Yes, their skin may lighten as they grow, although some keep that grey/blue tint.
I don't really have a dedicated breeding area in my main pond. There is a sandy beach area under a magnolia tree next to the pond, which the female used this time. So, this is the first time I was able to actually find the nest ( happened upon the female laying eggs). There are a lot of hatchling predators in my pond... large bullfrogs, snakes, etc. so if they have laid eggs before I haven't seen any evidence and the hatchlings would probably be consumed quickly.
Marked the eggs as i removed them from the nest, to keep from rotating them. Incubated them in a styrofoam still air incubator, in shallow plastic bowls filled with an absorbent medium took about 60 days. Buried eggs half in the medium and used a spray bottle to keep the eggs and medium damp.
Incubator has a digital display, so I was able to set temp to 83 and kept the humidity around 88-90% and stable. Then just waited.
I have experience with raising painteds as I use to keep them and they started reproducing like rabbits. First time with terrapin eggs, but still the same idea as raising painteds.