There’s no doubt Laura Bush is a proud mom and grandma.
The former first lady, 78, sat down for a heartwarming interview with her daughters, Jenna Bush Hager and twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush, and opened up about the joys of parenting and becoming a “Grammy.”
“It’s wonderful to have grandchildren, I’m thrilled to have grandchildren,” Laura Bush told her daughters. “For one thing, we can be with them, we can play with them, then we can send them all to y’all!”
Jenna and Barbara read their new picture book, “I Loved You First,” to their mom.Nathan Congleton / TODAY
Jenna and Barbara Bush also read their mom excerpts from their new jointly written picture book, “I Loved You First,” which celebrates the bond between parents and children.
“Daddy and I did love you first,” Laura Bush told her daughters, growing tearful.
She and husband former President George W. Bush are grandparents to Jenna’s three children, Margaret Laura “Mila” Hager, 11, Poppy Louise Hager, 9, and Henry Harold “Hal” Hager, 5, as well as Barbara Bush’s daughter and son, Cora Georgia Coyne, 3, and Edward Finn Coyne, who was born in August 2024.
“They love their Grammy,” Barbara Bush told her mom.
“Cora Georgia said she wants to move next door to Grammy and Jefe,” she added, referring to the kids’ nickname, which means “boss” in Spanish, for the former president.
Barbara Bush also shared her gratitude with her mom for instilling a love of reading from a young age.
“I have so many memories of being cuddled in bed with you and Dad reading. And then on the weekends, Jenna and I would come climb in bed with you in the morning, and y’all would be reading the newspaper, and we would bring books,” she said.
“I loved books and I loved being read to and loved reading … that I made my whole career out of it,” Bush said, adding she’s “proud” to have started the Texas Book Festival and the National Book Festival. Nathan Congleton / TODAY
Laura Bush also reflected on what it was like to raise her daughters, describing her happiness when she learned she was having twins.
“We were so thrilled to get two of you at once,” she said. “Especially, I thought, because since I was an only child, for you to have each other.”
“But sometimes we were wild,” Jenna chimed in.
“Well, you were always wild,” her mom replied, adding to Jenna, “You were the wildest.”
Laura Bush said that having twins taught her to be “very patient” and understanding.
“We didn’t expect y’all to be perfect,” she said.
The grandmother of five also opened up about the joys of seeing both her daughters become moms.
“It’s been really fun to see both of you do it. Of course, I knew you would both be great mothers,” she said.
