I Love You Notes

"I love it when you help me walk the dog." "Your laugh is the best!" "I appreciate it when you help me fold laundry." "I love being your stepmom!" "I love watching you play basketball."

These are just a few of the notes that are found on the outside of each of our kids' bedroom doors during the month of February.

Last year, we started a new tradition of posting heart-shaped notes on our kids' doors each day as a way to inspire the sharing of positive feelings. I wish I could take credit for this idea that lands a bulls-eye on positive reinforcement and confidence building, but I can't. Like many great ideas, I borrowed it from someone on Pinterest.

Last year, as new stepparents in a blended family, my husband and I jumped at the chance to start this new "Valentine's Day" tradition, and create a visual reminder for our kids that they are loved, appreciated and seen. My husband and I are very emotive people, so "I love you" was something heard and shared across our respective homes before merging families. But still fresh and a little awkward in our roles of "stepdad" and "stepmom," we used this simple activity as a way to practice expressing our love for each of our kids — biological and step.

Each day of the month, a new heart from one of us would appear on each child's door in the morning; a new reminder of what we loved about them. And each day we started the morning with giggles, hugs and smiles from our kids after they'd read the new note. The discussion that followed was often the best part, with our children also having the opportunity to practice receiving and sharing something good with us or with their sibling. "I know this one is from you, mom! I love it when we make pancakes together. Can we have pancakes this weekend?" or "Eric, did you write this one about going to my baseball games? Do you think you'll bring the girls again this summer?" or "We all got one about Ginger! I love our sweet dog!"

When that first February was over, we didn't ask for any big reflections or have any revelations about changes to our family dynamic, but we saw the simple, silent trickle effect of this little project.

A year later, it was the kids that reminded us on Jan. 31 that February meant it was time for the "I love you notes" — as they call them. Once again, day by day, we have a colorful reminder of how much love is shared between us in our home.

Read the original article on Momaha.com.