Marcus and I didn’t debate much on whether or not we were having a boy or girl. We knew we were having a girl. We always imagined having a girl first. It was something we talked about before we had even started trying. We always discussed girl names, what our daughter would look like and just how protective he would be over her.
My three best friends – Autumn, Christy, and Christina – had decided to throw us a gender reveal. They helped make my pregnancy an exciting time. At that time… I, unfortunately, did not have my family around. My parents were out of the country visiting the Philippines and my brother and sister were stationed in Virginia and Maryland. It was a bit depressing to say the least… I’m the baby of the family and I had spent the past few years being the best aunt I could be to my nieces and nephew and it was finally my turn… We were having our first baby and I just simply wanted them around me, taking in all of these first moments with me – from pregnancy cravings to shopping all things baby to the gender reveal. But in the end… I am incredibly thankful for FaceTime and for friends who love you like family.
October 29, 2016. My friends were the only ones who knew the gender and they had spent the weekend trying to throw me off… Boy or Girl?? Marcus and I couldn’t wait to find out. So the day finally came and we couldn’t contain our excitement. Surrounded by our closest friends and family out came a pink and blue balloon, a slight mishap in the balloon color thanks to Party City overfilling the original, but no worries… The confetti inside was all that mattered. And then… POP! Out came PINK confetti. Marcus screamed “I knew it! I told y’all!” (There were quite a few Team Boy stickers in the house)… Me? I just smiled and stared at the pink confetti… I was in awe. We hugged and as he rubbed my belly, he whispered “Are you happy?”… Of course. Of course I was happy. We were happy. Life couldn’t be more perfect. She was everything we had ever wanted.
That evening, I laid on the couch to relax after our long day… And all of a sudden, I felt something unfamiliar… Like a ton of butterflies flying around in my tummy. And I knew it was our baby girl. Brooklyn. I yelled out to Marcus telling him of this amazing feeling and we both sat on the couch… Blissfully happy. Blissfully unaware… Unaware of the horror we would face just one month later…
Love, The Johnsons 
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