The Martin Family

for Christmas is her two front teeth!!

Maddy's two front teeth have been somewhat loose for a while now. When we were on our trip she fell off a very high bed onto a tile floor flat on her face. Well she bruised or damaged the root in the one tooth and it had slowly started turning black from the inside. So we told her to start really wiggling that one because it needed to come out. That night about ten minutes after she had been in bed we heard a bone shattering, ear piercing, heart stopping scream come from Maddy's bedroom. We both raced back their and in between screams and cries we notice the blood and Maddy searching frantically for her tooth. She had ripped it out all by herself, too bad she had pulled the wrong one. She calmed down quickly but as Greyson later said "She scared the crap out of me". So the bad one still had to come out so she worked it all the next day and I helped her pull it that next night. She has been pretty worried about how she sounds and a little self conscious but was very happy with her score from the tooth fairy and that appeased her somewhat. The tooth fairy really should start carrying change or smaller bills as Miss Maddy is making bank!!

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The day the kiddos had finally been waiting for had finally arrived, we hit the road headed for the Happiest Place on Earth!! The first day we had decided to drive as far as we could before we were all bonkers. The kids did surprisingly well and while there were a few minor squabbles they did pretty darn good. We ended up stopping in Vegas and thought the kids would enjoy Circus Circus. Yeah, not so much, Maddy was completely freaked out by all the smoke in the air and the adventurdome and midway were closed so it was kind of a bust. They did like looking at all the big pretty hotels but luckily our unscheduled stop in Vegas was pretty quick. The next day we headed to Escondido where we got to see Uncle Nutsy and Uncle Kerry and other family. It was nice to visit and catch up and the kids had lots of fun playing with my cousins kids. Later that night we headed up to our hotel in Anaheim to get ready for the main event.

We were up bright and early the next morning so we could be at the gate when it opened. Our hotel was right next to the main parking lot so we just walked over and took the tram to the main gate, it was super easy and really quick and saved us quite a walk. The kids were so excited and were just soaking in all the magic. We were able to get some great pictures with hardly anyone else around. I just love Disneyland and to see the kids already having so much fun and so excited just added to the magic. We walked on practically everything that first morning, we hit everything in Fantasy land, ToonTown, and Tomorrow Land before noon. With lots of stops for pictures. The kids had so much fun getting their autograph books signed and we saw character everywhere!! Greyson was a little wary, he let them sign his book but he generally opted to stand next to Maddy instead of one of the characters when they tried to get them to stand on either side. But he was brave enough to go up to Brer Bear by himself when Maddy and Brandon were on Splash, afterwards he wanted to know if that guy had a show. It was really suprising what a big deal it was for them to get their books signed. Greyson was adamant about who he still needed and had his eyes peeled for any sign of them.

They didn't love all the dark rides and neither really liked the matterhorn wich we were kind of bummed about because Maddy had been looking forward to the rollercoasters the most. But as the day went on she got braver and braver and braver and by the end of our stay she was our little thrill seeker, with "Screamin" and "Big Thunder" being her favorite rides. Greyson was very understanding that he wasn't quite tall enough for all the rides. The longest line we waited in was to meet the princesses and that was only about an hour. Greyson did not want his pictures with the princess's and the only one he let sign his book was Princess Tiana and that was probably because she was with Prince Naveen. We didn't track them all down but got a good portion of them. I love how in character they all are and Maddy loved talking to them. Cinderella asked if her horses were tired from the ride and if Greyson was her Prince Charming or her little brother. Mary Poppins lectured her on not waking her brother as he was asleep in the stroller, and Silvermist asked her if she was a water fairy like her since she was wearing blue that day. Goofy used Greyson's head as a table and he thought that was hilarious, and Jessie just grabbed him and hugged him. They loved all of the characters and thought it was great getting to see them for real. Greyson was especially excited to see Mater and Lighting Mcqueen and is so excited for Carsland to be done in California Adventure.

We hopped back and forth all the days we were there and while we really liked some of the rides at California Adventure it just wasn't as magical as Disneyland. Granted they are doing some major construction but it just seemed to be missing something. Maddy loved the big scary roller coaster "Screamin" and wanted to go again and again. It was the biggest roller coaster I have ever been on and she just ate it up, her favorite part was going upside down. Greyson disliked anything scary or with monsters but was okay when we told him Mickey wouldn't let anything bad or scary happen at Disneyland.

The kids had been so excited to try "Tigger Tails", marshmellows dipped in caramel and then chocolate. They did not taste as good as they had built them up to be. The christmas decorations, fireworks, shows and parade were all wonderful and made it even more magical. We even saw Santa, Mrs. Claus, and all the reindeer. The weather was perfect while we were there, It was 70 degrees and not to hot or cold. The evenings we needed jackets but it still was really nice. We went from the park opening at 8 in the morning until usually 11 at night without a break. The kids did great and had a blast. Greyson crashed in the stroller for a little bit and the night we waited for fantasmic they both catnapped until it started but other than that we went non stop the whole time. We did everything we wanted to and then some, we had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back next year. Greyson had his heart set on Mickey ears the whole time we were there and had his eyes peeled for somewhere he could get them. So when he finally got them he was delighted, and told Mickey all about it on our way out and that we would see him soon. Maddy loved hers as well and they both couldn't pick a favorite thing they just said they loved everything. The ride home was anticlimactic and uneventful except for Greysons bout with carsickness. We were sad to leave but glad to be home in our own beds and counting the days until our next trip.