Jenna Bush Hager Shares Son Hal's Sweet Reaction to News Aunt Barbara Bush 'Gave Him a Baby' (Exclusive) (original) (raw)

Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush with baby Edward (left), Jenna Bush Hager and son Hal. Photo:

Jenna Bush Hager/Instagram

Jenna Bush Hager has enjoyed a very special start to the month of August.

The Today co-host, 42, recently became an aunt for the second time after twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush welcomed her second baby, son Edward Finn Coyne.

Bush Hager tells PEOPLE that her three kids — Hal, 5, Poppy, 9, and Mila, 11, whom she shares with husband Henry Chase Hager — were thrilled to hear they had a new baby cousin.

"My son's birthday is on Aug. 2, and [the baby] was born on Aug. 4. So when he got her gifts, I said, 'Here are your presents, but guess what? Auntie Barbara gave you a baby.'"

"He was like, 'That's so much better than all the presents!'" she recalls her son saying. "I think he's particularly thrilled that he's going to have a little dude to hang out with."

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For Bush Hager, she says it was "amazing" to get to support her sister and her husband, Craig Coyne.

"It was amazing. I mean, I was so happy that I got to go to the hospital and meet him. It's so fun to watch your sibling, whom you have loved your whole life, get to add to her beautiful family. It's incredible."

The extended family also enjoyed some time together in Maine, time which means a lot to Bush Hager as her kids are growing up.

"We just got back from Maine, which was amazing. I got to see my parents. My kids got to see their grandparents, which was so much fun," she shares.

The time together was particularly meaningful after Poppy and Mila spent some time away at sleepaway camp.

"And we're still just trying to spend that time together," the mom of three notes. "Even at home, things are slower than they would be during the school year."

As the back-to-school season settles in, Bush Hager hopes other parents will get involved in what's going on in their students' classrooms.

"I think it's good to introduce yourself to your kids’ teachers. They have the hardest job. One thing I try to do is go introduce myself," says the mom of three, who is partnering with Kleenex to show up for students and provide them with the supplies needed to thrive.

"Whether you send a letter or write an email on the first day just to say, 'Hey I want to introduce myself. I'm Mila's mom, it's nice to meet you. I'm around if you need help. Tell me how.'"

A former teacher herself, Bush Hager notes, "If you ask a teacher, 'How can I help you?' trust me, they need help. Whether that looks like stocking books or materials, they need somebody to help out."

Jenna Bush Hager for Kleenex.

Kleenex

"So my goal is to introduce myself and find out how I can be helpful, and offer support before I have to start asking questions about the homework or emailing about things that got left in the classroom. That's what I know we can do and what I will do."

Anyone can nominate a deserving school by visiting kleenex100years.com now through Monday, Aug. 26.Entrants will be asked to respond to a two-part written prompt explaining why their school is deserving of the donations. Schools will be evaluated based on an objective set of criteria, and the selected schools will be those that exemplify Kleenex’s mission of providing students with resources to face everyday moments of vulnerability and thrive.