Hoda Kotb celebrates 59th birthday with her daughters: A look back at her emotional year
The Today Show anchor adopted daughters Haley and Hope with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman
Happy birthday Hoda Kotb! The Today Show anchor turns 59 today, August 9, and is celebrating the day with close friends and family, including her two daughters, Haley, six, and Hope, three.
The NBC host has taken the week off from the morning news show to celebrate her big day, and has been more active on social media as well, sharing glimpses into some well-deserved family time.
She last took to Instagram with a glowing photo of herself surrounded by her daughter, her mother, and some of her closest loved ones, captioning the snap: "7 attempts – 10 second timer – got one! Happy to be surrounded with my crew on my bday eve! Hope you get some time with the ones you love this summer. #slowdownsummer"
It's been a monumental year for Hoda as both a cherished member of the NBC family as well as the matriarch of her own family unit, raising her daughters as a co-parent with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
On January 4, Hoda and co-host Savannah Guthrie celebrated five years of their beloved partnership as the lead anchors for the long-running news show.
MORE: Hoda Kotb reveals Today co-star Jenna Bush Hager's sweet gesture of support during special time away
Hoda was named the co-anchor of on January 2, 2018 after Matt Lauer was fired when allegations of sexual harassment were made public.
In what proved to be a shocking and emotional turn of events, Matt's termination left Savannah alone, but Hoda was immediately promoted and stepped into the fray.
MORE: Hoda Kotb shares bare-faced photo cozying up with daughters for bittersweet reason
Since then, their bond has been celebrated numerous times both on the show and off, even making appearances on magazine covers together.
However, back in March, the mom-of-two experienced a harsh truth of parenting when younger daughter Hope fell dangerously ill and had to be rushed to the ICU.
MORE: Jenna Bush Hager's daughters leave Hoda Kotb in disbelief after appearance in family video
After a few days of care and observation, the little fighter returned home to her mom and big sister. Hoda had taken time off the show to care for her daughter, with her co-anchors showing their support on and off the air. "I'm so grateful she's home… I'm just so happy," she said upon her return to the show days later.
While the period proved to be difficult for the TV personality, she has since found a new way to embrace her motherhood journey, announcing on last week's that she would be releasing a new book in honor of Hope, appropriately titled Hope is a Rainbow.
MORE: Today's Hoda Kotb shares heartwarming on-air revelation: 'It was beautiful'
The news was shared in the most heartfelt way, with the mom-of-two talking about the book with a group of young readers in the Bronx and spray painting a wall with the title.
A follow-up to 2018's , which was inspired by Haley's birth, she said on the show: "It reminds me that hope is in every corner, no matter what hardship you endure." The book is available for pre-order and will be out next March.
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