Thomas Rhett Wishes Daughter Willa Gray Happy Birthday: ‘You Continue to Amaze Me’

Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins‘ oldest daughter, Willa Gray, turned 5 years old on Monday, and both of her parents wished her a happy birthday on social media with a pair of sweet posts. Rhett shared a slideshow of photos of Willa Gray that started with a picture of a toddler Willa Gray sitting on her dad’s lap and continued with shots of the 5-year-old at a restaurant, on a boat and in a cornfield.

“WG you continue to amaze me with your heart, your kindness, your selflessness, and your hilariousness. You make me such a better human being, and I’m inspired by you every single day. You may be 5 but you already act like your 15,” Rhett wrote before praising Willa Gray’s relationship with her sisters, Ada James and Lennon Love. “You are the MOST amazing big sister that AJ and Lennon could ask for. I can’t wait to watch you grow and be there with you every step of the way. To my beautiful baby girl, happy birthday sweet pea!”

Akins also posted a slideshow of photos of her daughter, including several recent shots from the family’s summer vacations. “Willa Gray I say this all the time but I mean it: you are full of magic baby!” she wrote. “I see Jesus in you every single day. You are kind, SO kind. You are selfless and you are JOY. I’m so happy our souls found each other because I wouldn’t be complete without you. Happy birthday precious girl you are the easiest person to celebrate and it was so fun celebrating you today. 5 years old came wayyyy too fast but I’m so proud of who you are cutie pie. I love you to the moon and back.”

Rhett and Akins adopted Willa Gray from Uganda in 2017, and Rhett recently told Entertainment Tonight that he and his wife are committed to encouraging their daughter to embrace her culture and who she is.

“I think me and Lauren’s main thing we want to get across is how proud we are and that we want her to grow up proud of herself and of her family… and to embrace who you are and to embrace your uniqueness and embrace your culture as well,” Rhett said, sharing that Willa Gray has noticed that her family “looks a lot different” than others. “That’s something we want to educate her on as long as she’s still in our household and even beyond that,” he added.