Katie and Travis 5: Baby Makes Three

[CarrotCake]

Kids love nail polish, which I understand since it is very colorful. But at an age they ask for it, not on a newborn.

[nvmbr02]

I started painting my oldest daughter's nails around 3, I think? I don't use nail polish, and I think the first time was at my sister's house. After that, it was pretty much a weekly thing. She's in college now and still almost always has her nails painted/perfectly manicured. She does them herself, and they always look great. I'm just happy if my nails are sorta the same length. 

We did paint my youngest daughter's toenails when she was an infant. I have no idea how old she was, maybe 6 or 7 months? It was that piggy paint stuff, and her older sister wanted to. It was fine; it took about 2 mins and peeled off within a couple of days. She is 1 now and has maybe had nail polish on 5 or 6 times since then. It has never been a big deal or something she has been interested in, unlike her big sister. 

The first time I saw my husband's toes, he had glitter nail polish on both big toes. He was 19 and active duty military, living in a dorm full of guys. But his baby sister was 4 and wanted to paint his toenails when he was home on leave. He didn't have nail polish remover, so he just left it until it all grew out. 

 

[JDuggs]

I kind of forget that Mike Clark is running for state rep in NJ. The primary election is in early June.

Spoiler

 

[SassyPants]

What mother of a newborn has time or the inclination to paint their baby’s nails???? Alyssa also has perfectly manicured and polished nails. Everything is about superficial looks to these  people. Aging is going to be such a hard reality. 

[fluffernutter]

She took the baby to the beach (Ocean City) today. Sand is a perfect background for a photo-op, all that beige.  🤣

[JermajestyDuggar]

43 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

What mother of a newborn has time or the inclination to paint their baby’s nails???? Alyssa also has perfectly manicured and polished nails. Everything is about superficial looks to these  people. Aging is going to be such a hard reality. 

I remember having way more time when I only had one newborn. But when I had a newborn and a toddler, I didn’t have time to even take a dump. If she can still paint newborn nails when she has a toddler too, I will be shocked. 

[SassyPants]

28 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I remember having way more time when I only had one newborn. But when I had a newborn and a toddler, I didn’t have time to even take a dump. If she can still paint newborn nails when she has a toddler too, I will be shocked. 

My first was so high maintenance- She lived in a snuggly. Now my second, so easy.

[JermajestyDuggar]

3 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

My first was so high maintenance- She lived in a snuggly. Now my second, so easy.

Unfortunately neither of my babies were easy. They were both difficult in different ways. Although I will say that overall, #2 is most difficult due to his extreme stubbornness. If I didn’t have to live it everyday I would be in awe of him. 

[BensAllergies]

I have never cared about nail polish on my fingers but French tip manicures were all the rage when I was a teen so that’s the type of manicure I would get for things like prom. Now I paint them clear at home so that they’re shiny but aren’t super noticeable if they chip a little within a day or two.

I appreciate that nail polish in general has become more acceptable, because my son started asking for nail polish at age 5. At first he only wanted it on his big toes and usually in yellow, but now he sometimes asks for it on his fingers. We went to Target to get more options, and he chose turquoise and peach. He likes to alternate the colors every other finger and gets compliments from kids at school.

I have never painted my daughter’s nails. She is 1 and is pretty good about asking for things that she wants, but she has never expressed interest in nail polish. She usually wants whatever her brother has but so far that has only applied to food.

[JermajestyDuggar]

My boys have never asked me to paint their nails. Although they do complement my toenails when I paint them. I don’t paint my fingernails because I’m a picker. It would be picked off in a day. I’m actually glad they don’t want their nails painted because I would have to do it. And I just don’t feel like it. When I clip my youngest son’s nails, he scream laughs like I’m tickling him to death. He wiggles all over the place. It’s so nerve wracking. I’m sure painting his toenails would be hellish.

[GuineaPigCourtship]

@JermajestyDuggar the other day I was just thinking about my daughter's stubbornness and said to my mother "strong women: may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them... and survive them".  I'm sure you know the actual quote that inspired it.  We got a good chuckle.

[mango_fandango]

I know that parents of twins/other multiples paint their babies’ nails to help tell them apart. I googled “telling twin babies apart” and some recommendations mention painting toenails. 

[HereticHick]

Travis's new song is currently #27 on the iTunes gospel charts.

http://www.itunescharts.net/us/charts/songs/christian-gospel/ 

I think it is very possible that Travis makes as much or more money from his music as Lawson does, he just doesn't yap about it endlessly.

[Scrabblemaster]

7 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

I know that parents of twins/other multiples paint their babies’ nails to help tell them apart. I googled “telling twin babies apart” and some recommendations mention painting toenails. 

Friends of us did this. She told me when I asked how to tell them apart. 

[CanadianMamam]

1 hour ago, HereticHick said:

Travis's new song is currently #27 on the iTunes gospel charts.

http://www.itunescharts.net/us/charts/songs/christian-gospel/ 

I think it is very possible that Travis makes as much or more money from his music as Lawson does, he just doesn't yap about it endlessly.

Travis puts a lot more work into his music than Lawson does. They have a sound room in the house, he offers his services as a sound mixer for other musicians, he and his family travel to other churches and conferences and he has done some solo giga. He has said that his goal for 2023 is to concentrate on music and he seems quite serious about it. 

[JDuggs]

Katie very recently said that Travis’s job is his music. I recall in the recent past they said his job was in sales and he worked from home. I think Travis definitely takes his career in music more seriously than Lawson. Their niches are different.  I don’t remember Travis ever performing outside of a church setting and Lawson only seems to want to perform in concert venues. Travis is Christian contemporary and Lawson thinks he’s “clean” country with references to God thrown in as part of his image. To my untrained ear, Travis is a better singer and musician, but neither of them produce music I would care to listen to. I can see the appeal of Travis’s music though. Seems like something Lydia Plath would listen to constantly.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I know people talk about Nepo babies in Hollywood but there are definitely Nepo babies in fundieland. And I would consider Travis one of them. What people don’t understand about nepotism is that it’s not always a bunch of untalented kids sucking at whatever job they are given by their parents. Nepotism mostly just gets your foot in the door and extra knowledge and connections about the industry. You can have actual talent and be a nepo baby. He has his own recording studio and equipment (something most people in the US can’t afford), a built in audience who know the Clark name, and connections with others in the Christian music industry. Part of his success was built in. Even if he is talented, there are plenty of talented musicians in the US who never make an album because they don’t have the money or connections to make it happen.

[JDuggs]

I see Travis as the Donny Osmond or the Michael Jackson of his family musical group, the cute one with the most talent. His career is definitely being launched from the background he’s probably had for the last ten or so years with his family’s money and connections.

My daughter told me this (I assume from a teacher or the Internet, I don’t know) while she was in high school. Maybe it’s very obvious to most, but I had never thought about it. She said that most people who pursue the arts are either rich or poor because both of these groups have nothing to lose. Middle class people can’t afford to pursue the arts and live their dreams because they need to support themselves and can’t afford to take the risks and live a lower lifestyle than they’re accustomed to.

My daughter was telling me this because I wanted her to pursue a “safe” college degree that would lead to a “safe” career. She ended up majoring in Art and at 25 years old is making more money than I’ve ever made. She didn’t want to be the middle class person who wasn’t allowed to follow her dreams.

Travis has a safety net. If music doesn’t provide the level of income he wants, he’ll work for the family church/college/school full time and be very comfortable  while still doing his music on the side.

[JermajestyDuggar]

What you’ll find with a lot of successful “influencers” on social media is that they already had a built in audience (because they were on a reality show like the Duggars, Bateses, sister wives, 90 day fiancé, etc) or they already had a financial safety net like you said with arts majors. There aren’t that many successful influencers who grew up in poverty. 

[HereticHick]

6 hours ago, JDuggs said:

Katie very recently said that Travis’s job is his music. I recall in the recent past they said his job was in sales and he worked from home.

I think it is very possible that his sales job was selling his family's music.  Does he finish his unaccredited college degree this spring?

[JermajestyDuggar]

7 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

I think it is very possible that his sales job was selling his family's music.  Does he finish his unaccredited college degree this spring?

Graduating from your family’s small Bible college is about at accomplished as graduating from your fundie family’s homeschool. 

[JDuggs]

Travis graduated last spring. I always imagined his sales job to have something to do with recruiting students to their college, but trying to keep his involvement vague enough that his job wasn’t public knowledge. Total speculation.

[jakesykora]

9 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Travis's new song is currently #27 on the iTunes gospel charts.

http://www.itunescharts.net/us/charts/songs/christian-gospel/ 

I think it is very possible that Travis makes as much or more money from his music as Lawson does, he just doesn't yap about it endlessly.

I've not paid attention to whether he ever stays on any sort of chart/list for more than a day or two, but all three of the artists around him are HUGE and long lasting artists in the Christian music/worship music world.

Lauren Daigle has the more crossover appeal with some of her music (mainstream) with appearances on both American Idol and The Voice.

These three (Tomlin, Wickham, Daigle) all have a ton of music out and so that's different, obviously, as they each have multiple songs frequently on a variety of the top song lists (Lauren's song, "You Say" still makes lists often despite being out for a number of years at this point), but that Travis is even high enough to be among those names even briefly is probably something that the more mainstream Bates followers would realize has some weight vs. Lawson's attempts.

Edited April 16, 2023 by jakesykora

[Kiki03910]

On 4/15/2023 at 3:56 PM, JDuggs said:

I kind of forget that Mike Clark is running for state rep in NJ. The primary election is in early June.

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I swear to god this halfwit is 16 and painted on that stubble.

[raayx01]

travis is now 59 on iTunes christian genre