To puff or not to puff

We are trying to introduce Cael to table foods in the form of 'puffs', which are similar to Cheerios, but easier for babies to gum and therefore swallow. At first, I let him put his hands into the container to see if he would pull one of them out and put it in his mouth. However, he was content to just play with them and a few of them fell on the floor. I set the container on the counter and before I know it Cael had created a whole mess of 'puffs'. At this stage Cael is different than most babies in that he does not immediately pick up everything in sight and try to put it in his mouth. This has become apparent to Ryan and I as we attempt to introduce the concept of table food (i.e. food that Cael picks up on his own and puts into his mouth - food that is also similar to what adults eat). He isn't a fan of frozen rings or items designed to ease the pain of teething. He is like a little scientist and much prefers to examine and explore everything he comes into contact with and then quickly loses interest. I put him on the floor and attempted to show him how to pick them up and put them in his mouth with a lot of 'these are GOOD' and rubbing my tummy for added emphasis. At first he was intrigued, but in true Cael form he quickly grew bored and began to cry.... not because he was hungry and wanted to eat the puffs, but because he isn't crawling and he was moving further away from them and frankly, he wasn't done exploring.