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After hearing several suggestions, I limited my choices down and finally made my decision I quickly checked out, then drove to the party, arriving only ten ifts in hand and my Dad rushed forward to helpall of that at the same time You know that your balance is already off center You could fall"

"Sorry, Dad I’ll try to reifts from me and carried theels without wings ran towardabdomen

"Claire, I want to feel the baby move Can you ainsthim, but what if it’s a her?"

"Oh, it’s a him There’s no doubt inpiece of birthday cake and drink a big glass of soft drink I can al like crazy after that Will that work?"

I watched the beautiful boy’s pale blue eyes light up as he agreed with me about my plan and I said, "Come on, I think Mom is ready for us to cut the cake"

We went into the kitchen where I saw a chocolate cake with seven candles on one side and eight on the other My mother first offered Harley and Ozzy separate cakes on their sixth and seventh birthdays after my parents adopted them, but they wanted to keep with tradition and share a cake since it hat Jessie had always done for them I loved how they wanted to stick to tradition and I felt responsible in helping to keep any of Jessie’s traditions alive in thehter for the candles on the cake, I felt warm, muscular arms wrap around ?" whispered inand said, "Yo’ baby ood"

"No pains today?" he asked

"I didn’t say that," I replied

"Think you can pull off giving birth to our son or daughter on our brothers’ birthday?"

I thought about how that sounded "Jessie, someone that didn’t knoould think that sounded really nant abdo…it would be really neat if you could pull that off for your Uncle Harley and Uncle Ozzy, little baby Boone"

"Trying to coax this baby into the world today on Harley’s and Ozzy’s birthday has nothing to do with how anxious you are to find out if it’s a boy or girl, right?" I asked, suspiciously

"It has absolutely everything to do with it I’ crazy here, woman," he admitted

"It was your idea to not find out if it was a boy or girl, so suck it up, buddy I have another week until my due date This baby will cohed at his childish anxiousness because he orse than Harley and Ozzy put together

My hed at our conversation as she lit the candles on the cake and said, "Jessie, I hope this baby takes after you because if it takes after Claire, it won’t come until next year"

I rolled‘Happy Birthday’ to the boys As pro piece of birthday cake to entice the baby into ood measure and drank a cola while Jessie watched ht I should have water instead "I knohat you’re thinking and Dad says I can have one a day"

Jessie threw his hands like an innocent cri it because I saw it on your face," I accused

He didn’t deny my accusation, but I didn’t have ti kick "Ozzy, co just for you"

Ozzy ran over and put his head and hands againstmovement and waited to hear his response "He kickedto be a kicker like me, not a quarterback"