these are a few of his favorite things

 My boots:

 His boots:

 (you can tell he's sick in these pics-poor little love)

Hiding in the unpacked suitcase in his boots:

 His way long shaggy hair and the suitcase:

 Taking off his shoes and socks-even if it is 8 degrees and watching Dora Dora Dora in the car:

 

Playing with dad:

 Saying adios to the long shaggy hair-first home haircut:

 And last but certainly not least, NURSERY!

He really, really loved it. He didn't even care that I was leaving (as evidenced by the picture below with his back to me).

I was expecting trauma, but no. His teachers came over on Saturday to meet him (how great are they?) and gave him a picture of themselves. He carried it around all day, then would periodically set it down on the coffee table lean over it and study it for a while, then carry on. On Sunday, he was mesmerized by the bubbles. He gave me a kiss, then turned around and went to play. This kid is terrified of strangers! I expected a text message from the teachers telling me to come get him (again, how awesome is that?) and it never came. He didn't want to leave after church, then he came home and talked our ears off about how great it was. It was all gibberish of course, but you could tell he was trying to tell us about it. He would laugh so hard after everything he said that he had to bend over at the waist and try to regain his composure. He was smiling all day and even had to call both grandmas to tell them all about it. 

I never thought this day would come, but it was just as wonderful as I expected.
The only drawback, Charlie's best friend Marge, in Relief Society, really missed him! She kept saying, "where's my little buddy? I miss my little buddy!"
and I missed him too
sorta