Jenna Bush Hager is back on the air!
The new mother of three, 37, made her triumphant return to the Today show on Monday to fanfare from her co-hosts, where they welcomed her back with hugs.
Hager joked about getting to really start the show alongside her new co-host Hoda Kotb, after both women went on maternity leave so close together.
“We haven’t been on the show together but five days!” Bush Hager said as she and Kotb, 55, wrapped their arms around each other. “It feels like it’s time!”
“I called Jenna at 4:45 this morning, just to say, ‘It’s time! Wake up!’ ” said Kotb, promising viewers some “surprises” during Today with Hoda & Jenna later on Monday morning.
“She was my alarm, and I have to say, what a positive way to wake up — being surrounded [by] y’all!” she told Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Craig Melvin, Al Roker and Dylan Dreyer, plus the audience outside the studio.
Bush Hager and husband Henry Hager welcomed their third child, son Henry “Hal” Harold, on Aug. 2. He rounds out the couple’s household alongside big sisters Poppy Louise, 4, and Margaret “Mila” Laura, 6½.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Jenna Bush Hager Shares Sweet 73rd Birthday Message for Mom Laura: “Thanks for Being Our Light”
Bush Hager previously made a one-day appearance on the Today show for Halloween, where she dressed up (and performed!) as Frances “Baby” Houseman from Dirty Dancing alongside Willie Geist‘s Johnny Castle.
“I left my baby just to be here with y’all because I love Halloween!” she told her co-anchors (who were also dressed in their dancing-themed best, from movies like Grease to icons like Janet Jackson) following her performance.
Later in the show, Hoda Kotb — expertly dressed up as John Travolta‘s Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever — revealed during the 11 o’clock hour that her co-host would be back on air full time starting Nov. 11.
“So thrilled to sit right where I am supposed to — next to @hodakotb starting again on November 11th!” Bush Hager wrote on Instagram, sharing a pair of photographs from the special holiday episode. “Enjoying every last minute with my Hal Pal and then back home.”
In celebration of her son’s 3-month milestone last month, Bush Hager shared an adorable image of a smiley Hal, wearing a pair of corduroy pants and a too-cute infant-sized cardigan sweater.
“Three months with our sweetest Hal — and he’s already mastered the sly smile and has his mama wrapped around his perfectly, roll-filled thigh. Love my boy. 💙,” she captioned her post.
The former first daughter will also join twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush on a November tour to promote their upcoming children’s book Sisters First, out Tuesday.
The nine-stop tour kicks off on Monday — the same day as Bush Hager’s return to the Today show — in New York City, and concludes Nov. 24 in Naperville, Illinois.
Source: Read Full Article