Houston Turned 6!

My baby turned six this past Saturday. We had a small party at the skating rink during the day and then made his requested dinner of shrimp, wings, sausage and veggie tray at home that evening. He got lots of great presents from his friends and family. He's been asking for a guitar for a while now so we bought him a 1/2 size guitar. He was really excited and now thinks he's a little rock star. ;)

Piano Lessons!

Houston and I started piano lessons last week at First Street Music. So far we are both loving it. I've been practicing and so has he. I know it's only been a week but Houston has been practicing on his own without any reminding from me which I think is pretty great. He loves music so much and we're very excited to get him into it at such a young age. Our piano teacher is really nice and happens to be a retired teacher and is a substitute at Houston's school. He said she is the best because usually when they have a sub in music class they have to watch a movie but when Mrs. Brown is the sub they get to sing songs and play instruments.

I'm working through an adult beginner course and am moving pretty fast since I already know how to read music. Now I just have to learn the new clefs and get everything from my eyes out through my fingers. Practicing every day definitely makes a difference, as does keeping a log of what I practice. Accountability! I even volunteered myself for scale studies. I'm torn between playing classical and playing pop so we decided to go for both. I'm working on my classical piano studies while learning chords at the same time. We decided I would pick a pop song to learn along with my regular studies.

I'm hoping to build up a repertoire of popular songs I can play to entertain at family gatherings or just play for fun. Right now I'm having a hard time narrowing down my list to figure out which to learn first. It's mostly a mix of Disney songs and Beatles songs. I ordered a few piano books so when they get here it may be easier to decide. Memory from Cats, Yesterday by The Beatles and A Whole New World from Alladin are at the top right now. Every time I find a new book of songs online I find new songs to add to my list ... and more money I want to spend. A full-time job sure would be handy right about now. Trying to be patient and make the right decisions but I'm getting tired of this limbo business.

Houston discovered he can practice his piano lessons on his little keyboard. I found him set up like this a few days ago and caught a pic. He's really getting into it! He's super excited about the new music room too. I've been cleaning out and rearranging the house a bit and one of the spare rooms is now a music room. It's not completely set up yet but it's well on the way. It's crazy how many instruments we have in our house. I never realized how many there were until we put them all (except the piano) in one room. It will be a great practice spot and a nice place to relax.

Houston has really been wanting a guitar and wants to take guitar lessons after learning some piano. We are buying him a 1/2 size guitar for his birthday along with a DVD of lessons geared towards his age. Can't wait to see his face when he opens it on his birthday in just a few short weeks. :)