As many parents have experienced, my daughter is growing up so fast. In just under 2 months she will turn 10 and officially be a tween. While I love how grown up she is, as the owner of Ann Arbor with Kids it can sometimes cause problems.  

I was looking for pictures from the Ann Arbor District Library Baby Playgroups. It’s been 8 years since we attended Baby Playgroup. My photos from playgroup are so old that they are from the old Northeast branch before the Traverwood Branch was opened.

This attitude was exemplified when I applied for a sponsored post on pre-packaged grapes with Frozen labeling on them. My daughter was not-so secretly relieved that I wasn’t selected to participate. Her exact words were:

“Mom I can’t take a Frozen lunch box to school. That would be SOOOO embarrassing!“

Obviously I can’t take a 10 year old to Baby Playgroup and I feel funny attending baby/toddler events by myself. Since I only use photos of my own child on the website, it also doesn’t allow me to take very interesting photos at events that she is not the right age for.

In recent discussions with the operators of sites similar to mine, I discovered that several of them were using a stuffed animal mascot to take pictures around town. My daughter and I batted around a few animal ideas before settling on an owl since it lives in the trees and Ann Arbor is known as Tree Town. Being that I’m not an artist, I commissioned my friend Holly to make our new mascot. She did a great job creating our new mascot.

After some wonderful suggestions from readers, I fell in love with the name Arbor Annie. I’ll be using the #ArborAnnie hashtag on Instagram.

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Arbor Annie has already had two adventures. Her first trip was a visit to Brairwood Mall to see Santa on Friday. Last night she dined with us at No Thai.

Arbor Annie around Town

I actually have two sizes of Arbor Annie. The one in the pictures above and a smaller one that is the size of a Beanie Boo. I am also planning to turn the digital drawing into a Flat Arbor Annie for times when I forget to bring her with me.

Arbor Annie will be exploring Ann Arbor and surrounding communities with my family over the next few weeks. If you run a local business and would like to arrange for Arbor Annie to visit, please contact me.

As Arbor Annie makes her way around town and I have a stock of photos, I plan to introduce a weekly “Where is Arbor Annie?” post.

Where should Arbor Annie visit next?

If you see Arbor Annie around town, be sure to come say hi! I’m sure she’d love to receive hugs from your kids.

Do you have a suggestion for where Arbor Annie should visit? Add it in the comments below.

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Anna Mae

Anna Mae owns & operates Ann Arbor with Kids, a website dedicated to Family Activities in Ann Arbor. My husband and I moved to Ann Arbor in 2003 and our daughter joined the family in 2006.

Latest posts by Anna Mae (see all)

• Arbor Annie’s Valentine’s Day Weekend Roundup – February 14-16 – February 14, 2020
• 2020-2021 Ann Arbor Public Schools Calendar – February 14, 2020
• Special Ann Arbor Valentine’s Dinner Plans – February 11, 2020

Featured Posts

Arbor Annie’s Valentine’s Day Weekend Roundup – February 14-16

Arbor Annie’s Weekend Roundup – February 7-9

Arbor Annie’s Super Bowl Weekend Roundup – January 31-February 2

Arbor Annie’s Weekend Roundup – January 24-26

Ann Arbor Local Business and Non-Profit Guide