Hoda Kotb Says She Wants To ‘Freeze’ Time With Haley Joy And Hope Catherine As She Unveils New Book

Hoda Kotb is definitely missed at the Today Show, but she seems to be having the time of her life at home with her two kiddos.

As fans know, Hoda adopted her second child, Hope Catherine, earlier this year. The talk show host announced the news to fans following the adoption by sharing a sweet video feed with her Today Show co-stars and introducing little Hope to the world. Since then, Hoda has been absent from her post, and it’s not yet known when she will return to the hit morning show. Yet, today, she made a surprise appearance on a video stream, where she chatted with co-host Savannah Guthrie.

During the short segment, Hoda gushed over the time that she has been spending at home with her two daughters now that she’s out on maternity leave.

“I feel like I’ve lived 54 years and I’ve loved every minute of it, but if there’s a window or a moment in my life that has mattered more than anything, it’s right now.”

“I know it is sort of weird that I’m taking this much time, but I just feel like, you know, sometimes in life, you don’t know how much of your kids’ lives you’re going to be able to see,” Kotb continued before confessing that this moment in her life is one that she needs to prioritize.

She also told Savannah that she does miss her old morning ritual of getting her hair and makeup done right next to her but admitted that her new morning ritual is one that also puts a smile on her face. According to Kotb, she and her girls wake up and blow bubbles right away in the morning before they head out to the store and grab muffins. After that, Hoda, Haley, and Hope spend some quality time together, and she says that Haley has been a great help with her little sister.

“It’s cool, Haley when she opens her eyes, the first thing that she says to me is ‘I want to kiss baby Hope.’ I’m trying to have heart to hearts with Haley, I want her to know mommy’s home again today.”

The mother of two also told Guthrie that her life now is a bunch of tiny adventures and even something as simple as going to the store with her children is something that she now cherishes, noting that she wishes she could “freeze” time. And it wouldn’t be an interview if Hoda didn’t gush over her boyfriend, Joel Schiffman, who has been helping with the girls. She even went as far as calling him a “saint.”

In addition to enjoying some time off with her girls, Hoda also revealed her new book titled I Really Needed This Today, which is a collection of 365 curated quotes and stories meant to inspire. It is scheduled to come out in the middle of October. To end the segment, Hoda told Jenna Bush Hager how much it meant to her to be able to attend her baby shower this past weekend and reunite with the talk show personality, who took over the 10 a.m. hour of the show, replacing Kathie Lee Gifford.

Hopefully, Kotb will return to the Today Show soon, but so far, she has not yet revealed to fans when exactly she will be back at her post on the morning series.