George W. Bush posted one of the first photos of his ‘healthy and adorable’ granddaughter Cora Georgia on Saturday.
Baby Cora was born Monday in Kennebunkport, Maine to the famously private Barbara Bush and her husband Craig Coyne. She is the fourth grandchild of the former president, 75, and his wife Laura, 74.
‘With full hearts, @laurawbush and I are delighted to announce the birth of our new granddaughter,’ W. wrote on Instagram, echoing a press release from last week.
The lavender-clad former president showed off the latest addition to his family alongside wife Laura.
‘Barbara gave birth to Cora Georgia Coyne on September 27, 2021, in Maine – not far from our family home where Barbara and Craig were married. Cora is healthy and adorable, and we are proud and grateful.’
Laura Bush reposted the same photo to her own account.
Former President George W. Bush, 75, poses with his newborn granddaughter Cora and his wife Laura, 74 in an Instagram post welcoming the ‘healthy and adorable’ girl
The two-term president’s post comes days after his daughter Jenna shared the first set of pics
Family: Barbara Bush revealed the first photos of her newborn baby daughter Cora Georgia, with one capturing the new mother and her husband Craig Coyne with the infant
Barbara, 39, revealed the first photos of her newborn baby Cora Georgia Coyne earlier this week.
The images were shared on Instagram by Barbara’s twin sister, Today show host Jenna Bush Hager.
Barbara is seen with her husband Craig Coyne, 40, tenderly cradling her daughter Cora in a hospital bed.
Another photo captures Hager tenderly cradling her sister and newborn niece in a hospital chair, with two other snaps showing the Today show host herself proudly holding Cora.
Hager appeared to have lightly ‘muzzed’ Cora’s face with an editing tool in some of the photos in an apparent attempt to give her sibling complete control over whether to display her newborn daughter’s face on social media.
In her caption, Hager – who has three children of her own – expressed her joy at meeting her newborn niece, while revealing that the baby girl, who was born near the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, arrived ‘earlier than expected’.
‘Dearest Cora Georgia,’ she began. ‘Today is the day I got to meet my most beautiful, precious, feisty, niece (a bit earlier than I expected!).
‘I witnessed in awe as my dearest, toughest @barbara.p.bush became a mama. And today is the day I fell in love!
The images, which were shared on Instagram by Barbara’s twin Jenna Bush Hager, appear to have been taken in the hospital where Cora was born
Today show host Jenna, who said her three children are ‘anxiously waiting’ to meet their new cousin, was pictured proudly cradling her niece
Jenna appears to have lightly blurred the face of the baby girl, who she revealed arrived ‘earlier than expected’, perhaps in an attempt to maintain her privacy
‘Some cousins are anxiously waiting to play with you, but not just yet love. Xx auntie J.’
The 43rd president and first lady announced the happy news in a press release issued Tuesday, calling Cora ‘healthy and adorable.’
Hager is married to businessman Henry Chase Hager, 43, whom she shares three children with including eight-year-old Mila, six-year-old Poppy and two-year-old Henry ‘Hal.’
Cora is Barbara’s first child.
Barbara is named after her grandmother, the wife of former President George H.W. Bush and the mother of George W. The elder Barbara died in 2018 at age 92.
The former President shared the news of Baby Cora’s birth in a press release on Tuesday to welcome the new addition to the family.
Bush gave birth to Cora Georgia near the family’s compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, which is where she and Craig were wed in 2018
George, 75, shared the news of his granddaughter’s birth via a press release that was issued on Tuesday, revealing that his daughter gave birth in Maine on Monday
Although Cora is not known to be a Bush family name, it is likely that the baby girl’s middle name Georgia is a nod to her grandfather and great-grandfather, both of whom have the name George.
Unlike Jenna, who is an anchor on the Today show and regularly documents her family life on social media, Barbara is famously private, and keeps her personal life mostly hidden from the spotlight.
She runs a health nonprofit and has taken a keen interest in helping AIDS patients in Africa.
George W. previously opened up about his daughter’s discreet personality in a segment for Today, during which he recounted how Barbara and Jenna once joined their grandfather George H.W. for a political rally in Texas around the age of three, recalling how the sisters’ respective personalities were clearly showing even at such a young age.
‘Barbara was an observer, Jenna was a participant. Barbara is more reserved and Jenna is pretty outgoing. It was a reflection of their little personalities,’ he said.
George H.W. Bush, W.’s father, served as president for a single term, between 1988 and 1992, with Barbara Jr named after his wife Barbara Senior, who died in April 2018, just seven months before her husband.
The birth of Barbara’s daughter comes almost three years to the day after she and Vanderbilt graduate Craig tied the knot in an intimate surprise ceremony in Maine, having been engaged for just five weeks.
Barbara and Craig’s wedding was attended by a close circle of friends and family, including George and Laura, Jenna, Henry and their three children, and the bride’s grandfather, George H.W. Bush, whose beloved wife Barbara had passed away just six months earlier.
Brood: Cora Georgia is the fourth grandchild of George and his wife Laura, 74, who are also grandparents to the three children of Barbara’s twin sister Jenna and her husband Henry
Cousins: Cora is cousin to Jenna’s three children Mila, Poppy, and Henry ‘Hal’
Relocated? Barbara gave birth near the Bush compound in Walker Point, Kennebunkport, which is where they tied the knot in October 2018 – just five weeks after Craig proposed
The ceremony was officiated by Barbara’s aunt, Dorothy Bush Koch, while her nieces Mila and Poppy served as flower girls for the occasion.
At the time, it was reported that Barbara and Craig were planning to settle down together in New York City – having spent much of their relationship living on separate coasts, with Barbara residing in the Big Apple, while writer Craig remained in Los Angeles.
However, it may well be that the couple chose to relocate to Maine ahead of the birth of their first child.
Barbara and Craig first began dating in November 2017 after they were set up on a blind date by friends – and they made their relationship official on New Year’s Eve just a few weeks later.
Craig then proposed to Barbara just five weeks before they tied the knot, during a family gathering in Maine.
‘It’s just been a very sweet romance,’ Barbara told People at the time. ‘And we’ve been long-distance for most of it – he’s been in LA and I’ve been in New York – but we’ve gotten to spend a lot of time together.’
Barbara has long been more reserved than her twin sister Jenna, and she does not have a public Instagram account – unlike her sibling, who regularly shares images of her home life with her three kids, both on social media and on the Today show.
And while Jenna’s job requires her to step into the spotlight day after day, Barbara has maintained a much more low-key professional profile, too, working for years as the co-founder of Global Health Corps, a nonprofit focused on public health.
Under wraps: Barbara is famously very private and rarely shares information about her private life, however it is known that she and Craig first met on a blind date in November 2017
Siblings: George (pictured with his family at the White House in 2004) once described Barbara as being ‘an observer’, explaining that she was always ‘more reserved’ from a young age
Meanwhile, Craig is a writer and former actor who appeared in a handful of movies, including Jarhead (2005), and Unlovable (2018), as well as the web series Lonelygirl15 (2006), which caused a stir in the early days of YouTube when it was revealed it was scripted.
Craig was cast by director Sam Mendes for Jarhead, which is based on the memoir of US Marine Anthony Swofford and stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead.
Unlovable is an upcoming dramedy about a woman struggling with sex addiction.
The Vanderbilt University alumni considers himself the ‘world’s biggest Chick-Fil-A fan’ according to a website for one of his films.
After graduating from Vanderbilt, the groom worked as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives before moving to Los Angeles.
Pages in this position typically serve in their junior year of high school, meaning Craig likely worked as a page between 1997 and 1998.
The president at the time was Bill Clinton, and Craig’s new father-in-law George W. didn’t enter the White House until January 2001.
As a writer, Craig has worked on a live-action show for Comedy Central, as well as an original series with Parks and Rec star Jim O’Heir called Ask Play, which he also directed and which is said to be in post-production.
The groom, who creates web content and series with producers located in Los Angeles and in the UK, has also written a play, Delusions of Grammar, which has him a spot in the selection of the 2016 William Inge Theatre Festival in Kansas.