What's in a Name?

Of late, my children have become obsessed with their names. They want me to write out their full names so they can painstakingly copy them beneath my writing. Then we have to write out the full names of the rest of the family, including their grandparents and aunts. Then we have to talk about why each person has that name (i.e. if it is a family name or some other connection). We do this pretty much on a daily basis. The only thing that changes is the color of marker we use.

We have always had issues naming our kids. Only Drew's name (Andrew Joseph) chose itself, mainly because we were lazy - it was the name my parents had chosen for my youngest sister, had she been a boy.

We vacillated back and forth on Cade's name and finally settled on Peter Cade - Peter after Aaron's grandfather and Cade because we liked it (it was before the days when Caden was so popular). Calling Cade by his middle name has never given us any problems, except for at the pediatrician's office, where we have been patients for almost 4 years now. The doctor still issues instructions like, "Sit still, Peter." or, "This won't hurt a bit, Peter.", while Cade looks around the room wondering who the hell Peter is. Despite my multiple attempts to correct the doctor and her staff, they just can't get it. Until his 4 year checkup, when they started calling him Andrew. Yes, time for a new doctor, I know, but that's another story...

And most of you have probably read about our recent trials naming poor Joshua Quinn.

So today Cade threw us by a loop by informing us that his name was no longer Cade. He now wants to go by Quinn. Because he "likes it better".

That'll throw the pediatrician for a loop.