The Odor of Youth

We took the girl to church today.

Getting ready to leave outside, another girl about 8 or 9 years of age came and crouched down to admire her in her carseat. She was smitten, talking of how much she loved little babies, finishing by saying,

"...et puis ils ont toujours une certaine odeur; l'odeur de jeunesse."
"...ce qui te plaît ?" I asked.
"oui, beaucoup."

"They always have a certain odor...the odor of youth." It sounds much more eloquent in French, especially when such a sophisticated 8 year old is saying it. And though a more dynamic equivalent would be something more straight forward like "baby smell," I knew exactly what she was referring to and couldn't agree more.