One of our favorite animated characters, the lovable Pocoyó, is celebrating the Olympics with a suite of games, printables, videos and all-around-fun with the Pocoyó Games 2012.

When you visit the Pocoyó Games site  – available in Spanish, English, Portuguese and Italian — your child can have fun doing any and all of this:

• Pocoyize! Create your own avatar and have it flaunt a tshirt with the flag of the country you’re rooting for. Once you create your avatar, you can represent your country in the Pocoyó Games and also download a personalized video with Pocoyó and his friends!
• Enter Mundo Pocoyó — the show’s virtual land — where you will find a whole lot of Olympic-themed fun.
• Download and create your own diploma or certificate with a drawing of your favorite sport. Then upload it to the gallery for your chance to be one of the 5 winners of an original Pocoyó print from the show.
• Download Pocoyó Olympic-themed activities
• Download a fun Pocoyó Olympic Games screensaver and wallpaper
• Música! Yes, you can download for free a set of Música Pocoyó Games 2012 to get the family in the Olympic spirit!
• There’s many, many videos featuring Pocoyó y sus amigos playing Olympic sports. Check out the full collection in Spanish below.

The 2012 Summer Olympics are finally here!

We just love the energy that’s generated during an Olympic season and all the fantastic opportunities to show our kids how far one can get by having a real passion, powered by motivation, persistence and hard-work.

And that’s precisely what I got to chat about with Nastia Liukin, 5-time Olympic medalist and gymnast, last week during a recorded Skype conversation. Nastia became a member of the U.S. junior national team when she was 12 years old and won the National all-around title at the age of 13. Since 2005, Nastia has been a key member of the U.S. Senior team. Although she didn’t make it to the Olympics this year, she will be heading to London to cheer on her teammates.

Nastia has partnered up with Fisher-Price to inspire young gymnasts with the launch of Fantastic Gymnastics Dora doll – just in time for the Olympics!

Check out our interview to learn more about Nastia and how she got started with gymnastics through the motivation of her mother and father, both Olympic medalists in gymnastics themselves. She also shares with us just how important it has been for her career and personal life to be bilingual in English and Russian and how that has kept her in touch with her grandmother.

Oh, and then scroll down to enter for your chance to win a brand new Fantastic Gymnastics Dora doll. Yes, she’s bilingual!

{Photo credit: ©2012 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.}

One of the amazing things about my life as a blogger is to be able to meet inspiring women and moms who will go to great lengths to raise a proud, healthy and successful child, while at the same time taking care of themselves and their family. We know it´s a tall order – a really tall one at times, – so imagine being in the shoes of a mom who´s raised a child who´s on their way to shine at their first Olympic Games?

I was able to meet such a mom when Kellogg´s gave me the chance to interview Rita Wieber, author and mom of Jordyn Wieber, the 16 year old girl from Michigan who is the current World Champion in gymnastics, and most likely just weeks away from being part of the U.S. Olympic Team to represent in the 2012 London Games.

Just how does one as a mom recognize and nurture such talent at a very early age? I mean, Jordyn was already being noticed in the major national competitions by the age of 11! And how does one continue to encourage and even prepare one´s child to live like a champion and everything that comes with that, yet remain focused, calm and energized. I had to ask Rita Weiber all these questions during our one-on-one interview at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. Her answers were honest and real.

I can´t wait for June 22nd when the U.S. Olympics gymnastics trials begin and we can root together for Jordyn Wieber as she gives it all for her first shot at being one of the five members of the team for the Summer Olympic Games.

Read more: From Great Starts Come Great Things

Jordyn is also on the Team Kellogg´s and has a whole page on their site dedicated to her Start Story, her accomplishments, and even to her breakfast! There´s also a tab called “Send Her a Wish” where you can send a message of encouragement to Jordyn “to help her achieve Olympic Team greatness – for the first time.” Let’s go, let’s be part of her Great Start.

{Image credit: Trent Stafford}

Disclosure: We are proud to be part of the  Kellogg´s Champions of Great Starts bloggers and proud to have Kellogg´s as a SpanglishBaby sponsor.