Foof! – Fuss (foot); almost always said with an exclamation point, while pointing, in a tone of delighted surprise
Faffee – Kaffee (coffee); said of any hot drink being poured (although see next entry), and of the hot pot as it makes sounds while heating the water
Dee! — tea/Tee; repeated with great delight when she is told something is not coffee
ammals – animals; my mom’s bin of animal hand puppets
Upup – Grandma (inherited from her oldest cousin Isaiah, who used it to mean “pick me up” and then, also, “grandma,” as became clear when he saw my mom a hundred feet away in a church sanctuary and wailed “UPUP!!!!” Lucy was introduced to her as Upup, and whenever whe get in a car, she asks, hopefully, “Upup?”
Bapa – Grandpa, Upups sidekick, and the one who can entertain her for half an hour at a time with an empty Talenti jar of rocks they’ve picked up on walks together. They take them out one by one, examine them, put them back, Lucy puts one in her mouth, and eventually she pulls her collar out from her neck and wants him to put them down her shirt, which he does; and they fill up the entire front of her shirt with smooth rocks. If she is wearing an open shirt, they eventually all fall out; if she is wearing a onesie, I sometimes still find a pebble or two when I change the next diaper.
Apoo – Apfel (apple); said of all round and fruitlike objects, of any size, from the decorative berries on bushes outside to the pumpkins on everyone’s front doorsteps; resistant to correction (“Apoo!” “Yes, that’s an orange!” “Apoooooo!”)
Baboo – the mystical union of bamboo, Blumen (flowers), Bäume (trees), Blätter (leaves), balloons, and other living plantlike things
Papa, Daddee, Dadoo – Jim. Used when pointing to his office door during the work day; when we hear his footsteps on the floor above us or on the stairs; when he clears his throat or coughs or talks during a meeting; when he flushes the toilet or runs the water or makes, really, any noise at all. (Dadoo also occasionally retains its earlier meaning of “friendly adult who I assume would take care of me if the need arose.”)
Mämmy – me, when I am away, or unavailable, or being spoken of in the third person; said with a sometimes-fake, sometimes-real frown, and in a tone of something between complaint and lament
Mama – me, when I am present and being directly addressed (as in bedtime, when she unzipped my sweatshirt partway, put her hand on my chest, and said “Mama!” To which, of course, the correct response was “Lulu!”
Dudu – Lulu; usually repeated when anyone has said anything particularly nice to her (like before naptime, when I tell her she is my only Lulu and I am glad she exists, and am looking forward to seeing her when she wakes up)
Achee – OK; I do not know how long she was saying this before I realized, finally, as I was putting her down for a nap, that I was ending my sentences with “…OK?” She was repeating back “Achee, achee, achee.”