Joanna Gaines Revealed Daughter Ella’s Sweet 16 Left Her Trying Her ‘Darnedest Not to Cry’
If you ask Joanna Gaines, watching one’s children grow up is bittersweet — and her daughter Ella‘s sweet 16 was no different. While preparing to celebrate her oldest daughter’s milestone birthday and the more mature responsibilities accompanying it, she shared with fans on Instagram that she was also trying her “darnedest not to cry.”
Chip and Joanna Gaines celebrated their oldest daughter, Ella’s, sweet 16
Joanna and Chip Gaines share five kids, and they disclosed that sending their oldest son, Drake, to college had turned Joanna into an “emotional wreck.”
Life’s most momentous occasions for parents can sometimes come wrapped in the knowledge that little ones who once required them for everything will need them less and less. And, sooner than later, they’ll leave the nest to take on the world alone.
While Chip seems to take pride in those moments mostly, Joanna feels there’s something poignant about them. So, when their oldest daughter, Ella, celebrated a significant milestone on her 16th birthday, her mom felt the emotion of it all.
“My sweet girl turns 16,” she shared on Instagram. “I’m trying my darnedest not to cry like a big fat mama baby when she drives off by herself tomorrow.”
Along with that caption, she also shared a video of gifts and decorations in place for Ella’s big day. Many fans chimed in to relate and offer words of encouragement. “Happy birthday!! It’s bittersweet for sure but having adult children (it’ll be here in a flash!) is an amazing stage too,” one commenter wrote.
Another noted, “It’s soooo hard mama!! The drive off is the worst, but pretty soon you’ll be asking her to run and grab milk and that’s pretty cool!”
Ella Gaines has an eye for design, much like her mom
Joanna has shared in various posts that Ella has already taken on some big-time design projects. For example, she designed a t-shirt for her charitable parents’ fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Ella also helped create the cover of Joanna’s book and first solo memoir, The Stories We Tell. The proud mom wrote on Instagram that she loved “the whole process” of writing the book, but having her daughter help design the cover was the “the very best part of it all.”
Joanna and Chip Gaines hint at more babies as daughter Ella celebrates sweet 16
According to Chip and Joanna, another baby in the family is still possible. They have both commented that their family dynamic is changing with their oldest kids barreling toward young adulthood. At the same time, they have the baby of the family, Crew, born in 2018.
Chip said he felt another baby would give Crew someone to pal around with since his siblings are outgrowing their playful stages. “I think we have to have another one because I’m particular about the only child thing,” he told People, later adding, “Don’t be surprised if No. 6 is in the cards!”
“Just know, this is going to be the headline forever: ‘Jo’s pregnant again,’” Joanna once explained on Sunday Today (per Yahoo). “That’s how Chip is with children. He’s like, ‘I just think we can keep having them!’”
She added, “I think Chip just loves a full plate.”
