Aidan got some new slippers, red Robeez with white maple leaves on them. On his own, this is what he associates with them:

Or, “Congratulations and be prosperous”, the traditional Chinese wish at the New Year.

Today the three of us took the bus down to Vancouver’s Chinatown to watch today’s Chinese New Year parade. It was unusual today in that it was dry, and as a result there was a huge turnout. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. What’s below is only a sampling, and I’ve uploaded a larger set to the Picture Barn.

We shot some video with Gwen’s little camera, so here’s a taste of what it was like to be there.

So I bought Aidan a doll. It is very lifelike for a doll and is about the size of a newborn. In fact the reason I got it was because he really liked my doll Seana, but she is 31 and a little in need of some work. When we went out last Friday we went into Superstore for a minute and found the doll and a really nice Train table that he is getting from Grandma and Grandpa. The doll he held onto the whole time we were there and when we got home and the doll was out of the package there was no way I could take it away from Aidan. He loves it ( I am waiting till he decides whether it is male or female,) and will hug the baby and feed the baby and kiss the baby. I think that he will be a great big brother if we ever have a second child.

So, Dad learned a bit more about weather karma last week.

First, he posted this photo of his as-yet unused snowblower. Then he made some snide comments, referring to the white precipitation that both the West Coast and Northern Ontario had. After the predictable feedback, guess what happened? It snowed in Halifax. Not just a little snow either. Lots of snow. Then, it snowed again a few days later.

Fortunately Dad’s got a pretty good sense of humour. For proof, I received this today:

(I’m having problems with the video plugin. Try this link first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIfd_RWsMBc)