Mike has worked for two semesters on creating a robot from scratch with a team. Today was the competition to find out whose robot was the best. Christina, Carter, and Mike's mom and brothers came around 2 when the top 16 were going to compete for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

The robot had to navigate through a course with 12 plastic crates filled with random things. The crates that the robot was suppose to detect had either a magnetic field or an infrared light. The robot that picked up 2 out of the three crates received the most points. Mike and his team programed the robot to run autonomously (run on its on) so it had sensors to detect the line to follow, as well as what do to when it sensed the correct crate.

This video was the final round for Mike's group to win the 3rd place slot. There was a lot of tension because they lost the last round because their robot did not perform hardly at all, so we were anxious about this last run. Unfortunately the video wouldn't upload to our blog, but the exciting news is that they won 3rd place!! Yeah! It was super fun and amazing to watch. Their robot had a few hiccups, but it totally did a great job. We're so proud of all the work that Mike and his team did.

Last night was a fun "date" night with Carter. We got a hold of our friends Chris & Leslie and went bowling. We all haven't been for way too long, but it was a great time. Carter loved the different environment and watching everyone bowl. He was really good at giving high 5.



Chris & Mike were definitely the top bowlers, but Christina did manage to beat Mike by like 2 points for one of the games. Leslie & the little Hardy to be did pretty awesome as well. It was just a great time to get out and enjoy our friendship. Thanks guys!

So our boy is already 9 months old!! It is so crazy how the time is flying by. According to the stats Carter is little, only in the 2% in weight. We've known that we have a skinny boy in comparison, but he was even worse this time because he had just gotten over the stomach flu. Hopefully he'll get his appetite back soon and so we can get some more chub on him. :-)

Carter's 9 months stats
16 pounds 11 ounces = 2%
28.54 inches = 54%

As a parent you'll do anything to get your kid to laugh. We love hearing Carter laugh so enjoy this video of Mikey "getting" him.

Carter is learning new things everyday. He is really starting to pull himself up more so maybe by a year he'll be walking? We're not to anxious for that milestone though. We love the crawling stage. He's also recently started to freak out if you take something away from him, so that is a new phase. He is definitely getting into more things now so you've always got to watch him. It's fun to see him become more independent and yet sad at the same time. We had all these jars of food and Carter wasn't eating them much, but then he starting eating a lot when we let him help feed himself. A little more messy, but worth the experience.

Cheri surprised me early with the PERFECT Mother Day gift. When she was watching him a couple of weeks ago, Mike met her at a professional studio to have Carter's picture taken. The framed collage below is what she gave me. I really wanted to get some professional shots of our beautiful boy so I was so grateful that Cheri did it for me. She does so much for us by watching Carter all the time. We're lucky to have her close. I love the picture of him crawling in the middle. Carter is so wonderful and I am just grateful that Heavenly Father blessed us with such a perfect little boy.

We were lucky to have the pleasure of having Christina's sister Julie and her son Hayden stay with us for a day. They live and work hard everyday at a ranch in Nevada, so they don't get too many "vacations" so we love being able to see them. Unfortunately the purpose of this trip was for Julie to get 2 wisdom teeth out. :-( So while Julie slept and recovered we had a great time with Hayden. Carter thought that he was so funny!

Hayden also forgot his tooth brush, and the only clean new one that Christina had around was a pink one, so this is kind of a blackmail picture for the future. :-) Since Hayden was the lucky kid out of the 5 to come with Julie he got to pick where we ate dinner at, and he picked Red Lobster because he wanted crab. What 12 year old kid wants crab? ;-)

Anyway, we were all happy that he did because it was yummy! Carter even liked the clam chowder soup, and of course the biscuits were the best of all! Christina enjoyed pampering Julie and spending time with Hayden. Hopefully we'll be able to see them again soon!

Snowmobiling trip! Some of you may think that we're crazy, but we took Carter snowmobiling! It was our last trip of the season so it wasn't too cold, but we bundled him up in many layers. Then Christina strapped him in the baby carrier and away we went. Carter did great!

He loved being out in the snow and riding on the machines.





We found out on this trip that Carter likes apples. He wouldn't leave Grandpa Jenson's apple alone. Dang cute!

HAPPY EASTER!!

It's been kind of crazy to think that just last Easter Christina was still pregnant with Carter, and now he is 9 months old! Wow, does time fly by or what?!

After church we took pictures and then went and found our Easter baskets. Christina found hers pretty quick, but Mike needed a few clues and about 10 minutes before he found his in the dishwasher...where he never looks! ;-) We got Carter this awesome toy and a couple clothes from Kid to Kid, (our favorite place now). Of course he doesn't understand why he got a gift on Easter, but he loved his new toy.

Well, this Easter was a little sad because Cheri got really sick and wasn't able to join us for Easter. So last minute everyone came over to our little 2 bedroom apartment for some yummy food and of course fun.


Then we went across the street to an abanonded elementary school that has this awesome hill which is perfect for the Jenson tradition of rolling/throwing eggs down the hill. Not sure how it started, but we can't pass up on tradition. Carter didn't care much for the eggs, but he enjoyed just being outside.

Carter started yelling/squawking at Mike. Enjoy. :-)

South Carolina Trip

Wow! What a trip! Christina & Carter had a fantastic time visiting their southern roots in South Carolina for a whole five days. It was a super special time because all 5 of the Habel girls were able to come out together, as well as our Aunt Cindy, Brooke and Emma, and the two little boys. We were quite the group!

Of course it was Carter's first time on a plane, and he actually did surprising well. He slept mostly on the way over since our plane left around 6 am, and on the way back he was pretty good, but he was a bit of a wiggle worm. That wasn't a big deal when we were all sitting together, but for two legs of the journey we were all separated so we became really friendly with our neighbors. :-)

It was super fun for Sarah and Christina to show off their "twin" boys. Jared and Carter also became pretty good buds by the time we were coming home. Hopefully this trip is the beginning of a strong friendship.

Well, we all know what the best thing is about visiting our relatives in South Carolina, and that is the FOOD!!! We all ate so much delicious, lip-smacking good Southern cooking that we literally grew together...at least by a couple of pound! ;-) The best of the best though is Grandma's spaghetti! That is what was waiting for us as our 3 car caravan pulled into Uncle Jimmy's house. What a perfect welcoming!

Uncle Jimmy's house is beautiful! This is where we enjoyed our vacation. You wish you were there, right?
Jimmy's house sits in a private community on the edge of Edisto lake. Unfortunately we didn't get the time to go out on the boat, but one morning Carter and Christina walked down to see his shiny red boat.

Of course we had to take this special opportunity to take tons of pictures of the "twins".

who is who?

At first glance, it might be hard to tell Jared and Carter apart, but Carter was usually the one crying when someone else held him or he was the one that always had his tongue sticking out!

The tongue thing started because Carter got a cold sore on his lip and tongue. He would just look at people and stick out his tongue, so Grandma thought he needed some of his own medicine. :-)

One thing they both didn't like though was the grass. Too funny!

This is a fun video of the boys crawling together.

Everyday we'd take turns to stay home and be with Grandma. It was a special time for us, and Sarah and Christina took advantage of it on Monday when the rest of the group went to Charleston to tour and play in the ocean. We made Grandma work hard though because we went on a long walk outside.

We loved seeing Carter & Jared with her. She loved them immediately.




The day before we left we packed in everything! First, we went to the mall for lunch with Jimmy's daughter, Erin, and then almost all of us rode the carousel - even Grandma did it.

The ones that Carter got along with the best were half the age of anyone else around! The little boy and girl are Erin's children and they absolutely loved the boys. In the picture, Carter is trying to give him a kiss.
Then after being exhausted after the mall, a group went home to prepare the house and food for the family dinner that night, and then the rest of us when to Congaree Swamp National Park. It was fun! Luckily we are early enough in the season that the mosquitoes were not bad at all.

Unfortunately we didn't have a ton of time so we didn't get to explore everything. One of the walkways was even flooded because there had been a lot of rain, but it was beautiful.

After speed walking back to our cars so that we wouldn't get locked in the park we drove the hour+ back to Jimmy's for a Fish Fry night! It was yummy!! Jimmy made fried fish, shrimp, and catfish stew. The stew was absolutely amazing and Carter loved it as well. We have quite the family group out in South Carolina so it was wonderful to see them all again.

We were even joined by our brother Nathan and his family from Nebraska. Their little Abby is not so little. She loved playing with the boys.

We loved seeing our parents again. They are truly loving the South Carolina life, and staying plenty busy.

It was so wonderful to see Carter with his Great-Grandma Edwards. I know that he won't remember this time together, but I will cherish it always. She has been such a blessing and strength in my life. I was blessed to grow up with her in my home during my high school years. She taught me so many things, and loved me unconditionally. She had a great influence on who I am today and she has left quite the legacy. We love you Grandma!!