Recap: Bringing Up Bradley

Bringing Up Bates "Bringing Up Bradley"

• Kelly and Carlin visit Once Upon A Child to shop for birthday presents for Bradley. Kelly goes all out, and Carlin tries to convince her to take it down a notch or two. “He don’t need no more toys,” Carlin tells her mom. “Y’all spoil him.”
• The rest of the kids agree. Now that Kelly is a grandmother, Zach says she is in “full spoil mode.” “We all wish we were grandkids,” adds Josie.
• Looking back on the shopping trip, which was more of a shopping spree, Kelly admits that she may have gone overboard. “When I got to the register and heard the total, I thought, Gil is going to absolutely die when he hears how much I spent!” admits the mom of 19. The tab is $176.97.
• Later, Carlin accompanies Lawson to a photo shoot for his upcoming album, to be released this spring (if everything goes according to plan). Taryn Yager, a friend who has become the unofficial Bates family photographer, takes the pictures inside her in-home studio.
• It takes a little while for Lawson to loosen up, but by the end of the photo shoot, he’s posing like a pro. Taryn’s pictures turn out great!
• Lawson hopes to do a tour for this album. Since fall 2013, he has released one CD and two singles.
• The Bates family heads over to Cove Lake State Park, which is where Zach and Whitney began their courtship, for Bradley’s first birthday celebration.  Whitney goes all out with decorations, arriving five hours early to set up.
• “I found out real quick in this family, you don’t let them know what your skill is because you’ll be recruited to do that from then on for all the events,” says Whitney, smiling. Until now, she has kept her decorating expertise a secret.
• For the younger kids, the highlight of the party is kicking plastic balls filled with ice cream around the room. If you have ever seen a hamster ball, they look similar to one of those. All you do is load ice and a few other ingredients into the ball and then kick it around until it turns into ice cream.
• Surprisingly, the ice cream balls work! “Best thing ever!” says Judson.
• The gift table is quite overwhelming. During the party, Chad looks at Erin and says: “Erin, we can’t do this for Carson. We wouldn’t have a place to put it.”
• Towards the end of the party, Zach and Whitney invite both sets of their parents, as well as Zach’s grandparents, up to the front of the room and give them each two wrapped frames, containing two pictures from their maternity photo shoot.
• Gil and Kelly don’t have their reading glasses on, so it takes them a few moments to realize what’s going on. Everyone starts screaming when the announcement is finally made that Zach and Whitney are expecting baby No. 2.

Recap: "Time to Reno-Bate"

Bringing Up Bates "Time to Reno-Bate!"

• Now that three of the ten Bates girls have left the nest, the remaining seven sisters decide to give their bedroom a makeover. The room had previously been decorated with all of Michael's pictures and love letters from Brandon. 
• "We are definitely going to make some rules about boyfriends being on the wall," says Josie. "My rule is that they can have one picture by their bed."
• "The problem with trying to come up with a plan or idea in our family is that there's so many opinions," says Tori, as she and her sister sit down with Kelly to make a plan.
• Josie chooses a dark gray shade for the walls and is able to convince a few of her sisters to support her. Tori and Kelly, on the other hand, are a little skeptical, even after the girls paint the room.
• Josie, the head interior designer, assures them that the curtains and decorations will tone it down. She's right! When the room is finished, everyone loves it. Kelly says the girls did a great job combining what she calls an "urban" wall color with rustic, colorful decorations.
• While the girls are in the middle of their redecorating project, Lawson and Nathan return home from a trip to New York to visit Nathan's friend Ashley, whom viewers met last year on "Blessings...And New Beginnings?" Ashely comes back with the boys to spend a week with the Bates. 
• Nathan and Ashley having been getting to know each other for the past several months. "Something's up, I think," says Trace.
• Meanwhile, Zach and Whitney work on a redecorating project of their own. They are at the tail end of modernizing their house, a process which has included knocking down walls, repainting, and installing trim. 
• Whitney has decided that their pure white couches no longer match with their white walls and black picture frames. She and Zach head to a furniture store to pick out a brand new black leather couch and love seat.
• When the couch and love seat are delivered, Zach and Whitney are both very pleased. "I love it," says Whitney. "It just makes the whole room feel like it's finished."
• Later, Tori, Carlin, and Kelly try out a new recipe, honey-mustard chicken. (Tori is currently on break from college, where she is pursuing an education major.) Now that Michael is gone, Tori and Carlin say they are spending more time cooking.

Recap: "Fly Fishin' Zip Linin' Honeymoon"

Bringing Up Bates "Fly Fishin' Zip Linin' Honeymoon"...

• After their wedding, Michaela and Brandon honeymoon in Flathead County, Montana.
• The newlyweds’ first activity is fly fishing on Flathead Lake. The Bates kids are not surprised to hear that Michaela ended up catching more fish than Brandon. “[Brandon] is not the fisher type,” says Carlin. “He’s more like the city, office desk, suit and tie kind of guy.”
• “Fishing was fun, but with her being at the back of the boat and me all the way in the front, I was ready for some time where we could actually be together,” says Brandon.
• The second activity is zip lining. (Michaela wears a dress and leggings under her harness.) The view is breathtaking!
• Michaela and Brandon also take a ride on the Alpine Slide, an attraction that allows you to ride down a plastic track in a sled.
• Back in Tennessee, Gil takes Addee, Ellie, and Callie on a date to Rickard Ridge BBQ in Caryville. “Watching Michaela get married and looking around at all the other girls who are quickly growing up, we decided to take a little date night, just for fun,” says Gil.
• According to Kelly, the week after Michael’s wedding was very emotional for the little girls, who miss their sister older very much. “Just spending time with Dad has a way of just making everything seem like it’s all okay,” says the mom of 19.
• Gil, who is supposed to be on a diet, orders sweet tea, but the girls confiscate it. They give it back and tell him he can only have one glass, but he accepts a refill while his daughters are in the bathroom.
• After having worked in the sheriff’s department reserves for a few years, Zach begins an 11-week training course at the Police Academy. The first part of the program forced him to be away from home for an extended period of time, but now he is able to commute each day.
• “I ain’t going to lie, I called home crying a couple times,” says Zach. “Every night,” shares Whitney.
• “I was going to sound tougher than that, but yah, I called home crying every night,” admits Zach. “I missed my wife.”
• Whitney says that the support she has received from her parents and Zach’s family has been a lifeline. She and Josie, who used to chaperone Zach and Whitney before they were married, prepare a meal for Zach.

Recap: "The Purity Ring"

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "The Purity Ring"...

• Lawson Bates prepares to sing the National Anthem for 15,000 people at a University of Tennessee men's basketball game. When he first mentioned the idea to his parents, they thought it wouldn't be possible, but Lawson made it happen. "He doesn't give up," says Kelly. "He kept pursuing, and that's encouraging as a parent."
• The rest of the Bates clan attends the game to support Lawson. This is the first major sporting event they have attended as a family.
• Before the performance, Lawson admits he is extremely nervous, but he ends up doing very well. Lawson's parents and siblings are proud of his accomplishment. Gil tears up as he listens to his son sing.
• "It was absolutely awesome," says Carlin. "The crowd loved it," says Nathan.
• Later, Carlin is shocked when she receives a special delivery: a bouquet of flowers, a fancy dress, and an invite to a dinner date with Mom and Dad.
• Carlin is all smiles as she and her parents enjoy a meal at an expensive restaurant, just the three of them.
• Gil starts to cry as presents her with a purity ring. "This is a little gift that we got you," says the father of 19. "It's valuable, but what you are is way more valuable than any gift we could give you, and what God's given you is a wholesome, pure life. And I want you to keep it until the day that I hand you off to some fine young man that loves God, and then he will begin to take care of you."
• Kelly says that she expects Carlin to start forming friendships with guys and to enter into a courtship when she finds a guy she really likes.
• "For us, a purity ring is something we have given our girls, just as a symbol for them and a reminder for them to keep their heart pure and to put God first in their life and to save themselves for marriage," says the mom of 19.
• At Zach and Whitney's house, the couple shares how they are adjusting to life with a new baby. "Whitney is an amazing mom," says Zach. "I'm just blown away. The way her and Bradley bond, you'd think she'd had 20 or 30 kids of her own already." Whitney says her husband is an excellent father.
• The Bates brings a pile of frozen pizzas over to Zach and Whitney's for some family bonding time. Kelly comes up with the idea of getting together every other Friday night, and everyone agrees.

Recap: "Bates Gone Wild"

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "Bates Gone Wild"...

• Zach and Lawson take Tori and Carlin out for a driving lesson. "I'm scared to ride with them, so I put it off on Zach," admits Kelly. There is a lot of yelling and teasing as the girls cruise through the hills of Eastern Tennessee, but it's all in fun.
• "Carlin, she's slightly over confident," says Lawson. "The confidence is way ahead of the skill right now." Tori is more cautious. Both girls passed their driving tests.
• "This family lacks good drivers," says Lawson.
• The Bates (minus a few of the older kids) prepare for a camping trip with other families from their church. Kelly gets all the kids involved in packing. It takes longer than it would have if she and the older kids had done everything, but the goal is to teach the younger kids a skill, not to complete the task as quickly as possible.
• Kelly encourages the kids to keep all the camping supplies organized. "Mommy gets stressed without organization," she says.
• Just as everyone is about to leave for the trip, Jeb puts a rock up his nose. Kelly sits him down and tells him to blow out. She is then able to use her finger to retrieve the rock.
• "I don't know why kids put things in their noses," says Gil. "But for some reason, it's a favorite pastime."
• Tori is allowed to drive the van on the camping trip, but as she is pulling out of the driveway, she hits the trailer. Lawson says the family has not let her live it down. "We're tough on cars," admits Zach.
• When the Bates arrive at the campsite, they realize they left a few tents behind, so they have to get creative with sleeping arrangements.
• All the families gather around the campfire, and Gil, who is a phenomenal artist, does a chalk drawing. "Chalk art is a great way to communicate a message," he says.
• The Bates are short of blankets and don't end up sleeping well, but they still have smiles on their faces the next morning.
• "Dad snored all night," says Carlin. "He snores like a frog," adds Tori.
• The crew piles into canoes and goes for a trip down the river. Carlin volunteers to watch eight little ones so her mom can go canoeing.
• "I'm not that intimidated because there's only eight," says Carlin, who regularly watches 25 children in the church nursery with only one other person.
• "Carlin has just a love for children and an enthusiasm to make things fun," says Gil.
• "It was scarier than I pictured," Kelly says of canoeing. The canoe that she is in with Gil and Judson ends up flipping over.
• At lunchtime, the crew realizes that they don't have charcoal, so they resort to using wood, which is a much slower process.
• "My dad is not the best cook," says Katie, as she chows down on a burnt burger.
• As the Bates pack up and leave the campsite, everyone talks about how much they enjoyed the experience.
• "It's always a lot of work, but we do it for the kids and for the memories," says Kelly.