Ola and James Jordan's little girl Ella was bursting with excitement when she woke up on Easter morning to a flurry of chocolate eggs from the Easter bunny.
It wasn't all joy for the former Strictly Come Dancing professionals, however, who were hit with a relatable dose of social media guilt as they compared themselves to other parents on Instagram who went above and beyond for their children. Take a look at their heartwarming Easter surprise for Ella in the exclusive clip below...
In this week's HELLO! parenting column, Ola and James open up about their fears for Ella's future at school, how they plan to navigate social media, and how their three-year-old is a mini star in the making.
Scroll on to see what the world champion ballroom dancers have been up to this week.
Ella's Easter excitement…
Ola: We had a lovely Easter at James' mum's house, and his sister was there with her kids. It was so nice seeing Ella being so confident around them!
James: She met her cousins when she was younger, but now she's old enough to actually play with them she was in her element. Some family friends came too, and Ella ran up to one of the little girls who she'd never met and went: "Hi, I'm Ella, I'm three, would you like to play?".
Ola: They didn't stop playing! Even though we stayed until late in the evening.
James: My mum did an Easter egg hunt for the kids and Ella was getting SO excited every time she found one. We said that we were looking forward to her appreciating Easter for the first time now that she's old enough to understand it, and we definitely felt that, didn't we?
Ola: Absolutely. I also took Ella to church with me on Saturday, which is a Polish tradition I used to do when I was growing up. I just loved having that mummy-daughter time with her.
She took her Easter basket full of eggs, bread and Easter offerings which the priest then blessed with holy water. Ella's face just lit up, you could see she was thinking, "What is this?!"
HELLO!: Does Ella speak any Polish?
Ola: Not much actually, but then James and I don't speak Polish at home. She knows a few words.
James: Ella will never be bilingual because I can't speak Polish, but then I suppose in the UK she's never going to need to speak another language when she's older. I think the only downside is that she can't converse with her Polish grandparents...
Ola: Yeah, that makes me sad sometimes too, but then they find the most wonderful ways to communicate! We're also keeping the Polish traditions that I grew up with alive by doing things like this. It's nice for her to experience the same things I did.
Ola and James talk Ella's confidence
James: She has just become so confident. Even today, she knew we were going to work and she begged us to take her to nursery. She's actually with my sister today, but all she wanted was to go to nursery and play with her friends.
HELLO!: Where do you think Ella's got her newfound confidence from? When she first started nursery, she found it so difficult to leave you.
Ola: I honestly don't know, I feel like confidence could just be something you're born with. I was so shy as a little girl and I still feel like I'm an introvert in certain situations even now.
James: It's the same for me. I was painfully shy when I was younger. I found it really difficult to talk to people until I was about 15. Ola: No, I wouldn't say that James! You can walk into any room and talk to anyone… I'm not like that at all. I'm only comfortable with people I know.
HELLO!: Former Strictly stars struggling with confidence? How so?!
Ola: Performing is different. I was always so confident when I was on stage, but off stage, I was so quiet.
James: My dad always used to say that a different person came out of Ola when she danced. But it's true, off stage she was so shy. With me, not so much. I think my confidence came from the people I mixed with as a teenager. I worked at the power station with my dad for seven years so I learned to match my energy to the big burly blokes at work. Then even my ballroom coach was a very confident character. I think you tend to match the energy of people around you when you're growing up.
Ola: I don't think the dancing world really changed my confidence hugely. I've always felt comfortable performing but I'm quite an introvert off the stage! Ella's confidence though… it's just on another level.
James: I do love that about her.
Ola: Me too. I think because I always found it hard to mix with children when I was really young, I love seeing her flourish in those situations. It's horrible to be shy and reserved!
James: As Ola said, I just think it's something that is in you. Of course, the way your parents guide you can help, but Ella is such a natural.
HELLO!: She is a mini star in the making, we love her confidence in videos.
Ola: We were initially a bit worried about Ella going to nursery because we were concerned that she would become more and more reserved, but it's been the complete opposite.
James: She's learning so quickly too. You should see the way her nursery has taught her to put her coat on by herself. It's so adorable.
READ MORE: Exclusive: James and Ola Jordan get candid about daughter Ella's 'naughty' behaviour
Ola and James share their fears for Ella's future
HELLO!: You're not looking for schools for Ella yet, are you?
James: Not just yet, but it's not far off. This time next year we'll be applying for schools for her - and if I'm honest, it terrifies me.
Ola: Not only has it come around so quickly, but we're just so worried about making the right decision for her.
© Photo: InstagramJames: You can bring your child up in a way that you think makes them a good person, and have kind morals, but that doesn't mean everyone else is doing that with their children. We have friends who have told us they feel like they're losing their kids because of the people they're mixing with at school.
Ola: She's already being influenced by her peers at nursery and she's only three. The other day I was getting Ella dressed in this pretty ruffled top, and she said to me: "Mummy I don't want to wear this!" She told us that a girl at nursery had told her she didn't like her top. I mean, how can you be that mean at four years old?!
James: Exactly! Things like this make me sad, I worry for her at school and how you can't always control situations like this. I just want to teach her to be strong and how to stand up for herself. She's too young at the moment to differentiate between someone just being young and someone intentionally being horrible to her.
Ola: These things don't just affect her at nursery either. We were out the other evening and I dressed Ella in this really sweet white dress - but she had a total meltdown.
James: Usually she gets over it quite quickly, but we just knew that she would be stubborn and get upset, didn't we?
Ola: I think she saw me secretly sneaking a second pair of clothes into my bag just in case, and she insisted we changed her. She was crying and crying until we put her in trousers - and then she was fine. HELLO!: What was wrong with the dress?
Both: [Laughing] IT HAD RUFFLES!
Ola: We're also dreading the yes/no debate as Ella gets older, like with phones, for example. We don't want to be the first parents to say yes to giving her a phone, but then if you say she isn't allowed one, will she be picked on and feel left out?
James: Social media is another thing I just don't want to face. How young is too young to allow your child on social media? I'd rather she wasn't on it at all, but then if everyone at school has it, will she be left out?
Ola: Even we find social media tough sometimes. Over Easter, I found myself constantly comparing myself to other families who went above and beyond for their children, showering them with loads of chocolate eggs and amazing Easter presents. I had to step away for a minute and just think, hang on, we've tried our best here.
James: It's so hard, kids will always compare themselves and so will adults.
HELLO!: Speaking of social media, you delighted your followers with a video of you both dancing on Instagram this week. Does Ella ever get involved?
James: We were actually saying recently that we'd love to get Ella into dancing soon. If she does want to pursue dancing, I'd love her to be really versatile in it. Be it ballet, ballroom or theatre, I'd love her to feel like she could do whatever she wanted to do.
Ola: The ballroom and Latin dance world is a wonderful place, but I agree it would be nice for her to try everything.
HELLO!: We need to get Ella as a pro on Strictly kids...
James: Imagine! We'll start training her up.
HELLO!: You can be the judges?
James: Yeah, finally!
READ NEXT: James and Ola Jordan get candid about daughter Ella's 'naughty' behaviour
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