Big boy bed

Max has been sleeping in his big boy bed for a couple of months now. We took the front panel off the crib so he can get in and out. We expected for him to crawl "out" more often than crawling "in" and showing up next to our bed at various hours of the night. Although Max is not always ready to go to bed for his nap or for the evening, once he is in the bed, he does not get out of it or his room. He has not once gotten out of the bed at night to come see us. In the mornings when he wakes up, he just lies there and calls out "I am here" until one of us goes in to get him. It is hilarious. This morning, he heard me in the kitchen and called out "everybody, I am here"!