Things are getting exciting in the Jordan household this week as professional dancers James and Ola Jordan prepare to celebrate Easter with their three-year-old daughter, Ella.
The couple, best known for their talent on Strictly Come Dancing, sat down with HELLO! to talk all things Easter, from Ola's unexpectedly expensive Hobbycraft trip to Ella's cheeky request for the Easter bunny. Take a look at the family's fun crafting day in the exclusive clip below…
The realities of having a toddler, however, means that with excitement often comes tantrums. James and Ola opened up about Ella's temper and how they navigate her meltdowns. "We love her so much, but it can be tough," shared father-of-one James.
Read all about the famous family's week in their column below…
Ola: This week mummy and daddy were busy making an Easter bonnet.
Ella: And me!
Ola: I've never made an Easter bonnet in my life and neither has James, so we were busy this week crafting as Ella needed one for school.
James: Ola went to Hobbycraft and got extremely carried away…
Ola: I did, I couldn't help myself.
HELLO!: It's easily done!
James: [Laughing] Ola got enough arts and crafts to make Easter bonnets for about 20 children.
Ola: I just wanted to make this year extra special for Ella, it's the first year where she's really starting to understand things like this, so we wanted to make it memorable. I wanted to go full out! I didn't mess about, I bought a glue gun and everything.
James: Unfortunately, Ella got bored halfway through, so it was down to me to take over.
Ola: Ella was interested for about five minutes and then mummy and daddy were left with the Easter bonnet duties. We did have fun though.
James: This year does feel more exciting for Ella because last year she didn't really understand what Easter was.
Ola: She's so excited for the Easter bunny to come and leave her some chocolate eggs.
Ella: I want a pink egg and a blue egg. Actually, a green egg!
James: Shall we tell the Easter bunny to bring you three eggs then, Ella?
Ella: Yes!
MORE: Exclusive: James and Ola Jordan thrilled as daughter Ella overcomes her fear
Ella's Easter excitement continues…
Ola: There's going to be a lot of excitement in our household this weekend, as you can tell.
James: We're so excited to hide her Easter eggs. We're actually going to my mum's on Friday and Ella's cousins are going to be there, so it's just going to be so nice watching her excitement.
Ola: Ella loves spending time with her cousins too. The last time we spent time with them she said to us: "Mummy and Daddy, I loved today." That makes us feel so happy.
James and Ola talk tantrums
James: Now that Ella is three, we thought we may have been spared of her terrible twos… but now we're onto the even more terrible threes. She's still pushing buttons.
Ola: She is the sweetest little girl, but she does have her moments. The times she shows her temper are usually the times when she's bored or when we tell her to do something she doesn't want to do.
James: When you play with her and spend time with her, she isn't naughty at all - it's only really when she has to entertain herself that she can get difficult.
Ola: It's tricky because we haven't got 'normal' jobs where we have structure to our day and we're out of the house a lot. Ella is lucky to have us at home a lot of the time, but it has got her used to our attention.
James: It means that when we can't give her our full attention she gets frustrated.
HELLO!: Have you seen a change in her since she's gone to nursery?
James: I actually think she's become more naughty since going to nursery! I'm not sure if it's because she's mixing with other children or because she hasn't got any brothers and sisters she's still finding her feet with socialising. It must be hard for an only child to get thrown into nursery and learn how to do things like sharing.
Ola: She can be very stubborn.
Ella: I'm very stubborn!
James: You are stubborn.
Ella: I'm not stubborn, I'm Ella!
Ola: [Laughing] We love that she has such a strong character, but there are moments when we do wish she wasn't so defiant.
James: We'd love to ask our readers if they have any tips on how to handle the tantrums. At the end of the day, we are first time parents, so we're still learning ourselves.
SEE: Exclusive: James and Ola Jordan in heated debate about using buggy for daughter Ella, 3
James and Ola get real about parenting
© James JordanJames: I am quite strict with her at times because I do feel like she has to learn that she can't always get her own way. We went swimming this morning and she had a meltdown in the changing rooms.
Ola: She often cries for no reason at the moment.
James: I told her that if she didn't stop crying, then we would leave. She didn't stop, so we left. I do follow through with things!
Ola: She is going through quite a whiny stage at the moment. Of course, if she hurts herself or she needs attention then we'll comfort her, but when she cries for no reason, we do feel we need to be stern with her. The thing with parenting is that nobody can tell you how to do it correctly. You do the best you can in that situation and that's all you can do.
James: Also, what works for one parent might not work for another. Every child is different and every adult is different. We're always open to taking advice, but we have tried things that parents have suggested and it just hasn't worked for Ella.
Ola: It's not a one shoe fits all approach. Whether you've got one child or several, it doesn't make you a better parent. We've even said that if we had another child they could be totally different to Ella.
© James JordanJames: Look at my sister, she has three children - but their characters and personalities and the way they've had to adapt their parenting to each child has been totally different for each of them. I would say I was probably one of those naive parents before I became a dad who assumed teaching your child would be similar to training a dog. But rather than following an A, B, C method, sometimes you have to go B, C, A!
Ola: Ella's very polite and such a sweet natured little girl, she knows her manners and she brings so much joy to our life - but ultimately we do need to pick our battles with her.
James: Sometimes we do just let her do her thing. If we're at a restaurant, for example, I could either let her scream and have a tantrum at the table, or I can let her run around and be herself.
Ola: We both hate when she does that too, but what can you do? It's important to us that she can experience adult situations like going for dinner.
James and Ola's romantic night out
James: Speaking of dinner dates, we did enjoy a mum and dad night out without Ella this week.
Ola: It was so lovely, we went to one of our favourite restaurants in London. We had a glass of wine (or two) and just enjoyed our time just the two of us.
James: It was really nice, BUT, I will say that I was so shocked by the cost of it. We spent £400 for the night, including travel to London and back, our meal and our drinks. Maybe I'm out of touch, but it felt so expensive!
Ola: It was a very expensive night out. That's probably why we don't do it that often!
James: I won't be rushing out again at £400 a night. We'll be staying local from now on.
Keep an eye out for James and Ola's HELLO! parenting column next week to find out more about their Easter fun.
