When Grace Lauder was born to parents Craig and Aimee, they knew she would be loved unconditionally.
That’s because the family has many relatives still living, including two of Grace’s great-great grandmothers.
Baby Grace has become the 5th generation of the family, meaning there is a lot of love to go around.
Grace was born June 4 at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to Craig Lauder, 24, and Aimee Kennedy, 22, from Aberdeen, who wanted to show off the new arrival.
Craig, who is from Elgin, said: “We were over the moon when Grace came into our lives, she’s just a perfect wee baby.
“We were so excited to meet her, but she was 13 days late, so it meant we had to wait around for her to come out.”
Lauder family’s five generations
With Grace’s arrival, Craig’s family now has five living generations – a rare occurrence.
- Grace Lauder – newborn
- Craig Lauder and Aimee Kennedy – Grace’s parents
- Leanne Friend and Duncan Lauder – Grace’s grandparents
- Martin Sandison and Heather Bowie – Grace’s great-grandparents
- Ruby Sandison and Roberta Hislop – Grace’s great-great grandmothers
Grace and her parents have already made the trip to visit her great-great grandmothers, who dote on the baby, with Craig describing the first meeting for both as “emotional”.
He also explained that Ruby is very handy with technology, although she accidentally outed the pregnancy on Facebook, leading to many chuckles from the rest of the family.
Craig is very close to his great-grandmother, Ruby, having spent many evenings there for dinner.
Ruby lived in an assisted living facility but is very independent and is not opposed to putting together a plate of sandwiches during a visit by Craig, Aimee and Grace.
Craig hopes that when she is a little older, she can learn cooking skills from her great-great grandmother.
He grew up in Elgin surrounded by family members and is delighted his daughter has a big family who loves her.
Craig said: “Everyone is just amazed that we now have five generations of our family.
“My great gran Ruby actually started tearing up because Grace’s middle name is Ruby and was so excited to meet her after waiting so long.
The Lauder family stretches from a few weeks old to 90 years old
“My other great gran, Roberta, was also very emotional and held her for like an hour, didn’t want to let her go. It was lovely to see how happy they were.”
Craig’s partner Aimee said there was a “sense of pride” that they are carrying on the family’s legacy with the next generation.
Craig added: “I would absolutely describe it as a blessing, they are both 90 and so it’s amazing that they get to meet Grace.
“They are both really with it too, so they can really cherish that moment with her.”
Not only will Craig and Aimee have a multitude of parents to ask to babysit but each has five siblings.
On Craig’s side they range from the oldest, 22, to youngest, eight, while on Aimee’s side it’s from 25 to eight.
However, when asked who they would call upon for babysitting, the couple quickly said Craig’s mother, Leanne.
Aimee said: “To know that Grace has so many people to look out for her and that love is really heartwarming and reassuring.”
She says Grace is a “very relaxed” but inquisitive baby and the couple are “lucky” to have her – as is all the family.
Meet the family
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