Smelling Sleep

I'm more of a taste person than smell, but since Amaya's come along I've come to appreciate this new sensation. I have few smell memories before having her. The good ones: an ex-boyfriend, who somehow represented "woodsy" without cologne, and the other is of the smell of wrist corsages I received concerning high school formals (probably the most important part really). I remember the flowers better than the dates, and I have more than one smell memory of whiffing the rose mix over a now anonymous male shoulder.

Amaya has opened up a drawerful of good smells, and I get to appreciate them daily because she needs us to fall asleep. Many parents look down on me for letting her share our bed and requiring our presence for most of her sleeping moments, but now that I'm looking at the edge of 15 months of babying, I see how little there is left of close smelling.

Last night she woke at about 2 am, scooted over, and looked straight into my eyes. She smiled very sweetly and babbled a few words. She fell asleep moving her lips and touching my face with her fingers. When she falls asleep for her naps these days she throws her arm around my neck and snuggles in really close for kisses. She'll move her face back and forth to get multiple cheek kisses and laughs a little at how many she can get. I can't really imagine her adoring me as the years go on. Very soon she'll want her own bed, own room, own face space.

Baby sweat, right at the back of her neck, is becoming very appealing as a perfume. Then there's the after bathtime smell, and I swear soap never smells that sweet on any other person. Bedtime smells usually come with lavender and chamomile lotion.

Just before bed yesterday she found her way into the semi sweet chocolate chips while I was washing the dishes. She had a good handful and a few "Mmm!"'s when Jake pulled her away. When she was falling asleep she smelled like chocolate, which is just about the perfect smell: sweet, earthy, and warm.