Blue Ivy is growing up! Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s first child rang in her eighth birthday on Jan. 7, and in honor of the little fashionista’s special day, her grandpa Mathew Knowles, 67, gave Blue a shout-out on Instagram. “Happy Birthday to my beautiful and oldest granddaughter Blue Ivy. Love, Papa G,” Beyoncé’s dad wrote, alongside a GIF of his granddaughter rocking straight hair and an adorable back-to-school outfit: an orange top, cherry print skirt and pineapple backpack. Blue is often seen wearing braids and her natural hair, and now that she’s also using a flat iron, it just goes to show that the years have flown by.
Blue wore her hair in the same style to snap photo booth pictures with the grown-ups — AKA, Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion — at her parents’ New Year’s Eve party! Now that Blue is getting older, she’s joining her mom on even more outings. Most notably, they made a powerful duo standing side-by-side in Alexander McQueen couture at The Lion King: The Gift premiere in July of 2019. It was a special event for Blue, since she was given writing and vocal credits for the song “Brown Skin Girl,” found on The Lion King: The Gift album.
Blue may be approaching her pre-teen years, but Beyoncé is not leaving her daughter to her own devices. “Beyoncé is a very hands on mom. She never misses a school meeting or function for Blue. She’s very involved and doesn’t rely heavily on nannies when it comes to all things school,” a source close to Beyoncé EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife. “She volunteers and helps out just like everyone else. Everyone treats her like every other mom and she always says yes to helping out at school or in the classroom. You can tell she does not want to be treated any differently just because she’s famous.”
“Blue is a very normal, smart, happy and outgoing and has a lot of friends,” our source added. And now, she’s another year older — happy birthday, Blue!