Hoda Kotb especially cherished her time off last week because it meant seeing her mother for the first time since February.
Hoda's mother, Sami, was able to celebrate Hoda's birthday in person Aug. 9 in her first visit since the pandemic began. She spent some quality time with her granddaughters, Haley Joy, 3, and Hope Catherine, 1, as well as Hoda and her fiancé, Joel Schiffman.
Watch TODAY All Day! Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long.
"I have to say watching her with Haley and Hope is one of the greatest joys of my life," Hoda told Jenna Bush Hager on the 4th hour of TODAY Monday. "There are so many great things about having children, but watching your mom with your children, there's probably nothing better. I'm watching, like, the years peel off of her as the kids climb up on her."
Related
Sign up to get One Good Thing delivered to your inbox daily.
The family made sure to take some precautions during the pandemic while they spent time together taking a walk outside.
"We were concerned, so we all got our COVID tests and we all masked up and went out," Hoda said.
Hoda also shared a sweet photo of Sami and Haley in their "'Sesame Street' watching position" on the couch. The girls couldn't wait to hang out with Sami after not having seen her in months.
"Literally Haley and Hope were standing at the door waiting," Hoda said. "It was rainy that day and they were standing with their noses glued to the screen door, and when she walked up they were like, 'Can we go out in the rain?' I was like, 'We're all going out in the rain.'"
The family shared some much-needed time together after having to virtually celebrate milestones like Hope's first birthday in April on Zoom because of the pandemic.
"There's no way to put it in words," Hoda said. "I was trying to write in my journal this morning about it because I've been so busy living it, and I just couldn't. I was just thinking watching the girls hug my mom is even better than anything."