#isaiah bates

Today is Isaiah Courage Bates’s 17th Birthday.  He was born to Gil + Kelly Jo (Callaham) Bates on October 16, 2004.  He is Bates #14 of 19.

(Note that this is just my opinion, I’ll justify what I can but no guarantees)

Zach (chose a not-Fundie wife and seems to genuinely love and respect her, also seems to be raising his kids to be more fundie-lite/mainstream conservative Christians than he was)

Josie (basic AF mom blogger on Instagram but a hairstyling career is cool and her outfit choices are almost always on point, plus her maturity with choices surrounding the potential filming of Willow’s birth was a pleasant surprise)

Michael (more down-to-earth and a fantastic aunt, plus nursing school is tough but I hope she succeeds because she seems like she’d be an excellent nurse)

Trace (seems most like Zach of the older boys but time will tell, as will his relationship with Chaney - though if he was close enough with Joe Duggar to be a not-family groomsman he can’t be too bad)

Judson (cutie pie and entertaining with his siblings/similarly aged nephews)

Jeb (see Judson)

Alyssa (organization game on point and distance from her parents has shaped her ability to form more of her own beliefs - especially with modesty)

Katie (in a courtship with ice cream has and will always be my mood 1000% and she seems more “worldly” than Alyssa/Tori/Carlin/Josie did at her age but otherwise is a wild card)

Addallee (survived some tough stuff as a baby but we don’t see much of her now)

Jackson (I forget he exists more often than not)

Warden (see Jackson)

Isaiah (see Jackson)

Carlin (loud and extra af in a lot of ways but her close friendship with Joy Duggar and supportiveness of her during a rough 2019 moves her up a fair bit)

Ellie (not enough familiarity to fairly assess)

Callie (see Ellie)

Tori (attitude during wedding planning drove me nuts and I respect her right to privacy as well as the right to name her kids whatever but I want more Kade pics, damnit, and wtf kind of name is Kolter?)

Lawson (self centered but I can respect not wanting a family after his teenage funds went to helping provide for the rest of the kids, still a dickhead though)

Erin (too focused on a perfect family and house, doesn’t seem to like Brooklyn even though she’s done nothing besides be a normal three-year-old, genuinely concerned that she’s going to keep ignoring whatever kids she had after Carson as soon as the next model comes along)

Bringing Up Bates: Season 9