'Nathan's New Romance and a Secret Birthday Bash' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Nathan's New Romance and a Secret Birthday Bash"

• Before Kelly’s surgery, the entire family gets together to surprise her with a birthday celebration. “Now that I’m in my 30s and I realize that time with family is truly one of the most special gifts,” says Michael. “And I think to my mom, it’s more special than anything we could ever purchase for her, is just to be together as a family and share memories.”
• Instead of sharing praises about the birthday person, which is a Bates family tradition, Michael suggest that they share childhood memories. Zach remembers being taught how to read while the little kids were napping. Erin remembers her mom eagerly listening to her practice music, even when she wasn’t very good.
• Callie cries as she recounts how her mom makes her feel special and gives her the encouragement she needs to try new things. “Callie has such a sweet personality,” says Josie. “She just has such a sweet heart, always trying to say good things about other people.”
• “It’s really the most heart-warming and the most sensitive thing that you can imagine, to have that connection with your kids and to be listening to them share things that were meaningful to them,” says Kelly.
• Everyone lays hands on Kelly as Gil prays. “I know the birthday party meant a lot to my mom,” says Erin. “She had such a personal relationship with each of her children, and they all just adore her.”
• Forty-eight hours post-surgery, Michael comes by to check on Kelly. She is in pain and will have a two-to-four-week recovery with only liquids and purees. But she is very much looking forward to a better quality of life.
• Lawson adopted a dog named Duke and has a K9 trainer come over to the house. Lawson hopes to train him to be a law enforcement dog, but Zach is skeptical. “With a dog at the Bates house, there’s 70 people running around you 24/7,” says the eldest Bates. “Everybody’s dividing your attention, scratching you behind the ear. Mom’s going to curl you up on the couch and read books to you. This dog is not going to be a police dog. This dog will be a police emotional support dog.”
• Tori and Bobby had a big bash planned for Kade’s second birthday, but when some of the family was exposed to COVID, they decided they would just celebrate with Bobby’s parents. They decorate cupcakes at a park pavilion. Kade isn’t too interested, but Kolter loves it.
• Later, Nathan tells his parents about his relationship with Esther from Pennsylvania. They are officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Nathan plans to have Esther come to Tennessee for the Bates’ early Christmas celebration, and then he will go back to the East Coast for Christmas with Esther’s family.
• Nathan asks for advice, and Gil and Kelly encourage him to take it slow. “It means so much to me to have my parents who are excited about being involved in our lives,” says Nathan. “They’re excited about sharing their past experiences. They’re always honest, but they’re very kind and tactful, and they find the best ways to help us navigate things like this.”

'Smitten in the Smokies' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Smitten in the Smokies"

• Travis arrives in Tennessee to celebrate Katie’s birthday. “Katie loves to remind me that she’s five months older than me,” says Travis, smiling. “She loves to say I love older women…” When he arrives, he surprises Katie with a new dress and plans for a dinner date.
• “The problem is, we’re running out of chaperones,” laughs Kelly. Katie and Travis end up choosing Addallee and Ellie.
• Whitney and Carlin pick up the key for their storefront in Rocky Top. With help from Zach and Chad, they make plans for the space. “Honestly, the thought of a storefront baffles me,” says Carlin. “Like, no way we’re already here.” The ladies are concerned that they will grow out of this space as quickly as they grew out of the warehouse in Zach and Whitney’s backyard.
• Later, Gil, Kelly, Lawson, Katie, and Travis take the younger kids to Gatlinburg. They ride a bus up to the ziplines at Anakeesta. Unfortunately, Judson, Jeb, and Callie don’t quite meet the 70-pound weight requirement.
• While the rest of the group enjoys the ziplines, Kelly, Katie, and Travis take Judson, Jeb and Callie gem-mining. “Is there one that has like a ring in it?” Katie asks the employee. “I think Trav wants that one.”
• “We all thought there was going to be a ring in Katie or Travis’,” says Callie. She and Jeb agree that that would be the perfect proposal plan. Travis says he has a year and a half left of school, but Katie hints that he might propose sooner.
• “For me, when I’m thinking about Katie and Travis, the word engagement is something I’m just trying to pretend is way down the road, so we’ll have to see,” says Gil. “We just pray it’s a long time down the road. Let’s just say, nobody’s talked to me about it yet.”

'He or She, What will the Baby Be?' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "He or She, What will the Baby Be?"

• “We’re trying to have the right spirit and the right attitude about the good things and the bad things and realizing God’s working them all for something good, even if we can’t see it,” says Gil
• Since Erin, Whitney, and Carlin started the Bates Sisters Boutique one year ago, the business has grown. They need more space and are considering opening a storefront.
• Several of the Bates contracted COVID-19, but Erin has struggled the most with it. Her recovery has been long, and she is dealing with frequent headache, fatigue, nausea, and sore throat. Tammy Paine, Chad’s mom, is visiting for a few weeks to help out. “With Erin being down, I feel like half of me is gone to some extent,” says Chad. “It blows me away how strong she is through it…”
• At this point, they aren’t sure if Erin is dealing with complications from COVID, or possibly Lyme Disease.
• Josie and Kelton are finishing up the final touches on their home renovations. After trying for a few months to get pregnant, Josie suffered a miscarriage. “Our world turned completely upside down,” says Josie. “I just remember feeling so many emotions.” Josie says the doctor doesn’t think that her miscarriage was caused by the same condition that some of her sisters have, but she is going to do blood work to investigate.
• Josie’s business, Effortless Beauty, is more than one year old. She and her business partner, Grace Rochat, do hair and makeup for weddings and events, and now Katie is joining the team. Josie and Katie are taking an advanced makeup course online.
• Katie says it hasn’t yet been determined if she will move to New Jersey when she and Travis get married.  “If it was up to me, I’d be getting engaged tomorrow, but we’re taking our time, and it’s going to happen when it needs to,” she says. “I mean, our timeline isn’t too far out.” She tells Josie and Grace that she can work in the business for at least a year.
• Zach has been working with the sheriff’s department for 10 years and is logging 50-60 hours a week. He is planning to leave law enforcement and return to Bates Tree Service. Years ago, Gil made a similar decision when he left his position as an employee at a sales company and started the tree business.
• Kelly goes on a walk with Michael to catch up on life. Michael is waiting to take her nursing state boards. Kelly also talks about the medical issues she is dealing with. She has GERD, which has turned into Barrett’s Esophagus. Kelly was terrified when she was told that she has pre-cancerous cells. Her medicine is not working, and she is going to have surgery.
• Lawson is at Los Angeles International Airport picking up Esther Faith, a little girl from the Philippines who needs a life-saving heart surgery that is not available to her in her country. “This really took so much effort to pull this off,” says Nathan. “It took at least 10 doctors working constantly, nurses traveling back and forth to the Philippines to care for Esther. So many political individuals making phone calls to the embassy, providing recommendations.”
• Lawson and Nathan accompany Esther to Orlando, where she has the surgery. It goes very well. This will be the only surgery that Esther will need. She will soon return to the Philippines, where she will be able to live a normal life without restrictions.

Katie Is Engaged!

Love is definitely in the air at the Bates home. With multiple of Gil and Kelly’s children in relationships, the family will surely be seeing some weddings in the near future. Perhaps the very near future. One of the courting couples just announced their engagement! Congratulations to Travis Clark and Katie Bates! The link to the story on Us Weekly is below. 

Travis Clark Proposes to Katie Bates 

3rd June Bates Baby

June is shaping up to be a busy month for the Bates clan. Zack and Whitney Bates already announced their fourth child, and Josie and Kelton Balka recently shared that they are having their second. And another Bates couple has just jumped on the June baby train. It’s Tori and Bobby Smith! Their third child is set to arrive in June 2021. The link below includes the gender and name in an exclusive Romper article. This little one will be 15 months younger than brother Kolter Smith and 2 years, 7 months younger than brother Kade Smith. 

Tori and Bobby’s 3rd Baby