Joanna Gaines’ Post for Daughter’s Birthday Hits Fans Hard: ‘You Are Right to Cry’
Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines became famous for their house flipping. Now, they have their own TV network, product line, and empire in Waco, Texas — and that’s in addition to taking care of a big family. Joanna recently posted about her daughter’s 16th birthday, and she clearly put major time and effort into the elaborate setup. Here’s what she posted.
Joanna Gaines posted about her daughter’s 16th birthday on Instagram
Chip and Joanna Gaines are known for juggling their big family with all of their home projects. And when it comes to birthdays, it’s clear the couple makes their kids feel special. On Oct. 19, 2022, Joanna posted a short clip to her Instagram showing how she decorated the house for her daughter, Ella.
“My sweet girl turns 16,” Joanna captioned the post. “I’m trying my darnedest not to cry like a big fat mama baby when she drives off by herself tomorrow.”
The clip shows Chip and Joanna’s living room and dining room decked out with large helium balloons. The balloons, which are in an array of colors ranging from light orange to lavender to sky blue, have feathery streamers of the same colors hanging from the bottoms. Below the balloons lies the dining room table containing wrapped gifts.
It seems Ella also has an eye for design. “She asked me if she could be a designer when she grows up,” Joanna captioned an Instagram post with Ella back in 2016.
Some fans were brought to tears by Joanna’s recent post.
“As the mother of six girls, you are right to cry,” a fan wrote. “We always say you don’t lose them when they go to college. You lose them at 16. But all is not lost. You just have to double down on finding ways to spend time with them. And then the most amazing thing begins to happen, they actually look for ways to spend more time with you.”
How many kids do Chip and Joanna Gaines have?
Chip and Joanna Gaines have five kids — Crew, 4, Duke, 14, Drake, 18, Emmie, 12, and Ella, 16. Many fans wonder how the Fixer Upper couple balances family with business, and they’ve admitted it’s not always easy. Chip even admitted to People that he’s a stricter parent than he thought he’d become.
“And when I got to be a parent, I don’t know what it is about it … I feel a little bit like a drill sergeant sometimes,” he said in 2018. “Some elements of my personality, as a parent, I’m not real crazy about.”
As for Joanna, she’s a more “laid-back” parent than she thought. “[There are] certain things that I really care about, but I think the funny part, with Chip, is just the video games, the TV,” she added. “That’s where he kinda gets a little strict. It’s, ‘You go play outside.’”
Do they want more children?
With five kids and an entire business empire under their belts, can Chip and Joanna Gaines possibly take on more children? They spoke to Entertainment Tonight about their kids growing older, and it looks like growing their family is possible.
“I am terrified of that moment when our last one leaves,” Joanna admitted. “For me, it’s like if we can just keep having babies, then at some point it’s for sure I won’t have to experience that.”
Chip noted that having their youngest child, Crew, also allowed him and Joanna to reevaluate their lives. “Then we had about eight years where we thought we were done with new babies and we were raising the four that we had,” he said. “… Crew, really, just something about him was almost like a parachute at the end of a race car. It didn’t force us to slam on the breaks, in the negative sense, it allowed us to really stop.”
Now that Ella’s getting older, perhaps Chip and Joanna will consider adding to the family.
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