Our visit to the U.K. was the perfect mixture of spending time with each other, Nan and Grandad, and Alan's extended family. Just a few days after we arrived, the Shepherd side of the family visited. We saw Great-Gran, Ann, Ruth, Simon, and their children--Thomas and Joshua. Moira had a fabulous time running around the house and garden with Thomas, and Joshua was a very even-keeled little baby--just a few months older than Hannah.
Great-Gran and Hannah
Thomas and Moira in the house
Thomas and Moira in the tent in the garden
A few days later, on an absolutely spectacular summer day, Great-Nan stopped by for a visit. As I recall, Hannah was a wee bit cranky, but both Nan and Great-Nan did an amazing job of distracting her from her unhappiness.
Nan and Hannah
Great-Nan and Hannah
Enjoying the outdoors and the garden
Perhaps one of the nicest surprises of our visit was an invitation to go to Alan's cousin's new house in Paignton, called Blue Horizon (you'll understand the name when you see the view). Alan's Aunt Heather, all of her children, and most of their children gathered at Mark and Holly's house for the afternoon. Mark and Holly were brilliant hosts...despite some challenges we posed, which included arriving late due to Moira's extended nap, Hannah kicking a glass off the bench arm while nursing (and shattering it on the concrete), and Moira exploring all the bedrooms of the home for some strange reason! We were a bit of a whirlwind, but they were so accommodating. And the views! The views were absolutely stunning (as you will see below). It was a great afternoon of reconnecting to family we hadn't seen in years.
Alan and his cousin Kevin (and the view)
Holly holding Hannah
Heather playing with Moira and Enrique (Gary's son)
Moira playing with her "phone" and the view...again!
Nearer to the end of our visit, we went back to Dawlish to visit both Great-Gran and Great-Nan on different occasions. Moira was very cute and very good at reading her nursery rhyme book for Great-Gran, as you can see below.
Moira entertaining Great-Gran and Nan
At Great-Nan's house, Moira enjoyed running around in the garden. And we enjoyed introducing Hannah to Aunt Moira and Brian and Lesley. We shared all of the photos with them, and we had a lovely time catching up after many years. We were so happy to re-connect with Moira. Back when I lived in the U.K., they hosted us in Gosport a couple of times, their daughter Lara let me stay with her when she lived in Spain, and they are always sending us little gifts for the girls.
Moira in the garden
The two Moiras
A family photo
Finally, the day before we left was Gordon's birthday, and I would be remiss if I didn't include a few photos and videos from the celebration. Moira had a fabulous time helping him to open his gift from all of the children (a digital radio), and she was absolutely fascinated with the balloons Gavin bought to add to the celebration. And when I say fascinated, I don't necessarily mean it in a positive way. Every time someone else had a balloon, or when the balloons would pop, Moira would have a complete meltdown.
I loved the balloons because of these little glow lights built into them (great nightlights), but I have to admit I was not sorry to see them go in the end.
Assisting Grandad with the present
Nan trying to help Moira with the balloons
I'll be back soon with one final blog on our trip to the U.K...all about the garden!
I am still playing catch-up from all the photos we took over the holidays, and I have a few random ones that I want to share! Here they are: Moira's first official haircut. She was so good. I wasn't sure she would sit still, but she did. The stylist did a great job of keeping her entertained! Moira walking around in her "shoes." Moira is fascinated with shoes. She loves taking our shoes on and off. And she loves walking around in adult shoes. We went to the Eiteljorg on Martin Luther King day and Moira had fun exploring the Wild Wild West. You may recall that Moira's 2nd birthday party was pretty entertaining because Moira fell asleep in her high chair, and then she was completely overwhelmed by everyone singing Happy Birthday. Since then, we have had lots of family and friend birthdays, and she has mastered singing Happy Birthday. At this point, she sings Happy Birthday to just about anyone and anything--babies at a restaurant, the light, the birds......
Hannah, You, my darling baby girl, are growing up entirely too fast. By the time you were one, here’s what you were up to: On the Move Well, truth be told, you haven’t been that interested in moving. You’re quite content to reach both arms in the air and look imploringly at mama or dada to pick you up. By the time you were 5 months, you rolled over, and by the time you were 10 months, you finally decided to crawl. Since then, you’ve become a very quick little girl on your knees, and you’re just starting to consider standing up and walking on your own. One of the cutest things you do is crawl while holding onto a baby stroller—it is quite a feat! I predict you’ll be about 16 months old before you walk, and that is fine with me. What did you say? Hannah, you are a talker. At a year old you have a few words in your vocabulary. They include the traditional words like “mama” and “dada.” Your very first word, however, was “Mo-ra” in honor of your big sister,...
It's hard to believe Moira is already 5 weeks old (today)! Here 's a quick recap: October 14th, 9:32am, Moira Joan Mackintosh came into the world. She was a healthy 7 lb, 14 oz, and 20.5 inches long. My labor was fast, but delivery was slower than I would have liked. On the whole, neither Moira nor I can complain . October 16th, we came home. I discovered after a couple of sleepless nights that Moira would only sleep for about 15 minutes in her bassinet. She preferred sleeping on someone or sleeping in her little swing. The first few weeks went by in a complete blur. We were all trying to get used to a new kind of normal. Moira and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out her preferences for eating and sleeping. Alan spent a lot of time trying to help his girls get as comfy as possible. We've had fun discovering the little things about Moira. She has dimples and so much dark hair. She has the cutest high-pitched hiccups. She loves it when her Dad holds her and paces with...
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