Hi there! I don't think you sound silly at all! I am a new mother, so I've got all kinds of questions!
Anyway, I started my daughter on oatmeal because rice cereal made her constipated and she's on a soy formula which adds to it. I also made sure she was really ready (she was about 7 or 8 months I think). I would mix formula into the oatmeal so it tasted familiar. I also waited until I knew she was really hungry before starting. We did a few ounces of formula first, then a few bites, then more formula, and kind of bounced back and forth for a week or so. Eventually she really started to get the hang of it. I would say that if your daughter is opening her mouth wide and anticipating the next bite, then she's definitely ready. I made the mistake of trying at 5 months and it went really wrong - and messy! My daughter just wasn't ready.
As far as fruits and veggies - it's totally your call. The "newest" rule of thumb now is to do veggies first, then fruits. If you offer fruits before veggies, some believe that babies prefer the sweeter food and don't want to go for the veggies later.
So, I would say to wait until your daughter has gotten the hang of cereal, then gradually add a new food to her diet for about 3-4 days (to watch for any kind of reaction to it). You might want to mix some into the cereal too because at that point it will be familiar to her. We started with mild veggies, like sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots, then went to fruits, then went to the more potent veggies like green beans and peas (these can be really tough on little tummies).
Go with your gut, and have fun! Good luck!
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