There's never a dull moment in Ola and James Jordan's household as their toddler Ella brings so much joy to their lives - that is until she has a tantrum…
WATCH: James Jordan captures wife Ola dancing with daughter Ella – and it's too cute
The former Strictly Come Dancing pair opened up to HELLO! about two-year-old Ella's epic meltdowns as she lives up to the 'terrible twos', with the first-time parents admitting they are finding it "tough" to handle her daily tantrums. It's not all tears for the Jordans, however, as little Ella continues to make James and Ola so proud with her speech, singing and adorable moments.
WATCH: James and Ola Jordan ask for advice about Ella's tantrums
Read more about their family fun, terrible tantrums and Ella's exciting milestone in their parenting column below.
Ella enjoys feeding animals at the farm
Ola: Mummy took Ella to the farm this week, and she loved it. She's at that age now where she just loves everything to do with animals. There was this giant bunny there and she just fell in love with it.
READ: Ola Jordan opens up about weight gain: 'I feel like I'm hiding – I have to change for Ella'
MORE: Ola Jordan reveals toddler Ella's tears for dad James: 'She missed him so much'
James: We once took her to the farm before, quite a while ago now, but she wasn't that interested. I think she was too young to appreciate it.
Ola: We were there all day and Ella loved it so much that we could've stayed longer. She was feeding the sheep and was so confident with it. Even I didn't want to touch the animals, but she loved everything to do with stroking them, feeding them, etc. I was so impressed.
I went with my friend and her two children. It was nice for Ella to mix with other kids because we've noticed she plays so much nicer now even though they were much older than her.
James: She does like being around older children though, I think she likes to learn from them.
Ola: She's just enjoying being around people a lot more now. If we go to the park and there's nobody there she'll go, "Oh! No one here!" There was a four-year-old boy in the park the other day and she loved running around with him - she just loves the older boys it seems!
Ella had the time of her life at a petting farm this week
James: It's nice to watch her recognise other children as her friends too.
Ola: She'll say, 'It's my friend, it's my friend!' It's so cute.
Ella hits the 'terrible twos'
James: I know Ella's only two and a half, but I think in the last couple of months she's really grown up a lot. She tells you what she wants now, which in some ways is so helpful because she can tell us if she's hungry, or if she needs to go to the toilet.
Ola: She'll actually go to the cupboard, get her bowl and porridge out, go to the fridge, get her milk.
James: She also gets her shoes out and puts them on herself, she feels so grown up! We obviously haven't got any other children, so we don't have anything to compare it to - but to me, I feel like that's quite advanced for a two year old.
James: The only downside to it is that if she wants an ice cream or something like that, and we say "no", she has an awful tantrum.
Ella loves playing with older children
We're at the stage now where she's having massive tantrums all the time.
Ola: She literally just had one about ten minutes ago. James left the house and Ella noticed that he took our family car, not his red one. She had a tantrum about that! She was screaming and crying saying: "Daddy took my car!"
It's almost like she's having a tantrum over everything at the moment.
James: She moans and whinges about everything. We could give her the wrong spoon for breakfast and she'll cry. If you put her drink in the wrong place, she'll moan.
I don't know if that's just her age… but I do see a lot of similarities between Ola and Ella's tantrums (laughs).
Ola: Oi! That's not true.
James: She knows what she wants now, and if she doesn't get it she has a meltdown. But I won't allow her to get her own way just because she's having a tantrum. If anything I'll go the other way, and I'll say to her: "You're definitely not getting an ice cream now!"
James and Ola admit the terrible twos have hit
I know it's quite tough, but we'll actually say to her now, "Are you crying?"
Ola: You can see her trying to hold back the tears, so she knows that having a tantrum for no reason is wrong.
James: Of course, if she cries because she hurts herself or because she's not well, then we'll always be understanding. But when she's having a tantrum for no reason, I'm not going to give in to her. I am being tough on her.
Ola: She wants to be independent, but sometimes it's too much. She gets upset if you don't let her close the cupboard, or if you don't let her put some of the shopping away, or if she doesn't put her nappy bag and put it in the bin.
James: It's really, really bad at the moment. I'm not sure what we can do to stop her from having a hissy fit when she doesn't get her own way.
We're trying to find the balance at the moment, because we don't want to be strict with her all the time.
Ola: We have to pick and choose our battles with her at the moment. We understand it's known as the 'terrible twos' and all parents go through it, but it doesn't mean it's not tough!
James and Ola prepare for Ella's next big milestone
James: We've read up a lot on potty training and when is the right time to start. A lot of people say that if you start it too early, it can take a lot longer. We're reading that the perfect age is two and a half years, so it's about time we started.
The former Strictly duo are having to pick and chose their battles
Ola: Lots of people comment on our Instagram and ask: "If Ella is so bright, why is she still wearing nappies?" But it's our choice, not her choice. We just want to make sure that she's ready.
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James: Now I feel that she should be using a potty, she's so independent with everything else, it does feel like it's time.
Ola: The problem we're facing is that she's actually scared of the potty!
James: She is! She's happy to take her nappy off and sit on the potty, but she'll sit on there without doing anything, then will pull her nappy up to go to the toilet.
Ola: That's what she's been used to though, she's only ever gone to the toilet in her nappy.
James: At some stage, I think we're just going to have to shut all the doors in the house where there's carpet and let her run free without a nappy on until she learns how to use the toilet properly. We'll stay here for however long it takes.
Ola: This is our next big milestone for Ella we think. Ideally, we'd love for her to be potty trained by the time she gets to nursery in September.
Ella is ready for her next big milestone!
James: If any of our readers or fellow parents have any great potty training tips from things that worked for them we'd love to know!
Ella enjoys her summer before nursery in September
HELLO!: Ella was struggling with separation anxiety when she went to nursery last term, are you expecting that to be a bit easier in September now that she's grown up a bit?
James: We're actually expecting it to be worse.
Ola: I think she's had such a long break from nursery now, she won't be used to leaving us. She's also going to be going for three full days, so I think she's going to find it hard.
I really do believe that once she gets into the swing of it she'll be absolutely fine. They do so much with her at nursery, from drawing to painting and socialising with friends.
James: I think she needs it, we need it. I'd love to be around her every single day, but it's going to be so good for her to be back in that environment and learning.
Poor Ola had a bad night looking after little Ella
Ola: It's so important that she learns how to socialise with other kids too, it's going to be a big step for her, but we're excited for her.
Ola's night in takes a turn for the worse
James: Last night was interesting... I went out with friends and got a phone call from Ola. I instantly thought, "This can't be good," because she'll never usually call me if I'm out.
Ola: I like having that time to myself too. I was so looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening of mummy time at home once Ella had gone to bed.
James: Ola called me to say that Ella had projectile vomited all over herself and her bedroom. I was so worried about her.
Ola: She's got a bad cough again at the moment, and I think she just can't control her gag reflex when she's coughing.
DISCOVER: James and Ola Jordan discuss daughter Ella's glittering future: 'She's a natural'
She obviously felt bad that she'd been sick because she sat there all sweet on the chair once she'd been washed and said, "Mummy I love you."
Her eyes went all big and she went: "Mummy, mess!" when she vomited, so she must've been worried. I was so looking forward to my evening to myself, but nope. I had to scrub sick off the carpet and bath Ella. The joys of parenting!
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