Celebrity Celebrity Family Celebrity Kids Larry Birkhead Celebrates Daughter Dannielynn on 16th Birthday: 'It's Been a Wild Ride' "Mom is looking down!" Larry Birkhead wrote, in part, as his birthday message to his and Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn, as she turns 16 By Angela Andaloro Angela Andaloro Angela Andaloro is a Society & Culture Staff Writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, and LittleThings. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 7, 2022 03:45PM EDT Photo: Larry Birkhead Instagram Larry Birkhead is full of emotion as he celebrates his daughter's 16th birthday. On Wednesday, Birkhead shared a collage of photos featuring daughter Dannielynn in her younger years to commemorate the milestone birthday. "Sixteen years ago my beautiful baby was born. That's if you want to feel really old," the proud dad joked. "Many people thought the odds were stacked against you, but maybe that was geared more towards me than you. Through tragedy, turmoil and a couple of baby tantrums-today you shine bright and are so accomplished. So proud to be your Dad!" Birkhead also shared a story about telling his daughter "what a great baby she was when she born." "She shot back in true Dannielynn style … 'How do you know you weren't even there?' 😂 Ouch," he shared. "I told her 'maybe not, but I have been there every day since I brought you home.'" Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Concluding that "it's been a wild ride," Birkhead celebrated how "Dannielynn has brought joy and laughter to my life." "Stay off your local roads because Dannielynn is 16!" Birkhead joked at the caption's end. "Happy Birthday ❤️ Rock on 🎸 Mom is looking down! 😇" One of the photos included in the collage shows an infant Dannielynn being kissed by her late mother, Anna Nicole Smith, who died in 2007 when Dannielynn was just 5 months old. Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter Dannielynn Nearly 'Fainted' When Richie Sambora Offered Guitar Lessons Last month, the father-daughter duo enjoyed a special moment when they attended a Janet Jackson concert in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the pair got to go back stage after the show to snap some photos and hang out with the singer herself. "Heading out to Dannielynn's second Janet Jackson concert (my millionth 😂) in Cincinnati as we sit here arguing which one of us is the bigger Janet fan. 😆 It's going to be 'Nasty' outside in the 100 degrees weather, but we are looking forward to it. 🎶" Larry wrote alongside photos of him with his daughter before the concert.