She Kissed Me

Our bedtime routine is... well, it's just that, routine and predictable. Rob bathes Oia, stretches her, puts her jammies on, and then we cuddle on the couch for a few swigs of milk, then she gives Rob a hug and signs "I love you". From there, I carry her upstairs to her room while we (okay, I) say aloud "Thank you, Lord, for another wonderful day" as our evening prayer together and then I steal the last of the days kisses before placing her in her bed. Moments later, she's dreaming. It's as easy as that.

Last night was slightly different. Once I walked into Oia's room, while carrying her in my arms, I was taken back by two skinny arms that wrapped around my neck and two little lips pressed tightly against my cheek. Heart, be still. This was my very first kiss from Oia.

Let me rephrase that. My very first kiss from Oia that I didn't have to ask for.

Oia can show affection by hugging and kissing and signing "I love you". How lucky we are. But, she has yet to show affection towards anyone without being asked or prompted to do so. Is the lack of voluntarily showing affection a part of being developmentally delayed? I don't know.

All I do know is that if you ask Oia, can I have a kiss?, you'll get the best sloppy kiss ever, maybe even a couple of them.

Say Oia, give me a hug! and you'll get the tightest but sweetest hug ever, with two arms, not just one.

I'll say Oia, time to go to bed now... what would you like to tell Daddy? and she'll instantly cross her arms over her chest which is our sign for "I love you".

It's affection no matter how you slice it. Her hugs and kisses and I love you's mean more to us than anything. But, the kiss that came out of nowhere because she chose to kiss her mommy, not because I asked her to, put a dose of per joy in my heart once again. Oh, it felt so good. I never even realized how I longed for such a thing until it was over.

And truth be told, last night was one of the best nights of sleep I've had in a long time.