Thomas Rhett Shares Throwback Photos for Wife Lauren’s Birthday

Thomas Rhett‘s wife, Lauren Akins, celebrates her 29th birthday on Thursday, Nov. 8, and Rhett couldn’t resist the opportunity to give his better half a sweet shoutout on Instagram to mark the occasion.

Alongside a loving caption, Rhett also shared a slideshow of photos of Akins solo, with her husband and their two daughters, Willa Gray and Ada James.

The “Sixteen” singer kicked off the slideshow with a photo of his wife in a Bud Light cowboy hat, sharing in his caption that the snap was taken eight years ago.

“Can’t believe this first picture was taken in 2010!!!” Rhett wrote. “Happy birthday [Lauren Akins] you really are the kindest, funniest, most beautiful person inside and out on the planet. honestly I hope today is filled with a little bit of nothing so you can relax for two seconds!! I love you babe!”

He also included photos of the couple on the red carpet, a few featured Akins enjoying some sweet treats and another was a selfie Rhett snapped with his wife on vacation, snow-covered mountains and crystal blue water in the background.

Rhett was able to give his wife a bit of an early birthday present this week when he was named PEOPLE‘s Sexiest Country Star, an honor Rhett said gave his family a good laugh.

“Definitely feel like I just won a high school superlative,” he cracked. “Thank you [PEOPLE] for this – our family group text was hilarious but brutal today.”

Rhett’s post featured a photo of the star wearing a knit cardigan and white tank top along with a brief quote about his family.

“I take pride in trying to understand my wife and my kids, what makes them laugh, what makes them cry, what makes them happy, what makes them sad,” he said. “I try to make sure I’m the best husband and dad I can possibly be.”

Rhett and Akins recently celebrated another milestone when they marked six years of marriage in early October with a date to the movies.

“Happy 6 years cutie,” Akins captioned a snap of the pair in the theater. “We’ve got a lotta laughs, tears, 2 puppies, 2 beautiful babies and a WHOLE LOTTA LOVE to show for it. I love you!!! Can’t wait for more:) also thanks for treating me to my FAVORITE date: a movie, popcorn, milk duds, dr. pepper and BONUS-we even threw a hotdog in there this year since up until this photo I had only eaten chocolate covered strawberries and some coffee for the day.”

Photo Credit: Instagram / @thomasrhettakins