Do you love me?

Of my children, Sierra is usually the one I have the most trouble relating to. I often worry that I'm not giving her what she needs since we're so different from each other. Thankfully, she seems to think I'm doing all right. She's the child who always tells me what a great mom I am and that she loves me SOOOO much. She writes me piles of love letters and drawings that accumulate outside my bedroom, on the kitchen counter, and on the refrigerator door. Caleb is usually reserved in his praises, and he would rather die than admit he loves me. I always tell him I love him, and then he'll pause for a second and say goodbye or good night. I've told him he's too old to act that way until he grows whiskers on his chin, and I've even joked about installing a little "I Love You, Mommy" button in his hand that I can squeeze when I want to hear those words. Madeline, of course, is a little young to express all her feelings, but she's getting really good at parroting everything we say to her. I keep telling her I love her and sometimes repeat it again hoping she'll catch on and say it back. I've thought maybe those words were just hard for her to pronounce until I heard her this weekend telling her yellow lab stuffed puppy clear as day, "I love you, doggy." What does it take to get some love around here? Thank goodness for hugs and kisses and Sierra.