Clarks Announce Baby #2

It's a season of change for Katie and Travis Clark. They recently relocated to East Tennessee, and now they just made another big announcement. Katie is pregnant with Baby #2! She and Travis found out the news in early February, while they were en route to Tennessee for the Bates' I Love You Day party, which was less than two weeks before Hailey's first birthday. You can watch their announcements to their family members in their latest YouTube video. 

This baby will make 32 grandchildren for Gil and Kelly Bates, with four more on the way. Esther Bates is due in fall, while Tiffany Bates is due in summer. Tori Smith is due with her fifth soon.

Recap: 'From the Couch--Bates Go To Florida'

Bringing Up Bates "From the Couch: Bates Go To Florida"

• It's Christmastime 2014. As they show opens on Alyssa in her Florida home, Lawson says he couldn't imagine living in such quietude. "I think I'm going to stick around at the loud, noisy house of chaos for a while," he states, although he does plan to eventually get married.
• Alyssa, who used to be the main chef before she moved to Florida, prepares a meal for everyone. Lawson claims that he has lost weight since Alyssa left Tennessee.
• Later, everyone heads to the beach. This is the first time that the youngest kids have seen the ocean. 
• As Carlin, Lawson, and Nathan watch footage of themselves and the rest of the family enjoying the cold water, they comment on the background songs. "I'm telling you, the songs just really bring the mood to the whole atmosphere," says Carlin. 
• The clan also visits the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home of Winter, the dolphin that stars in Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2. Lawson, Carlin, and Katie poke fun at their dad as they watch him try to work out a deal on admission for the family. 
• After picking oranges at an orchard, the Bates take a monster truck ride through a swamp. The film crew captures the adventure with their drone, but sadly, it hits a tree limb and plummets into the swamp. 
• Best quotes from the show:
• Lawson Bates: "That's something that is never going to change, Katie's sass. She's still dishing it out."
• Gil Bates: "We like beaches, and we like people. We just like people to have all of their clothes on at the beaches."
• Gil Bates: "Sometimes life is hard, but you can't give up. You just keep trying with whatever you've got left."
• Carlin: "Me and Tori always talk over each other." Lawson: "Carlin, I think you talk over everybody."

Recap: Sunshine State Bates

Bringing Up Bates "Sunshine State Bates"

• Kelly and Erin stop by Zach and Whitney’s house to see their latest renovations. Whitney explains that the next project is to turn the nursery into a bedroom that can accommodate both Bradley and Kaci. Kelly and Erin share their ideas.
• Down in Florida, Alyssa and John give viewers an update on their lives. They start by sharing that they are not pregnant. “Since Whitney announced that she was having Kaci, everybody has been asking me, ‘Are you pregnant yet? When are you going to be pregnant? When are you going to tell us?’” says Alyssa.
• The mom of one says she is content with where she is at now. “No rush, no rush, at all no rush,” she states, laughing.
• According to Alyssa, she and John are spoiled to have such an easy baby. Allie began sleeping through the night at one week old, and on the rare occasion that she wakes up, she always takes a bottle and goes right back to sleep. 
• How many kids do the Bates think John and Alyssa will have?
• Chad: 6-8
• Jackson: 2-4
• Callie: 3-4
• Isaiah and Addallee: 10
• Gil and Kelly: 8-11

• John works 8-5, Monday thru Friday, in his family’s heating and air conditioning company. To supplement their income, John and Alyssa have a cleaning business that the operate in the evenings. They currently clean an ice cream shop and a dance studio, while Allie watches from her playpen. Coming from a large family, Alyssa says she is used to spending a lot of time cleaning.
• Every week, John, Alyssa, and Allie spend an evening with John’s family. The men play softball or basketball in an organize league while the ladies chat and cheer them on. John’s siblings present at this week’s softball game are Jordan, Brent, David, and Tori. His parents, Congressman Daniel Webster and Sandy, also attend. Olivia is Jordan’s wife, and Regina is Brent’s wife.
• “Our family is always getting together around music or food mostly,” says Lawson. “And the Webster family, I think sports really brings them together.”
• The Bates also enjoy sports, but the kids say there is a big difference. “The Websters play organized sports,” states Zach. “In our family, we don’t do anything organized.” 
• “We play chaos sports,” adds Kelly. Gil shares an example: tackle basketball.
• Back in Tennessee, Lawson heads over to the children’s hospital to surprise his friend AJ at his end-of-treatment party. AJ is a young cancer patient who has been through 41 chemo treatments and is not yet in remission.
• Lawson brings his guitar and sings “Amazing Grace” with AJ, who is always thrilled to spend time with his buddy Lawson.
• Later, Gil and the boys finally finish the tree house fort. Gabe, a family-friend who builds buildings for a living, lends a hand. The girls put on old clothes and paint the metal roof pieces, while the guys give them a hard time for allowing the wind to blow leaves onto the paint. Carlin's response? "Well hello obvious!" The gals say they can see the leaves sticking to the paint but that they can't help it because they can't control the wind.
• Kelly jokes that the boys are so proud of their work that they might decide to move into the finished fort. “After seeing their room, we might let them,” says Gil, chuckling.

Recap: 'The Wedding To-Do List'

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "The Wedding To-Do List"...

• Michaella calls Brandon to tell him that Wallace Memorial Baptist Church has agreed to let them use the church for their wedding. The church has a youth lock-in that weekend, so the Bates and Keilens can only set up for the wedding the day of, and the reception must be over by the early evening.
• The Bates family has a fabulous oral surgeon who works with their budget. Zach, Michaella, Erin, and Tori have all had their wisdom teeth pulled, and now it's Lawson's turn.
• According to the family, Lawson has a pain tolerance of zero and is very melodramatic when it comes to dental procedures.
• On the day of the surgery, Gil brings a camera to capture Lawson's entertaining post-op for Kelly, who stays home because she is prone to fainting during the kids' medical emergencies. The mom of 19 can handle pain herself, but when she sees her children in pain, it makes her feel lightheaded.
• When the procedure is over, Lawson plays up the severity of his condition, but he manages to take a selfie on the drive home.
• Brandon comes to Tennessee so he and Michaella can meet with a wedding coordinator friend, shop for wedding bands, and choose brown tuxedos. Tori and Carlin go along as chaperones.
• Most people would consider 500-800 guests to be a massive wedding, but according to Nathan, "anything under 1,000 is a small wedding." Lawson agrees. Brandon, on the other hand, considers a small wedding to be one with around 50 people. Michaella and Brandon are going to have less attendees than all three previous Bates weddings.
• Although Michaella's wedding is going to be big, she and Brandon are committed to keeping it cost effective, which makes Gil very happy. "Sometimes when I see [my dad] crying when the girl is walking down the aisle, I wonder if he is crying because he is losing his girl, or if he is crying because he is seeing all the things he bought that he is just discovering," says Nathan.