What's in a name?

The Office of National Statistics announced the top 100 baby names for 2013 last week.  I'm trying to decide how I feel about Munchkin's name slipping out of the top 100.  Part of me is pleased that she has an unusual name.  Part of me is disappointed that others don't share my good taste ;-).  When it comes to names, I don't like anything too popular or too obscure, which is probably why I ended up with a name that was at seventy-something in the chart when I had my baby.  I'm somewhat glad we're not intending to have more children, by the time I've ruled out the above, ignored anything that I consider too old fashioned, any name that was obviously borrowed from a celebrity and anything that I don't think sounds like a "real" first name, there's not much left.  I don't want to offend anyone by saying this, just because I wouldn't chose your child's name for mine or vice versa doesn't mean either of them have "bad" names.

I've been encouraging Munchkin to name her soft toys and dolls - the above rules do not apply when you're two and a half - but this isn't going too well.  She's happy to use the names that certain characters came with such as Peppa Pig and Baby Annabell and also the names that Angmering Daddy and I gave certain toys before she could talk, such as Ronnie the rhino and Alan the dog.   However, when I've asked her to name a toy recently, she's gone for the obvious, dogs are called "Doggy" and rabbits are called, "Bunny".  She won't budge on this one, if I try to come up with other suggestions, she says, "No, Mummy."

Poor Alan - so-named because he came from Ikea, where everything is put together with an Allen key - has been in the wars a bit recently.  He nearly got taken to lost property after Munchkin left him in soft play at a garden centre.  He went in the washing machine at the weekend because he smelt.  Today he's been checked for nits.  I had to check Munchkin's hair because nits are going round her nursery.  I gave her the all-clear, but she in turn checked me, Alan, Princess Peppa and several items of bathroom furnishings.

Apart from names and nits, we've had a relatively quiet week.  We've been to several parks and had a non-spectacular lunch out.  Weather permitting, we might go to the Play Day at Homefield Park on Friday.