Abby Lee Miller has shared a very special birthday message for one of the stars of her reality show, Maddie Ziegler. The controversial Dance Moms instructor took to her Instagram account to publicly show how important the pint-sized celebrity is to her, and how much she "loves her" as well.

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In an Instagram post she shared with her fans on Tuesday, Miller posted a collage of the now 12-year-old dancer posing in one of her dance outfits. She captioned the photo with, "#HappyBirthday to you!!!@madisonziegler1313 This is an important year in your life's training. May you strive to grow & learn & embrace your wonderful gifts so you can continue to share your incredible talents with the world! I truly love you ~ Miss Abby #aldc #dancemoms."

Earlier this week, Miller was criticized for sharing a "creepy" photo of Ziegler, along with her sister McKenzie on her social networking account.

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In the photo, Miller appears to be holding both girls on coat hangers while they are modeling shirts from her latest dance lines. The girls are also smiling and look to have dance floor makeup on. Miller captioned the photo with, "Sunday fun day just hanging around with #dancemoms @madisonziegler1313 @officialmackzmusic sporting new #aldc star sweats. Really cool matching backpack and hat also available online."

Many of Miller's Instagram followers commented on the photo, calling it "creepy" and asking why Miller is "pulling the girls up in clothes hangers on their backs."

So far, Miller has not made any comments about the controversial pic.

Tags: Dance Moms Reality TV lifetime