amelie is 11 and a bedroom refresh.

Our girl turned 11 years old this summer!

It seems like just yesterday she looked like this:

Several of her friends have gotten loft beds in the past year or two, so that’s what Amie wanted for her birthday. Judah saw the plans we made for her room, and decided he wanted the same thing, so we spent July giving them each a little bedroom refresh.

We have small bedrooms in the original part our house, and very small closets, so we’re always looking for ways to maximize space and storage. We’ve also found that our big kids really need their own desks for their school work that involves more concentration. So those were our two main goals: loft beds and desks.

This room got a fresh coat of paint three years ago, so we kept things simpler by electing to do some touch-ups rather than re-paint this summer. We ordered her bed from Wayfair. Desk and dresser are from IKEA, and the rug is from RugsUSA. Amie chose her rug from a couple of options I gave her, and we found a new duvet cover from IKEA to match.

I love how well the rug represents her personality: bright, colorful, and happy.

She has yet to outgrow her stuffed animal collection, which I’m fine with, except she had so many. I made her cut her collection in half when we purged her bedroom. It was an excruciating, but she’s already moved on!

Amie enjoys art as much as ever, as you can see from her walls. We organized all her art supplies in her new desk and this cart. The dresser contains clothes, dress-up, and a few more craft projects.

This left her wardrobe free for Lego’s, Calico Critters, and other odds and ends (our one daughter still has more stuff than her three brothers combined).

Between Christmas, birthday, and saving allowance over the past year, Amie completed this Hogwarts Lego set that she’d been wanting. Harry Potter never seems to go out of style in our house, and the four kids are currently into collecting the HP minifigure packs whenever they’re in stock at Target, and trading.

We’re still happy guinea pig owners. They’re low-maintenance, sweet-natured, and very funny. They do get a bit messy between hay and bedding, but it’s Noah’s job each morning to sweep their area. They’re also noisy guys at night, so both guinea pigs spend each night in the dining room — which makes for a crowded room overnight. But it works!

I haven’t even posted here on the blog that we lost our beloved squirrel, Pip, this summer. One day he just didn’t show up for breakfast. We like to think he’s off making his way in the wide world, but we worry that the hawk that lives across the street — and keeps an ever-present eye on house because we have chickens — got him. Amie especially mourned a good long while; she and Pip had a special bond. What an amazing experience to get to have a pet squirrel for a few months.

Amie’s reading continues to improve each year. She did about a year and a half of educational therapy for her learning disabilities, and made such good progress with her school work that we decided not to continue for the time being. She’s now on or above grade level in all her subjects.

The most difficult thing for Amie is that she’s surrounded by friends who are voracious readers and read at a much quicker pace than she does. But this encourages her to persevere in practicing her reading, although she’d still prefer an audiobook most days.

Other hobbies include baking, sketching, shopping for clothes, and recently, helping me organize and decorate the house. This year she started being a “mother’s helper” to a friend in our neighborhood, and she loves it. Amie is a born nurturer, whether it be little brothers or animals or babies.

When she grows up, she hopes to live on a farm and have eight kids.