Comfort and Joy...table manners

My sweet baby boy has adopted a lovey this week.  He likes to carry it everywhere and loves on it all day long.  I wish you could hear his giggle when he discovers his lovey in the hallway or wherever he may have dropped it last.  The sound is pure joy. 
Nathan is 16 months now and can be very challenging.  If you've run into me running errands lately, you'll agree.  This wonderful little boy is full of energy and does not like to be restrained.  He especially dislikes his high chair.  The three or four times I put him in his high chair each day, I have to mentally prepare myself for a physical fight...much like the wrestle I do to get him into his post bath pj's.   It's like he's personally insulted that I would choose to feed him.  I'd say on average, he'll eat 1/3 of his food off the tray, toss another 1/3 on the ground and refuse the remaining food.  He had developed an amazing ability to scream at such an unbelievable pitch that my ears want to close in on themselves.  All the while, he attempts to get out of the seatbelt by turning halfway around in his chair.  I'll admit after a few minutes of this, I cannot hear myself think.  So I'll bargin with him for a while to try to get him to eat another bite, but reluctantly I'll let him down for no other reason but to stop the screaming.  Then this little child of mine will immediately bend down and eat the food off the floor.  I have come to learn that he'd rather graze than eat in his highchair... but this is just unsafe and a battle I'm not ready to loose...especially on spaghetti night.