Recap: "Best Bates Moments"

On this New Year’s Eve special, the Bates review the best moments from the first two seasons of their show.

• On Valentine’s Day, Zach surprises his wife by arranging to have “Three Nice Guys,” an acapella quartet, stop by to perform two love songs. 
• Alyssa announces her pregnancy to the family with a shirt that says “Bun in the Oven.” 
• Erin and Chad share their pregnancy news with Gil and Kelly during a double date. 
• While Mom and Dad are away, Erin and Chad and the kids remodel the master suite. 
• Kelly and the children throw a surprise 50^th birthday party for Gil, to which they invite friends he hasn't seen in many years. The kids give speeches and perform skits that bring their dad to tears. 
• The Bates travel down to Florida and crowd into Alyssa and John’s tiny house.
• While helping Zach finish Bradley’s nursery, Gil reminds his oldest son that “Bradley and Whitney are more important than anything else you’re trying to do.”
• To celebrate Carlin's entry into womanhood, Gil and Kelly take their fifth oldest daughter out for a dinner date. Carlin is overjoyed when her parents give her a beautiful purity ring. 
• The older boys attempt to take over their younger brothers' fort using air-soft guns, but they don’t end up succeeding.
• The Bates make memories on a family camping trip.
• Gil and the kids convince Kelly to ride the Wild Eagle roller coaster at Dollywood. “That by far is the scariest thing I’ve ever been on,” says the mom of 19, who screams the entire time.
• Lawson turns up the drama after his wisdom teeth extraction, and the family enjoys teasing him.
• Erin is touched when her friend Kelsey not only throws her a baby shower but also organizes a balloon release in memory of the babies that Erin and Chad miscarried before becoming pregnant with Carson.
• Kelly brings the family to tears when she shares how thankful she and Gil are for their children. “Many times we look back, and we feel like failures as parents…and y’all are the greatest kids in the world,” she says. “Y’all encourage us so much.”
• Kelly and the girls take Whitney on a walk to jump-start labor. When Whitney is admitted into the hospital to give birth to Bradley, so invites her mother, mother-in-law, and oldest sisters-in-law to join her during labor. 
• When Allie Jane Webster arrives, Gil and Kelly drop everything and head down to Florida to meet their first granddaughter. 
• After a difficult pregnancy, Erin endures an especially painful labor, but the new mom says Carson is more than worth it.
• Brandon organizes a complex scavenger hunt through Washington D.C. for Michael, which culminates with his proposal. 

Tune in to UP on Thursday, January 7th, for the season three premiere of Bringing Up Bates. (Click here for episode summaries.) We wish you a blessed New Year!