The Sweet Morning Ritual Hoda Kotb Has With Her Daughters

It looks like Ben Napier has some competition in the love note department.

On Thursday's episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Hoda Kotb revealed that her morning routine includes one very meaningful step: writing love letters to her young daughters, five-year-old Haley, and two-year-old Hope.

"I write them a special note… and I draw a little picture of the two of them doing something," she told her friend and co-host Jenna Bush Hager.

Kotb, who wakes at 3 a.m., added that she often starts her day with Internet searches for "easy" how-to-draw videos. But apparently, she's a decent artist.

"Hope always yells, 'That's me! That's me!' She recognizes herself," Kotb said.

It's a ritual that a teary Hager said she's "always admired."

"How beautiful that your little girls wake up every morning with somebody who sees them?" the former first daughter choked out. "That is just what we could all hope for."

WATCH: Hoda Kotb Reflects on the Pain of Being Mom Shamed for Becoming a Parent in Her 50s

The emotional segment comes on the heels of Kotb's announcement that she and her longtime fiancé Joel Schiffman decided to end their engagement.

"Joel and I have had a lot of prayerful and really meaningful conversations over the holidays, and we decided that we're better as friends and parents than we are as an engaged couple," Kotb shared. "So, we decided that we are going to start this new year and begin it kind of on our new path as loving parents to our adorable, delightful children, and as friends."

Kotb and Schiffman adopted Haley in 2017 and daughter Hope in 2019.