Al Roker Meets Hoda Kotb's New Daughter and Calls Her 'The Reason I Can't Stop Smiling'
Hoda Kotb‘s newborn baby girl Hope Catherine met another member of her mom’s Today show family on Thursday when longtime weather broadcaster Al Roker stopped by to say hello.
Roker, 64, shared a gallery of photos of the hangout to Instagram, pictures snapped while he held Kotb’s newest addition. Kotb’s mother (Grandma Sami) was also seen in the pictures, as was Kotb’s oldest daughter, 2-year-old Haley Joy — to whom Roker read a book in one sweet shot.
“So much #happiness spending time with @hodakotb, Grandma Sami and the reason I can’t stop smiling, Big Sister Haley Joy and the newest addition to #TeamHodaandJoel Hope Catherine,” Roker captioned the post.
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Kotb announced Hope’s arrival over the phone Tuesday, calling into the Today show to emotionally reveal the news that she had adopted her second baby girl.
In the emotional call, Kotb explained that she thought she was “full” when it came to giving love after welcoming Haley in February 2017, but the experience when she and boyfriend Joel Schiffman brought Hope home proved otherwise.
“Joel and I were standing there when they hand you the baby — and it’s the closest thing to a live birth I think you’ll ever see — [and] in that moment I was like, ‘My God.’ My heart just grew 10 times, it’s amazing,” she said. “I just can’t believe it’s happening, y’all. I can’t.”
RELATED: Everything New Mom of Two Hoda Kotb Has Said About Adoption — Including the Hints She Was Doing It Again!
Since then, a sea of Kotb’s Today show colleagues have rolled through to meet her little girl.
Savannah Guthrie, 47, and Jenna Bush Hager, 37, wasted no time and “raced over” to meet baby Hope on Tuesday before officially asking her mama.
“We probably weren’t invited,” Bush Hager joked on Wednesday’s episode of Today. “ I texted her and I’m like, ‘We are on our way,.’ We went over and we saw … baby Hope … and that precious Haley who was so in awe of her baby sister. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Bush Hager raved about the sisterly bond between Haley and her new sibling — and Guthrie even posted an adorable selfie of the whole crew to her Instagram account on Wednesday morning, captioning it, “Holding on to dear Hope! The joy and gratitude of @hodakotb makes my heart sing ❤️”
“The fact that [Haley and Hope] wanted to be so close to each other, this is what Hoda’s prayed for,” Bush Hager — herself a mom of two girls — said on Wednesday.
“She actually has prayed for a baby sister for Haley because [Hoda] and her sister are so close, so to have this … ” she trailed off with a smile.
Kathie Lee Gifford — Kotb’s former Today co-host who bid farewell to close friend Kotb and the rest of the Today crew on April 5 after 11 years on the show — hasn’t stopped by yet but did express her happiness for Kotb.
“Hoda’s a mama again. I’m thrilled about that,” Gifford, 65, said during a Tuesday visit to Fox News’ The Five. “I knew that was coming, I just didn’t know when it was coming.”
Meanwhile, Kotb has thanked fans for their well wishes and support.
“I am reading all of your beautiful messages. I am overwhelmed with your kindness,” wrote Kotb on Instagram, Thursday. “Thank you for the love you have shown us. It means so much.”
The NBC anchor also encouraged those who are also waiting for a miracle in their own lives to keep the faith. “If you are waiting for your miracle…” said Kotb, “Have faith. I am with you ❤️❤️.”
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