It's a big year of milestones for Joanna and Chip Gaines' oldest daughter, Ella Gaines, who celebrated her 18th birthday earlier this month, officially becoming an adult.
And now, the teen is celebrating another momentous occasion in her life — making her voice heard by casting her first vote as a legal adult for the upcoming Presidential election.
The hotly contested 2024 US Presidential election has encouraged scores of famous figures to proudly share their "I Voted" stickers, encouraging their fan bases to get out there and cast their own vote.
© InstagramChip, 49, did the same, taking to his social media page with a photograph of himself sporting his own sticker, joined by Ella, who made her first trip to the ballot box as well.
In a bid to maintain her privacy, Chip covered his daughter's face with an emoji, but couldn't hide his pride as he cutely side-eyed her. "Proud papa.. #FirstTimeVoter," he captioned his snap, with many of his followers congratulating Ella on the big achievement.
Ella turned 18 on October 20, and Joanna marked the special occasion with an extravagant house party, complete with a variety of balloons, streamers, and special treats for the birthday girl. Take a look at it in the video below…
"One more sleep 'til our Ella is 18! My how time flies," she wistfully captioned the video. Ella is the second oldest of Joanna, 46, and Chip's five children, with the couple also sharing Drake, 19, Duke, 16, Emmie, 14, and Crew, six.
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Drake is already out of the house, a sophomore at Baylor University (which only happens to be a few miles outside of the family's home in Waco, Texas), while Ella is now a high school senior, with Duke and Emmie being teens who'll be leaving for college in a few years as well.
© InstagramJoanna remarked on the bittersweet milestone in a conversation with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on Today last week, saying: "It's crazy, because I'm realizing in this new season of life, the next four years, all four of my older kids will all be in or out of college. So we're in this new season where I'm really trying to embrace every moment and hang on."
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She shared, however, that sending the first one off to college, Drake, was definitely the hardest. "But that first one was hard. My second one, Ella, she's graduating, this is her senior year. I can't even…I just look at her and I wanna cry. Because I see her as this little girl, I'm like, 'How are you already 18 years old?'"
© InstagramJoanna turned to her husband sitting beside her and told him to get ready for an emotional ride with her as their kids grow up and spread their wings. "For me, I'm like the next four years…'Good luck, bud.' Because it's gonna be rough."
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© Getty ImagesThe four older kids all lead private lives outside of their parents' social media and TV presence, but will make the occasional photographic appearance, oftentimes with their faces partially obscured. Crew, as the youngest, is the breakout star of the family–of-seven, though.
