Heartwarming moment a new mum surprised her own mother by revealing she had named her newborn daughter after her
  • last year
A new mum surprised her own mother by revealing she had named her newborn daughter after her. Laurence Holyoak, 43, secretly named her newborn daughter Elizabeth, in honour of her own mother - but didn't reveal it until the two Elizabeths met for the first time. The mum-of-three, of Worcester, Massachusetts, always planned to name a child after her mother, but her first two babies were boys. So when her third and final child turned out to be a girl, it was the perfect opportunity to surprise mum Elizabeth Van Atten, now 83. Laurence, an animal rescue worker, said: "I always wanted a little girl and to call her Elizabeth. "I never even told my mum whether the baby would be a boy or girl so she had no idea whether she was having a grandson or daughter, never mind what the name would be! "At the time, I was so choked up I couldn't even get my words out of my mouth. It was just so emotional. "My mother is amazing and naming my daughter after her is the best honour I could give her." The video shows the moment 'grammy' Elizabeth walked in and first met her granddaughter. Laurence, an animal rescue worker, can be heard saying "this is baby Elizabeth" - and her grandmother's jaw dropped in shock before she said "What! You actually named her Elizabeth?". Elizabeth senior can be seen holding the tiny baby, while looking at her adoringly after the birth at UMass Memorial Medical Centre. Elizabeth junior, now six, was born on October 13, 2016. And Laurence, also mum to Andrew, ten, and Harry, six, said six years on, the two Elizabeths two generations apart are just as inseparable - bonded by their matching names. Although Elizabeth junior goes by 'Lizzie', while her grandmother is nicknamed 'Beth' to tell them apart. Laurence, who is also a travel writer, said: "Lizzie watches the video now and still giggles at it because she cried so hard. "But you can see in the video my mum was absolutely in love, she knew how to soothe her crying right away. "They're still so close because they share such a special bond."
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