Superficial

So I was rereading many of my old posts--mainly because I like to look back at Phoebe's development--and I realized that I have a very shallow obsession with clothing. I noticed that I talked about it quite a bit with my maternity clothes and I tend to focus on Phoebe's outfits when sending out her pictures. I realize that this seems like I am concerned with the superficial aspects of my child's life, but really, just to set the record straight for my own peace-of-mind, that is not what I think about most of the time. I do appreciate a well-put-together outfit and hope to instill Phoebe with good fashion sense (better than mine, because while I recognize it, I don't often put it into practice), and I look twice at someone who passes by in something that I find super-cute, but that is not all that I am about! :) When thinking about Phoebe on a daily basis the first thing that comes to mind is not "What do you want to wear today, Phoebe?" but "What do you want to do today, Phoebe?" So while I want her to be comfortable with herself physically and with her clothing, fostering her savvy for putting the perfect mule with just the right jacket is much less important than encouraging her curiosity. Actually lately, I have been wondering what I can add to her daily activities that will help her learn something. I keep looking up what to do with a four month old, and I seem to be doing the recommended activities (supplying toys to grab and things to look at, reading, making and imitating sounds, mirrors, etc.) But she seems to be so eager and curious to see new things that I have to imagine she could understand many different ideas if I knew how to present them to her or what to share with her that would be captivating. A spinning toy that makes noise is only interesting for so long. If anyone has suggestions, I'm open. I don't want to overstimulater her, of course, but I also don't want to waste precious opportunities to cultivate her mind. I don't want her to get bored or lose steam with her curiosity because she realizes that I am not presenting her with enough new material. It's really too bad that we have hit the cold weather, because it seems like right now--with how alert she is and how much she enjoys seeing new things--would be the perfect time to introduce her to all the interesting things outside in nature. There is so much more to see and do out there than in our little house. Unfortunately, I don't think it's humane to subject her to the elements. She is waking up from her nap--time to go.