When we catch up with professional dancers James and Ola Jordan for their weekly HELLO! parenting column, James is busy packing his bags for a weekend away.
The former Strictly star is off to Portugal to play golf with friends for three days, and Ola is staying at home with the couple’s three-year-old daughter Ella. It’s the girls’ first time without James in their new home, which they moved into two weeks ago.
As we chat, sweet Ella comes to say hi from her new playroom. “What’s your favourite toy Ella?” we ask her. “Um, babies,” she replies, “Got a baby now.” Aw! We ask what the doll is called, to which she tells us, “It’s a boy. Harley.”
“We know a real baby Harley and she loves him,” reveals dad James.
The family have lots going on this week with James’ golf trip, unpacking boxes in the new house and Ella’s first ever swimming lesson. Ella is also a little under the weather with a touch of croup and Ola is praying it doesn’t get worse while James is away.
MORE: EXCLUSIVE: James and Ola Jordan’s toddler Ella helps out with house move – video
Read the Jordans’ column here…
James is going away
Ola: It’s my first time in the new house on my own with Ella. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve got plans to see my friends and family.
Ella’s not happy that daddy’s going away – she’s asking loads of questions like, ‘What are you doing with your golf bag daddy? and ‘Mummy, what are we doing when daddy’s going away?’ I said we’re going to be home. ‘I don’t want to be home!’ she went.
James: Which poses another dilemma in our lives at the moment… I’ve been asked to do a work project, and I really want to do it but it’s a long way away. I don’t want to be away from Ella for six weeks. It would take me five hours to drive there.
HELLO!: How do you feel about it, Ola?
Ola: I don’t mind, but I do understand how he feels that he’d be away from Ella for a long time. I wouldn’t want to do it. I can’t make that decision for him though.
James: I want to do it, but I don’t want to be away from her, so it’s a really tough one.
Ella’s under the weather
James: Ella has got a bit of a croupy cough right now but at the moment she seems to be keeping it a little bit under control.
Ola: Yes. Last night wasn’t that bad but the night before was. I don’t want to be left here on my own with Ella and her croup.
James: Well what can I do?
Ola: No, nothing, but it’s hard.
James: I’m quite different from Ola. I get to the point where I go right that’s it, we’re taking her to hospital.
Ola: I wait a bit longer but maybe I wouldn’t when here on my own.
James: Because I know that the treatment they give them for croup at the hospital immediately makes them so much more comfortable, within an hour.
HELLO!: How often does Ella get croup?
James: More often than she should, I feel, but touch wood, that she’s not got it that badly at the moment. Croup isn’t like a normal cough; it’s really raspy. It’s not a nice sound. It’s common in children but it’s bloody horrible.
She’s ok within herself right now. Miss bossy pants! She knows we’re talking about her right now.
The Ikea incident
Ola: Mummy and daddy decided to take Ella to Ikea this week. She was going, ‘I want to go to the park’. I said, ‘Ikea is like the park’…
James: So we went into Ikea and at the beginning there’s a play area for kids where they look after them for you, and Ella wanted to go in there.
We said, ‘Are you sure? Mummy and daddy can’t come.’ She said, ‘Yes.’ So we went down, signed her in, went in there and just as I opened the door she started crying and didn’t want to go.
Ola: We wasted about half an hour!
© Ola and James JordanElla’s first swimming lesson
HELLO!: So how did Ella’s swimming lesson go – and did she have to wear a hat?! (in last week’s column, James was firmly anti-swimming hat)
James: It went ok and she didn’t have to wear a hat!
People came back to me about the hat thing on social media. Someone said how horrible it is when you’re swimming and someone’s hair is in the water. I’ve never in all my years going to swimming pools experienced someone’s hair floating into my face. Never, and I’m 45. Surely if people think that children should wear swimming hats, then everyone should, not just kids? I don’t get it… in a swimming lesson they have to wear a hat but if they go play in the pool they don’t have to.
Anyway, her swimming lesson went ok – the only thing is, she doesn’t always listen. ‘We’ had quite a short attention span.
Ola: Oh, I wonder where she gets that from?
James: Yeah, I wonder Ola! She is only three but she does remind me very much of mummy. Like when we’re putting furniture together and you’re standing there meant to be helping me but you’re a million miles away.
Ola: Because I’ve got so much on my mind right now.
James: Yes, so the swimming… I was in the pool with Ella. She could go in without us, but I know she wouldn’t enjoy it without one of us. It went well but she doesn’t like her head going underwater. We’ve bought her some goggles so hopefully that will help.
Time for Ella’s first playdate at home?
James: Ella’s loving nursery and it’s nice to see her talking about her friends. It’s got to the point now where we need to invite one of her good friends over to play.
Ola: Yep. Where am I going to get them to play though?
James: What do you mean? They don’t need anywhere to play, they just play.
Ola: Everything’s in boxes here. What, are they going to play with boxes?
HELLO!: We say give them boxes! Kids love playing in boxes.
James: Exactly, and they just want to play with each other.
Ola: Yeah, but it’s finding the mums that you get on with as well, isn’t it? It sounds bad, but it’s hard to find the right mum-kid combination! If you don’t click, you don’t click.
© Ola and James JordanElla is a star at gymnastics
James: Ella’s going to her gymnastics class later today, which I think she’s getting really good at. You know the rings? She can now grab the rings and flip herself over without anyone helping her – that’s quite cool at age three. I didn’t even know she could do that.
HELLO!: Did either of you do gymnastics as kids?
James and Ola: No.
James: Some of our dance lifts since Strictly are quite acrobatic, but we didn’t do those when we were younger.
Ola: We want to get Ella a climbing frame for the garden. We’re looking into it at the moment.
James: We’ll probably spend six months deciding which one to get though, knowing us!
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