“Hoda, Hoda Hoda, Hoda. I had so many brilliant and funny things prepared for you for this message that were just gonna slay, but you know, girl, I’m just too tired,” Bullock, 60, began a surprise video message for Kotb on the Monday, August 12, episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna .
Referring to their shared journeys of adopting kids at an older age, Bullock continued: “[I’m] tired because I had to make my way up that mountain before you got there so I could check out the terrain and see what things look like and, you know, just get the feel so I could fill you in. And it’s weird because people seem to want us to be afraid of what it might look like when we get there. It turns out, it’s pretty damn great. It’s pretty awesome.”
At age 45, the actress adopted her son Louis , now 14, when he was 3-and-a-half months old in January 2010. She went on to adopt her daughter Laila , now 11, five years later when she was 2-and-a-half years old. Kotb, for her part, was in her 50s when she adopted her daughters Haley, now 7, and Hope, now 5, in 2017 and 2019 , respectively.
Bullock went on to thank Kotb for “being so incredible to so many people,” adding, “What you do for a living and how you have to shapeshift every single day, how you navigate your kindness, even when that’s not what’s coming your way, how you are to those you care about and how you keep them safe, and just who you are as a human being. We’re all pretty lucky to have you, especially your kids.”
She concluded her message by stating: “So, happy birthday my sweet friend. Thank you for allowing me to be in your circle. I feel very grateful. And I have your bar set up, up here, so we can look at the view. It’s pretty beautiful, but I need you up here. Happy birthday!”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Kotb noted that Bullock’s video was “really too much” before thanking her for playing a big role in her motherhood journey.
“The reason that I have Haley and Hope is because when I was looking for inspiration of somebody who was a mom at my age, Sanda Bullock popped up and I called her and I said, ‘Tell me about motherhood.’ And she said, ‘It is the best decision I ever made,’” Kotb explained. “And from that moment forward, she led the way to these two girls.”
Haley and Hope were in attendance for their mother’s birthday episode of the NBC morning show, which featured performances from Kotb’s favorite bands, Little Big Town and Sugarland, and appearances from past guests and Kotb’s close friends.
On Hoda & Jenna , Jenna Bush Hager made Kotb burst into tears by gifting her a picture of herself and her daughters painted by her father, former President George W. Bush . “It’s too much,” Bush Hager, 42, quipped after Kotb was left speechless by the sentimental present.
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