for rowan{give a little bit}

In just over a month our baby boy will be 1! I'm not quite sure where this year has gone but if time could do me a solid, and slow down just a bit, I'd be forever grateful!

I've been thinking about and bouncing around ideas for his birthday party probably since he was six months old. But, we didn't start discussing it in earnest until a few months ago. During one of the many conversations Doug suggested that we donate blood as a way to say thank you for all that had been done for us. If you've read Rowan's birth story, you know that it was a fairly traumatic and critical situation for me and the baby. I lost about two liters of blood and had to receive a blood transfusion. We received such good care! I'm not sure either of us would have survived without it.

I thought his idea was terrific. This has been such a special year for our family. To mark Rowan's birthday and in honor of everything that it made this year possible, we decided to hold a blood drive.

Starting March 1 we are asking friends, family and anyone that is moved to do so, to give blood. Donations will be collected at all Hoxworth Blood Centers. You can schedule an appointment or simply walk in to any of the neighborhood donation centers. When filling out your information /registration form please use the code: ROW to help us track the donations made in Rowan's name. Check out the Hoxworth Blood Center website for places to donate, hours and directions. The blood drive runs from March 1 until March 25. If you're not local but you know someone that is in Cincinnati, please share the story with them and if you don't know anyone locally please think about donating to your local blood bank. Every bit helps!!