Da Big Move

Aloha mai kakou!

It didn't take long for 480 square feet, the size of our old apartment, to feel like the walls were closing in on us as each day passed. After many hours looking for new places to live we finally settled on the community of Iroquois Point in Ewa Beach right at the mouth of Pearl Harbor. We are now in a three bedroom duplex but the only thing we share with our neighbor is the carport that is between each unit. In essence, it feels and looks like a single family home (finally). We have a nice yard and are a block away from a nice lagoon with a walking path around it, three parks, a private gym, and a pre-school cooperative which will be nice when Leif is older.


The new and improved living room




Our lanai

Leif's room

Perhaps one of the nicest amenities is the long beach with cabanas, palapas, and playground equipment less than a ten minute walk from our front door (8 minutes and 30 seconds...I timed it at a regular walking pace). Our evening walks frequently include a stroll to the beach; it doesn't get much better than this.




Fun at our beach


Only 8.5 minutes away

This was also Leif's second Easter. For his first Easter grandma Mary got him some beach toys which he has been playing with for quite some time now. This year the Easter Bunny brought Leif a few books, jumbo crayons, a coloring book, a toolkit and pouch, a small chocolate bunny, and a package of pink Peep bunnies. Leif also participated in a couple of egg hunts at the local park and beach. He loved running around and finding the colorful eggs.



What fun!!!




Spiderman the builder

Peeps...oh so yummy


He certainly seems to changing so fast and in so many ways--it is amazing to see how much children change in such a short time. Leif has also begun to learn different body parts. He can point out his ears and Mom and Dad's (Amanda and I) nose and ears, give high-five, and is learning more words all the time. Perhaps his all time favorite thing is still his books. We had to put his "big boy" books on the top shelf in his closet, but he knows where they are and sometimes throws a fit if he can't look at them. It is so cool to see him have such an appreciation for books; we hope it always stays this way.


Wanna read?


Leif at his first modeling photo shoot

April will be a very busy month for us as we are hosting three sets of guests for the entire month. Cousins Jenny and Steve and their little girl will becoming shortly for a little more than a week, followed up with Amanda's brother for a week, and then cousin Laurel for about two weeks. Then in June we are planning on visiting family in Nebraska for a couple of weeks. We will certainly be very busy over the next few months (as Cory is also finishing up his Master's program) but we look forward to visiting with so much of our family.


So until we see you next a big aloha to you all.

Cory, Amanda, and Leif

Marhing into March

It has been a very busy beginning to the new year. Leif and Amanda have been going to many play dates with other mommies and their keiki--beaches, train rides, children's museum, parks, hikes, and parties. Leif loves playing with the older kids and does pretty well with them considering he is just barely one year old.


Mom and Leif hiking to Makapuu light house--Mommy
club rules state that mommies must wear the designated
uniform and have a toe-head blond as a child.


Hanging with friends and enjoying some ono food at the Valentines Day party


I'm not so sure about this train ride.

Leif also loves to read his "big boy" books. These are picture books with regular paper pages (instead of board books) and has had many fits or tantrums if he can not read them. Putting these book up on a high shelf doesn't work as he then tries to climb up the furniture to get to them. He simply loves to read. Often he will be sitting by himself reading out loud. This consists of making a variety of babbling sounds as he looks at the pictures and turns the pages.


I love my "big boy" books!


Some times I just need to relax

Leif has also begun to make a new babbling sound using the back of his hand and his mouth. He loves doing this (check out the video below) and ends up cracking himself up as a result.



We will also be moving to a new house in a couple of weeks. It is located on former military housing but the houses are managed by a single rental agency. This is the largest house Amanda and I have had with over 1200 square feet of living space and a nice wrap-around lanai. It has three bedrooms, a nice back yard for Leif to run and play in, and is walking distance to some nice parks and the beach! We are all very excited to have more space. Technically it is called a duplex because it shares a roof line with another house but the only part of our house that will be next to our neighbors is our carport (which is between the two houses). Call it coincidence, but it is like the movie Field of Dreams--"build it and they will come." Now that we have a bigger place we have family coming to visit for the month of April (they can help unpack, yeah!!!). Thank goodness for the added space as it would have been tight in our little one bedroom apartment.


Our soon to be new house


Aloha for now. We hope to see or hear from you soon!

Cory, Amanda, and Leif

Season of Celebrations

Aloha and mele kalikamaka

Much has happened since Thanksgiving. Leif, Amanda, and Cory attended the last regular season home game for the Hawaii Warriors football team. This was a very exciting, intense, and LOUD event and Leif did well considering all. For those who missed it Hawaii beat the Washington Huskies to have the only undefeated season in Hawaii history.


Go Warriors!!!

The end of December also meant Cory was on his long winter break. This meant going to the beach a lot and surfing as much as possible. We were also able to go to the Dole Plantation for Leif's first Dole Whip, Bishop Museum, the Honolulu Zoo, and to the parks but vacation mainly means beach time. Leif made a huge step in becoming an all-around waterman...namely, getting in the water on his own. One day it just clicked for him and he took off running to the water, sat down in the shore break and began splashing around!

A normal hair day at the Bishop Museum

Hanging out with Mom at the Honolulu Zoo

Dole Whip...oh so good!


First steps to becoming a waterman

Splish Splash

The Bennetts building a sand fort

Oh how I want to learn to surf!

Check out how cool I am.

This was also baby's first Christmas. Santa was especially nice to Leif getting him a big ball, a car, and a plastic dinosaur. However, his grandparents were the ones to really brighten his day with so many wonderful gifts. On Christmas day we did the usual. Have aebleskiver for breakfast, open presents, and then go to the beach! Life is great in Hawaii.


Barefoot and in short sleeves for Christmas--life is good!

Forget Santa...I'll get my own reindeer

Look at all those pretty lights

So many great toys...thanks everyone!


Leif on "Bob" the rocking horse.

Leif's Grandma and Grandpa also came for a short visit. During this time we went to the beach a lot ('cause that's what you do here), celebrated keiki's first birthday (see below), and attended Cory's defense of his Masters degree (a semester and a half early). All of which, were very exciting.


Grandpa, Son, and Dad Bennett

Family photo before Cory began his presentation

Cory and his beautiful wife after his defense

For Leif's birthday he had a pool party with 14 other kids coming to celebrate. He had his own cake that was wonderfully decorated by his mom and his very own Elmo balloon which was quite possibly the biggest hit of the week! Amanda and I are debating on when he will have another big birthday party as they are sooooo expensive (a big mahalo to Cory and Amanda's parents for throwing them parties when they were little--we simply didn't know).

Birthdays are so much fun...and yummy, too!

Two of my greatest things--Mom and my Elmo balloon.

Leif has also been doing many new things. He is saying "wow" a lot now and has learned the words for truck, balloon, spin, water, cup, drink, airplane, and bird though he does not say these. To our surprise he also taught himself how to spin--which he loves to do while dancing to his favorite song, He Ma'i No Ka Lani by Ale'a. Below is a short video of these skills.

Our dancing boy!

A big aloha to you all and we can't wait to see you again!

Gobble, Gobble...Wobble, Wobble

Aloha and Happy Thanksgiving!

What more can we say besides Leif is just a wonderful boy. We have been able to make it back to the beach again and he simply loves exploring the sand, trees, and even enjoys being in the water. He especially enjoys splashing the water in his buckets and crawling in the sand. He has always like being outdoors and this is becoming more evident as he laughs, smiles, and squeals when we go to the beach!



I love the beach!!


Maybe the other toy will taste better.



Yup! It sure does!







OOO! I want that , too.


It's not hard to get overhead waves when you are only 29 inches tall.


Sweet, I found the ball.


Mom...where does sand come from?


These margaritas are great!



Oh do I have an idea!!



We have been having a lot of fun taking Leif to parks as well. If there are big kids there it is even better for him. He loves to follow all the older kids around the playground though he often becomes a little shy if one of them stops to talk to him.


I like going for walks with my dad.


I should have paid for the upgrade to first class.


Supporting Dad's home team even though they get their butts kicked.

Amanda and I thought Leif would be walking by Thanksgiving but as the days approached he just didn't seem ready to. Low and behold, to our surprise one night when he decided to just let go of the furniture and toddle, wobble, and sway to the other side. Since then he prefers to walk over crawling and is so incredibly fast. One minute he is in the other room and the next he is right next to you.

Finally, Thanksgiving was a real treat. We started Thanksgiving's Eve at the Kauiho's (Uncle Kimo, Auntie Tasha, and cousins Dylan and Elijah) watching them cook prepare their great big Imu (traditional Hawaiian oven) to cook the turkeys in (about a dozen or so people came by to drop some off). The imu is big enough to cook a 400 pound pig! On Thanksgiving day we went to the Putegnat's to eat lots of potatoes and stuffing. Leif loved his Mom's stuffing the best.

That is one big imu!


I love my Mom's stuffing!


WOW! Smashed potatoes!

We can't wait to see all of you and hope that it is sooner than latter.

aloha and a hui ho

Cory, Amanda, and Leif