Hoda Kotbcould not be more thankful to be a mother of two — but she’s still getting used to the term!
TheTodayco-host called in to the show on Tuesday morning to spill the news that she had welcomed her second child, daughterHope Catherine, via adoption, and phoned in once more later in the show to dish on a few more details about life since she, boyfriendJoel Schiffmanand 2-year-old daughterHaley Joybecame a family of four.
“They are amazing. I was watching Haley with [Hope] and I didn’t know what that was gonna mean or how it was gonna work,” Kotb, 54, said of the girls’ sibling dynamic. “We walked in, and I gotta tell you guys, watching Haley with her … she literally wrapped her arms around this little girl.”
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Kotb also went into more detail about choosing Hope’s moniker, explaining, “The name came because I think there are a lot of women out there who are hoping that their day is coming too.”
“I know the feeling of it not happening for a long time and I feel like sometimesif it’s meant to happen, it will,” she said. “They told me, at the adoption agency, to wait wisely. They said, ‘Don’t count the days, don’t wonder’ — and trust me, I feel like I’m overflowing with goodness.”
“[Joel and I] had already thought of a name … and ‘Hope’ is in my journal about 10 million times as I was writing for her,” Kotb continued. “Catherine is my best friend [Karen]’s daughter’s name. It just so happens this weekend — when [Hope] was born, when we got her — it was also John’s birthday, my best friend’s husband who passed, and they said that they promised him that they would come to New York andgo to Yankee Stadiumto a baseball game for him on his first birthday in heaven.”
“And so it was a very emotional time for all of us and I said to Catherine, I said, ‘You’re the strongest kid I know.’ So I wanted to name her after Catherine,” the journalist added, audibly emotional asSavannah GuthrieandJenna Bush Hagerpulled down tissues from a suspended box above their desk.
Savannah Guthrie and Jenna Bush Hager.Today
RELATED VIDEO: Haley Is a Big Sister!Hoda KotbAdopts Daughter Hope Catherine
Kotb doesn’t have to worry about things going awry at work while she’s on maternity leave even though Bush Hager, 37, just made her debut alongside the new mom of twoas co-host ofToday‘s 10 o’clock hourlast week!
“We want youto enjoy every single moment,” said Bush Hager. “I know we just started a new show but you know what, who cares?! I’m not worried about it!”
“The show will be here,” Guthrie, 47, agreed enthusiastically.
“Also, we’re coming over!” Guthrie said before her co-host chimed in, “Yeah, today! Let usknow if we can bring something!”
NBC’s TODAY
Elsewhere during the heartwarming call, Kotb recalled being at an event with Guthrie, who advised the kids they were speaking to of calling into fruition the things they wanted, ” ‘Say it out loud, even if you whisper. Even if you just say it to yourself out loud. But say it out loud and it changes everything.’ ”
“And I have to tell you, saying it out loud when it came to Hope was a hard thing to dobecause I wanted it so bad thatI felt like when someone asked me, they could see it in my eyes, they knew it, and I said, ‘Well, it’s not up to me. It’s up to God. If it’s meant to be, it will come.’ ”
“But, in my heart, I was like, ‘Please, God, I hope this is something you anticipate for me,’ ” Kotb added, continuing through tears, “And then to get the call, it’s so mind-blowing. You can’t believe someone’s saying, ‘Come and get her. She’s here.’ ”
source: people.com
