Brooke Shields Shares Then-and-Now Photos with Daughters Rowan and Grier: 'My Pride and Joy'

Brooke Shields took time to celebrate her girls on National Daughters Day.

The actress and model shared a combination of recent and throwback photos of herself with daughters Grier, 16, and Rowan, 19, on Instagram Sunday in honor of the special holiday.

"My pride and joy. My whole heart. My girls," Shields wrote, adding "Happy #nationaldaughtersday 💗."

The first photo shows the three ladies posing together outdoors on a foggy night in coats and sweaters. The second is a black and white photo where Shields holds both girls close.

The third is a chic mirror photo where Rowan and Grieg stand behind a sitting Shields. The last photo shows Brooke in a chunky necklace and an orange strapless dress holding Rowan, who wears a tiara and a tank top, and Grier, who looks right at the camera.

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.

Last month, Shields was emotional as she saw Rowan leave home after a summer together to return to college for her sophomore year.

The iconic model and actress shared a tearful video on Instagram noting how despite expecting it to be easier than dropping her off at her dorm freshman year, Shields found that waving goodbye at home was just as tough.

"So I just waved my daughter goodbye again and I thought it would be easier the second time. She's already been away and been with me all summer, but... I'm not making the drive with her, she's driving with her dad," Shields shared. "But she's taking my car, which was my car as my graduation present car, so she's going to be driving that."

Explaining why she didn't go along for the ride, Shields said, "It was just too painful, I don't think I could go through the driving away from campus again. So if there's anyone else going through this, we're all in it together."

After laughing at herself momentarily, she became weepy again. "It's so hard, I miss her already," she said. "Our babies. This is what you want. You raise them so that they leave you."

Shields shares both children with her husband Chris Henchy. Appearing on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast in April, Shields said one of the lessons she hopes to leave her daughters with is to cherish each stage of life for its highs and lows –– even the physical changes that come with time.

"It's hard to be an older person, but it's hard to get through your youth in general and to chase things that are just maybe purely physical that feel like they're gonna change your happiness beyond anything," Shields shared.

"The women that I've known that have had certain things done that they've waited to get done, it's been the happiest thing that they've ever done. They waited, they earned it."