Dear Sally,

It is hard to believe, but a year ago today, you were still on the inside. 

I'd had my first contraction by now—they would have started last night—and Daddy and I would be walking the loop from home to Bound Brook, down the beach to Duck Harbor, and back through the woods by the dike. We'd be excited, restless. I wouldn't realize it yet, but I'd be halfway through the fifty most exhausting and rewarding hours of my life. 

This year, the day is very much the same. It is sunny and crisp and warm, an Indian summer day. We took a walk this morning, just like we did last year. But today instead of laboring we are playing hide and seek and buying birthday presents and baking a cake. 

And while I wouldn't trade anything for last October 1, I'd much rather be here, today. Today you are a little person, a girl who babbles and crawls and whispers and waves. You are still the spitting image of your Daddy, and pretty soon I imagine you'll be walking. I can't wait.

In the meantime, here's a cake for tomorrow. Happy, happy birthday sweet girl.

PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE

I actually made another pumpkin spice cake before I settled on this one. The basics for this come from Heidi's Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread, but as you can see a lot has changed. Sometimes I glaze it, sometimes I don't, but for the tomorrow I'm using her glaze. 

2 cups spelt, whole wheat, or all-purpose flour

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon all spice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 large eggs

1 and 1/2 cups squash or pumpkin puree

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, sea salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and all spice. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, squash, heavy cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into a greased Bundt cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the batter is just cooked through. It's better underdone than overdone.