On Friday, theTodayco-host, 54, will be making a return to the NBC morning program for one day only, the show announced Thursday.
During her live appearance, she will be sharing about her upcoming book and being a mom to her two daughters:Haley Joy, 2, andHope Catherine, 3 months.
“We’re officially counting down til tomorrow because @hodakotb is joining us LIVE to share a special update about her new book & life as a mom of two girls,” the show tweeted. “Be sure to tune in to TODAY!”
“Hoda has been really enjoying her maternity leave with her two little girls. Hoda, Haley, Hope and Joel have been spending time with her mom, her sister, her brother and nieces,” a source close to Kotb tells PEOPLE.
While “she’s loving every second of maternity leave,” the source says “she’s also looking forward to coming back.”
In mid-April, Kotb called in to the show to spill the news that she had welcomed her second child, Hope 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 Haley Joy became a family of four.
Brian Doben
“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 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.”
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.”
Hoda Kotb/ Instagram
“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.
And while she’s on maternity leave, Kotb doesn’t have to worry about things going awry at work, as Bush Hager, 37, made her debut alongside the new mom of twoas co-host ofToday‘s 10 o’clock hourin early April.
RELATED VIDEO:Hoda KotbOpens Up About Adjusting to Life as a Mom of Two: ‘In a Blink, Life Changes’
“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.
source: people.com
