sounds like you are on your way to getting your little guy trained.
When we first got out little one I had a baby monitor on so I could hear when he started to stir. I would let him out on the pad then and give him a little bit of lovins and put him back in the crate. This was only til we got our expen.
Once we got the expen, I had his crate, pad, water bowl and food in it. While he didn't know what he was supposed to do with the pad, we worked with him when we were awake and eventually he "got it". He's been in his expen ever since and now all we have to say is,"nite, nite" and they both go off to bed. I've since taken their crate down.
Best of luck and keep up the good job!