We celebrated Ella's 3rd birthday yesterday at the studio where she takes ballet. It was a big hit with Ellie, she loved wearing a tutu and dancing (and eating cake and ice cream, of course!). James hung out with his buddy, Max while the children danced all over the place. It was a great party and I now want to get Ellie into a ballet class for the fall!
James had his one month appointment on Thursday, the day before he turned five weeks old. He now weighs 11 pounds, 1 ounce and is doing great. He also had his first big smiles on Thursday, probably in celebration of Mimi's 60th birthday. I'll get those smiles on camera one of these days!
Ellie officially became two and a half yesterday. It's amazing how quickly the time flies. She is in many ways, the quintessential two and a half year old. I love to hear her talk and witness her vocabulary exploding. Ellie constantly asks, "why?" and I do my best to give her logical answers to encourage her curiosity. She loves her little brother and has taken a proud role as "mother hen" to him. Last night we were at an event at my school and a band was playing very loudly. Ellie told me several times that James was "afraid" and wanted to make sure he was being held too. Right now she adores older girls, whether it be her friend, Gwyn or her older cousin, Maggie. Ellie is very particular about certain things and is interested in doing many things independently. She's social and frequently asks to get together with friends. Often after a full day of activity, she'll ask me "where are we going today?" (as if she hadn't already had enough fun) and I'll have to break the news to her that the day is done. Ellie still loves watching Arthur on tv and requests the "cowboy" song on the radio in the car (it's actually James Taylor's Sweet Baby James). She loves to read and be read to, going to the zoo and playing music and dancing in her room. Ellie can be funny and silly and sometimes challenging too, she is after all, two and a half and we wouldn't want her any other way! 
Today James turned one month old. He's doing great, he's eating lots and seems to be growing like a weed. James' one month appointment is later this week and I'm anxious to see how much he has grown in the past two weeks. Ellie is still enjoying being a big sister and we're loving every minute of him. 
I have been trying since James' birth to get a nice photo of my two babies together and have had very little success. The photos above were taken last Saturday and are the best I've gotten so far. I can tell this will be an ongoing struggle as they grow!
Since the arrival of James, many people have asked what we've done about the bedroom situation in our house. The photos above are of Ellie's big girl room. Ellie has moved into her big girl room which was formerly our guest room. We're still using it as a guest room when we have guests (Ellie can sleep in our room then). James is in the bassinet for now and will move into the nursery sometime this summer.
James and Max with their dads
musical chairs
Ellie dancing with the girls
Will, Ella, Ellie and Benny 
Ellie's beautiful creation 
This past Tuesday we went to visit a firehouse with some friends. Ellie seemed to enjoy trying out the firetruck and the fireboats. It was James' first little field trip.
"We're talking proud" was a slogan for Buffalo back in the 80s. James just can't wait to visit good ol' Buffalo. He's already destined to be a Bills and Sabres fan!
Of course James loves NY, it's in his blood. We hope it won't be too long before he visits the big apple.
James with Bridget the graduate
James dressed up for dinner (he thankfully slept through his first restaurant experience)
Grandma and Grandpa with their namesakes, Elizabeth Nehin and James Burns
James is getting so big. He weighed 8 pounds, 10.5 ounces at 6 days and was 9 pounds at 13 days. He's been a great baby and we're loving every minute with him. The last photo is of our friend Megan holding him with one year old Maeve checking him out.