a home for this child.' And I'll never forget it dude, it was 2 o'clock in the morning where I was, half asleep, and it just kind of blurted out of my mouth. 'We're going to bring her home.' …I don't even know if I was ready to have kids yet. I was really loving the road thing, my career was just starting to take off, I was like, 'Man if we have kids right now, what is that gonna do?' And I'll never forget those words coming out of my mouth.”
Rhett and Akins tied the knot in 2012. They celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary last month, and Rhett, 33, said he “can still remember what she looked like in first grade. I still remember how much taller than me she was at church camp in 6th grade. I still remember picking her up on our first date at 16. I still remember how fast my heart was beating when she walked down the aisle. Basically I remember it all so vividly. …[Lauren Akins] you have been and always will be my best friend.”