Cooper Kids Toy Guide

Even though our holidays for this year are long gone, Alhamdulillah, it's hard not to notice the onslaught of print advertizing for the winter season. It's hard not to see all the adds and think upon turning each page, Abdullah would love that! It's even harder for their grandparents who frequently update me on the toys they "almost bought."

I know many may wonder how the kiddos get in enough "play" without toys being sent in the mail on a steady stream. Many children, such as Abdullah and KC, have taken a liking to objects that may be often overlooked by the adult public, but whose value as a play thing should not be underestimated. In order to facilitate a better understanding of the many overlooked "toys" available for free or cheap, I've created the following list:

Top 10 Things Better Than Toys

10. Stick

Let's start with the obvious. Known to Abdullah as "sem" (I think, I can't really make out this word, but I know it means he's about to pick up yet another stick), the stick offers a creative child a host of options for imaginative play. Much to my mother's chagrin, in 2008, the National Toy Hall of Fame bypassed Furby 3.0 and the PS3 to instead recognize the humble stick's contribution to play history.

9. Box


This 2005 National Toy Hall of Fame inductee has been a parents' foil for ages. Even though kids obviousl prefer box play, parents still insist on over-riding their children's wishes by filling boxes with "toys." For Abdullah, boxes come in two types, "bop," or a regular, unimpressive box such as a box of toys which only serves as a holding container for something far more entertaining,  and "beee bop," or a big box, one which he plans to play with in and of itself, such as a box that he plans to put on his head, rip to shreds, or put on KC's head. KC is already learning the joys of box play, often bypassing the toys which Abdullah assigns her from the toy box and instead choosing to throw herself recklessly into the box. Apparently, she didn't get the memo.


Please see the National Toy Hall of Fame site via the links provided for more information on how to use the above toys in your child's play repertoire.

8. Containers

As you can see, a simple Chinese take out box is the perfect toy for any child. It teaches manners while encouraging children to have fun. Plastic containers with lids may also be used to allow children to practice stacking, opening, and closing. Paper containers however, offer the additional benefit of being ripable, a very desirable quality in children's toys.


7. Clothes

Learning to properly don a frock is an important right of passage for any human. Although I'm not completely clear on how clothes play works, I am sure that clothes must be a toy as both KC and Abdullah tend to burst out in fits or raucous laughter and flailing when I try to dress them.


6. Top and A Sock

This particular toy may not be available in all areas. You may need to substitute other household items, but the uses are endless. In the picture above, Abdullah had just finished practicing his sock saute flipping and decided that my socks needed a good scrubbing.

5.Dishes

Carrying objects on a dish, emptying the dishwasher, putting dishes in the sink, what a great many skills can be practices with these often misunderstood toys. Thanks to a very thoughtful former student, may Allah reward her, we have a nearly indestructible set of dishes that has survived Abdullah's handling very well over the past year.

4. Laundry

I challenge Fischer Price to even attempt to make a toy which promotes even half of the milestones that can be practiced through doing laundry. You see a pile of dirty clothes and a long day of labor, Abdullah sees a day of action packed play. Color sorting, dryer sheet counting, clothes throwing, button pushing, coin in hole maneuvering, hallway running, and a host of other activities beckon on laundry day. The happiest day of the week.

3. Mail

What is this a picture of? Junk mail you say? No no my friend, far from it! What you actually see is a visual and tactile wonderland. While other kids are looking through the mail to figure out which toy they are going to pester their parents to buy, Abdullah has been enjoying the recent increase in toy filled books which kind strangers have been sending him over the past few weeks. About 6 months ago, Abdullah got his hands on a Rainbow play yard catalogue. The next week was spent flipping through it with wide eyes gesturing and mumbling to me. Perhaps next blog, I'll post a Top 10 Best Reads for Toddlers. Rainbow Play Yards October Specials is definitely on the list. KC also enjoys a good bit of crinkly paper although her hand in mouth instinct has led me to limit the types of mail she's allowed to play with.

2. Self

To some, mostly grandparents, the thought of a child sitting alone is heart wrenching. When Abdullah's play is threatened by lack of toys or naptime, he has learned to keep the party going, as it were, through toe tapping, finger wiggling, bubble blowing, and, as of late, head standing.

1. Sibling

Some kids play with baby dolls. We just cut to the chase and gave Abdullah a baby to play with. KC in turn also seems to have quickly learned that Abdullah is here merely for her amusement and as a means to practice her wrestling moves.

 

So, now comes the tough question. You see that your house full of toys is useless and there are much more stimulating items for your child to play with. What can you do with the toys? Abdullah enjoys using them for decorations. I call this creation of his "Leopard Plays With a Ball."

 

Winter

It's cold. Autumn has gone and the hawk has arrived. Maashaa Allah.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a long walk to the park with no coats and bright sunshine. This morning, the same sun rose, cleverly warmly beckoning us to a sharp, frigid slap in the face. Actually, it wasn't all that bad, but after living through temps as high as 70 in November, you start to get used to perpetual summer.

Alhamdulillah, Iowans have lived through numerous winters and have devised a number of strategies for making sure that they continue to live up to their family friendly image all year round. As there seem to be a number of days coming that may put temperatures below my personal park-walk-threshold of 45 degrees, I've been developing a running tally of indoor fun activities for the kids and it seems that some introduces me to a new one on a weekly basis.

After the malls, which boast free spacious play areas and the community centers, which boast $2 play in gyms filled with random toys, our favorite cold weather option are the indoor playground equipment showrooms. These showrooms are an ingenious marketing tactic because you are bound to take a look at the pricing and descriptions while watching your child run wild and free. I'm sure somewhere in my subconsciousness, there's already been a link made between joyous play and $2000 home playground systems.

خال خالذ Khalu Khalid

Someday, inshaa Allah, AC will learn to love people. Right now, he just seems to love visits. Staying out late, eating in people's laps, touching everything. That's life with visits.

This week, the offending spoiler was Khalid whose official name (perhaps unbeknownst to him) is the wonderfully alliterative, Khalu Khalid (maternal uncle Khalid). KK flew in for a weekend trip with an FB (Fellow Bostonian). AC, the consummate Drama Prince, thoroughly wowed our company with his renditions of his favorite cries including: "Really, That Hurt," "Saddened By Sitting," and "Just Need One More Piece of Pie." Apparently for KC, playing with company, not napping, and having bread for dinner was noteworthy enough that she felt the need to stay up until 10:30 Saturday night telling the wall about it.

Reminiscing over childhood while watching my own children begin theirs, I can't help but to wonder what lasting memories my parenting and their own choices will leave them with. In my head, I really only remember going to school, playing, and eating. There are moments from fishing trips, family gatherings, and our RV days, most of which are probably pretty muddled patchworks pieced together by family stories and things I assumed must have happened. Just this weekend, I discovered that my family probably wasn't actually in the Nation of Islam while I was alive, despite my memories to the contrary. Now, when people ask me if I was born Muslim, maashaa Allah, I'll just say, yes and forgo the details of my (invented) memories of our transition.

Ultimately, AK and I pray that they will be faithful, well grounded Muslims. We hope they'll productive childhoods, which will transition them into productive adults at or around the age of 15.

As part of that, I hope, as I would think most parents would hope, that they'll be mindful that the good and the bad that they experience is all part of the Qadr (divine decree) and never look back on their childhoods thinking if only my mom would have...

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your" if" opens the (gate) for the Satan.

Adventure

After many long months of studying (again) AK finally took Step 3 last week, which meant that we finally were able to have a full day family outing over the weekend. We had planned to swing by the DMV to finally get our Iowa licenses, but after we waited 15 minutes in a non-moving line of 30 people which lead to another room full of another 100 people we decided to ditch that part of the adventure. I imagine it wont be too hard to keep the Iowa cops off of our tails for another few months.

First stop on our adventure, Bass Pro Shop. Bass Pro Shop? The place where you spent countless hours as a kid counting the fins on fake fish while your dad wandered aimlessly? Yes. The very same Bass Pro Shop. Aside from the fact that the Bass Pro Shop here has a spectacular array of (imitation) taxidermied everything from moose to raccoons including a reenactment of a buffalo stampede, sporting goods stores are our new hang out for window shopping. After narrowly escaping a sales pitch for a timeshare vacation in Branson, MO (apparently driving 6 miles is a weekend trip here), we tried on a few accessories for our upcoming (i.e. in 2 years) excursion and rustled up a lunch of fudge, beef jerky, and kettle corn, which are apparently the official snacks of outdoors men.

The second, and perhaps much more adventuresome stop for AC was Center Grove Orchard, a quaint (i.e. hand painted), family friendly farm that boasts a variety of attractions. AC was very entertained by the 50 ft slide, the hay maze, and a giant inflated pillow that was kind of like a wall-less moon bounce. Sadly, AC can't jump, so he just mooched bounces off of others while he sat and laughed hysterically. His favorite attraction by far, however: corn pool. Just as the name would suggest, the corn pool is a giant pit filled with feed corn. What does one do in a corn pool? According to AC, you repeatedly pick up corn and drop it. Boring you say? Apparently not because it was the only thing that caused him to cry when I told him we had to leave it. Fortunately, there were animals (and animal feed) to distract him before too long.

We wound up the trip with a walk through the corn maze. I was sure that we had finally found a way to expend all of AC's energy. The maze took nearly an hour and a half to get through and by the end AC was dragging a bit. When we got back to the road to wait for the hay ride home, AC sat for 30 seconds and then got up to pick grass and go explore the pumpkin that a fellow farm goer had just picked. He did go to sleep in the car after about 32 oz of Gatorade.

Battle Cries

The sleep wars have started. As you know, and often pine over, the Cooper kids sleep a lot. They have inherited my genes in the sleep department and Kareem's genes in the wake up running and don't stop till you fall down (literally) department.

As my mom has noted many times, my kids are strange, wal hamdulillah. AC actually loves his crib. When it's time to go to sleep, he happily cheers, "nigh nigh," walks to his room, looks around for what he'd like to have with him, and tries to climb up into his crib (i.e. the jungle gym where he falls asleep). We had to put the keibash on the milk at nap time routine after too many spills and his cups always winding up across the room. He's started asking for a blanket and his monkey instead. Fair enough since usually he talks to his blanket and/or his monkey quietly (or loudly) for a few minutes and falls off to sleep.

I had suspected something was up however when KC suddenly became extra chatty during the day. She's turned into a AC mini motor mouth and the only cause I could see was that AC's been training her during their naptime talks.

When the sleep wars started, I realized this was in fact the case. AC had been practicing the whole week, mimicking KC's various wails, cries, and shouts. Tripping over a shoe, he would fall to the ground and let out a cry that could bring grandparents running from the farthest corners of the globe. Waiting for lunch to get finished, he would wiggle and whine letting out KC's signature "choking wail" that is somewhat reminiscent of the classic "Whazzup" commercials. Playing with toys, he would suddenly drop them and begin the "beggars grunt," a sound of pure perseverance mixed with a weighty undertone of frustration. While I thought these shows were primarily for me, I found out this week that they were really for KC. The message: I'm listening and I LOVE what I hear, ramp it up kiddo. KC got the message loud and clear.

First there were just whispers of a revolt. KC seemingly muttering back to AC while he talked in his crib. Nothing to worry about. We did let KC have a few naps in the pack and play so AC would have less of an audience, but soon, she started with her own show, acking and gargling loudly as soon as she was laid down. Hoping her crib would lull her to sleep as it usually does, I returned her to the room yesterday. The acks continued. The gargling only got louder and then soon it grew into a symphony of the most inharmonious combination of sounds ever to be mumbled and sputtered by 2 supposedly sleepy children. KC was obviously leading the charge with AC imitating her every sound often following up with a laugh of glee. I went in to take his monkey out of the crib (a futile attempt at persuading him to go to sleep) I found him standing up in his crib, draping his blanket over the inside of his crib as if he was setting a stage for their next act. Forlorn at the loss of his monkey, he settled for a moment, but there is no rest for the weary, especially when they have a little sister egging them on. KC continued her noises until AC realized that the show must go on. Getting his second wind, he perked up, chatting just as jovially and loudly as before.

Since KC hasn't yet developed a sense of cause and effect, she really had me at a stalemate. The only choice was to turn to my earplugs and simply wait out their onslaught. The earplugs gave about 15 minutes of relief before the sound of AC's piercing, "no really, I'm hurt, bleeding, and in deep physical and/or emotional pain" cry started to creep through. I went in to see what disaster had so stricken my first born. AC lay there crying, tears streaming down his face, staring longingly at KC who had decided to lay down her weapons (for the time being) and rest up for tomorrow. AC was understandably heart broken. On a good day, AC could play and sing in his crib for up to 3 hours (I would imagine, not that he's ever had the chance). His trainee has turned out to be a sleeping turncoat.

With KC now starting to play with the blinds too, we may have to rig up some system for ensuring a quiet, peaceful nap time for the years to come until we can move into a 3 bedroom home with rooms big enough to place their cribs far from windows, doors, dressers, changing tables, walls, or anything else that might distract them from sleeping. Gladly, since AC now has a partner in crime, he has stopped kicking the walls and banging his crib against them to let us know he's up in the mornings.

In other milestone news:

KC continues to progress in her mobility. She still hasn't figured out how to coordinate her legs, but she can now move pretty much anywhere in a straight line by pulling herself along on her belly. When placed on the floor, she turns into a stuff seeking compass, immediately turning herself in the direction of any stuff that she's not supposed to have. I had been told that babies like to play with keys and phones because they see adults with them. I suspect this is in fact the case since KC's hierarchy of stuff is 1) shoes and feet 2) my stuff 3) AC's stuff 4) paper 5) chair legs and (only when all other avenues of stuff seeking have been exhausted) 6) her stuff.

With winter just around the corner (yes, it's August, but it's already getting into the 40's at night here) and KC growing out of her clothes once again, we're starting to pack away all the 3-6 month summer dresses. Apparently (according to AK) kids grow while they are sleeping. Long nights have certainly paid off for KC as she's moved from being a near premie to being over 50% in height.

AC has made great strides in potty training. This week, AK thought it would be a good idea to let him sit on the toilet as practice for going out. Worth a try. 2 year old on a toilet. Ok.

First, AC sat. Then, he looked around, found the toilet paper was within easy reach and became delighted. After learning that he was not, in fact allowed to play with this rather intriguing perpetual paper machine, he decided he'd try taking a dip in his personal pool. After he dunked one foot in the toilet, I took him off  and explained he wasn't allowed to put his feet in the water. A few hours later, we tried again. He sat. He looked around. Then, he pushed his torso up with his hands, raising himself off of the toilet, and let himself down half way into the toilet. After I explained that he wasn't allowed to put his body in the toilet, we tried again. He did manage to proudly pee in the toilet, but I'm going to stick with the 2 potty seats he has for awhile.

AC is now in full big boy underwear during the day and his post pee Smartie has been replaced with grapes since he was getting almost up to a pack a day. He tried asking for his Smartie too after I gave him grapes the first time. I felt bad for breaking what had been an unspoken deal between us, so I caved that once, explaining that Smarties were no more. He apparently got the hint and seems happy with the trade off.

Old Friends, New Friends

Ramadan is over. The Iowan heat wave has broken and I'm hoping that the rainy season has begun. Iowa only has 3 seasons, Hot, Cold, and Rainy. I think this was probably the busiest Ramadan I've experienced. And the longest. And the hottest.  But Alhamdilillah for that since now I know fasting, nursing, moving, and traveling is doable.

At the beginning of the month, I started taking classes with a woman who has just returned from Yemen with her family where they were studying and teaching. She and her daughter held daily classes on Fasting and Tajweed. Taking the class did required me to move the kids nap time around to ensure that AC didn't decide it was time to play roll the baby (yes, that is his newest game) when I was trying to recite. Hopefully, no one could hear AC's one crib circus that he likes to put on for KC when he's not interested in napping. I kind of wish I could have recorded one of her daughter's classes just to let people hear her poise, confidence, and knowledge. At 18 she was leading classes daily for a hundred strangers from Iowa to Australia and everywhere in between. She was homeschooled and hadn't developed any of the anti-social maladjustment that seems to stigmatize homeschooled kids.

The woman homeschooled all of her kids between the US and Yemen. She keeps a blog of her activities related to Yemen here. After returning to the US, she also started a new blog on homeschooling and homesteading.

Later in the month, we were able to retrun to our old home at Candle Ridge after a drawn out battle of wits with our landlord. AK commented a lot when we first got here that Iowans wouldn't survive on the east coast. They would constantly be getting into fights with people who thought they were being sarcastic. My landlord is one of those people. She's a very no-nonsense woman when it comes to running the property, but whenever I go over to her office, she spends 90% of the time playing with the kids, talking about her grandkids, and telling me about kid friendly activities in Iowa.

Yesterday, I found a note on my door. I was sure it was a citation for dinging the garage, which I had forgotten to mention to her when we last talked. Inside was a note and a copy of a magazine article. She had copied an article on activities this weekend. When I last saw her, she asked if AC could wear SpiderMan slippers and we started talking about TV and kids. I haven't become a full force anti-TV activist just yet, so I just mentioned to her that we want AC to enjoy life how he does now, playing and exploring. Taking note of that, she mentioned in her letter some other things we might enjoy like watching the trees get cut down behind the pool. She's got our number. We'll be poolside Wednesday for sure.

Candle Ridge has many amenities that we missed greatly while living in our old home. Pools, parks, bike trails, stable construction, and, most importantly, Fareway grocery. Those of you who knew Ben P or his daughters, will know what I mean when I say, I AM Ben's granddaughter. Fareway is a small grocery store that's kind of like Sav-a-Lot with fresh goods. The first week we moved in, they had Tazo Tea's on sale for 50 cents a bottle. Limit 20. Fortunately, I had to go back for some things twice that week. The Fareway workers are another bunch that would have east coasters raising eyebrows. the first time I went over there last year, one guy at the meat counter loudly proclaimed to the one who was waiting on me, "You know she's our neighbor!" to which the other replied "Well, well, howdy neighbor!" Yesterday, the young, blond (they're all blond, I think it's like a Scandinavian stronghold) cashiers at Fareway switched shifts with huge smiles and happy waves of "see you after break." That happens a lot. People here are happy, really happy, and, for the most part, want to help make you happy. Sounds kind of like a lobotomy cult when I write it out, but I'll take it.

Ramadan ended with us all back in Jersey, much to my surprise. Everyone was thoroughly smitten with KC and cooing and her finger sucking. I didn't know that finger sucking was a cute tactic. Perhaps I wont hot pepper sauce her fingers so she'll be able to use that when she's pulled over for speeding. AC spend the week proudly explaining to everyone "Thasa Dijah" as he re-explored all of the places and toys he hadn't seen in months. One day, I left the house thinking he was sick and would be sleeping all day. I returned to the signature bang-bang of little feet and a giant grin frantically trying to beat GS to open the door. So much for being travel weary.

The kids were kind of groggy on the flight and AC passed the time caring for his new sock monkey. After he figured out that the tail was not actually poop and stopped handing the monkey to me, he rotated through burping the monkey, putting it to sleep, and letting it have tummy time while he bobbed it's head up and down. After a 12 hour evening of traveling, everyone in the house did need to sleep off the trip. Although both kids have a case of snot-nosiness, they are back up and rolling full speed.

When they did stir, AC became quickly attached to a 5ft gift wrap roll insert and spent the afternoon parading around KC showing off his impressive ability to lift it over his head, run clear across the room, and then slam it down. KC just kind of bobbed around in her chair watching cautiously.

Today, we were hoping to make our way to the Homemakers' carnival, but it seems it's been overcast all day and just started raining. Homemakers' is another Iowan speciality. It's kind of like Ikea, but it's bigger, has much higher quality (and more expensive) furniture, and boasts free cookies, juice, and coffee served in a small seating area. Times like this, I'm glad the kids are still small enough that they don't know plans. We'll have to settle for back up fun of playing in the rain on the deck.

May Allah Accept It From Us and You تقب الله مننا و منكم

Just heard. Ramadan will start tonight. This year, I've decided that I'll try to give up interneting during the day. Since the night here is only about 8 hours, all of which I'll be likely sleeping through, there probably wont be too many posts for the next month or so. In the meantime, may everyone have a blessed Ramadan and may your fast be accepted. Ameen.