The Path Of A Tornado

I have prided myself in keeping a neat house with baby thus far. Unlike many houses with small children, I keep toys to a minimum, wipe the smudges away weekly and try and run the vacuum when I can. Until recently, I thought it was a piece of cake. Now, I find myself scrambling about, picking up random objects that Mr. Christopher has strewn across the house. Things from the bathroom are in the kitchen. Kitchen utensils (he has quickly swiped while the dishwasher was open) are found under the coffee table. A remote left too close to the table's edge wanders into our bedroom. Ryan's sneaker is under the dining room table. It goes on and on. I tidy all day long, and he rearranges all day long. I try to keep him contained, but when I quickly open a door, he is right there, squeezing his way past me. I try to gently coax him out, so as not to upset him as he wants to adhere to his agenda (explore room, find new object, walk around with it for five minutes, drop it in another room after finding a new object). But as gentle as I am, I seldom can distract him without an outburst. This happening time and time again is exhausting. It is easier to put off doing anything non-Christopher related until after he's asleep. This way I can keep him engaged and limit the amount of trouble he can get into. By evening I find myself exhausted. I see the smudges on the cabinets and they make me tired. The flecks of dried food under his high chair can wait til tomorrow. All I want to do is curl up on the couch next to Ryan and talk about our sweet perfect boy.