I can't remember everything my son did but I recall wondering from a very early age whether there was something different about him.
He smiled at 2 weeks old (within the range of normal as far as I was aware)and was very very alert. We were in the emergency room when he was 2 weeks old and the nurse didn't believe me that he was that young and had to check our files. He was never a relaxed, cuddly baby (except when breastfeeding) and wanted to observe everything going on around him.
His first verbal communication happened at 5 months old (no one believed me) and by 12 months he had more words than I could count.
At 16 months he knew all primary and second colours, basic shapes, letters (but not phonics at that point) and numbers up to 10.
He recognised his written name by 20 months (when he started child care). And at this point he was speaking in full sentences, which delighted his carers because he also didn't sleep so they this hilarious little child to chat to while the other kids napped.
He has always been extremely social. From 10 months he would complain and often sob if any one he'd engaged with left the room. This could be a stranger in a lift who'd smiled at him or a friend at the park.
All his physical milestones were within the range of normal, which was very frustrating to him. He desperately wanted to write and draw at 2 but his fine motor skills were way behind his head so he didn't really start happily drawing until 3 or so. We have long periods of zero drawn or written output even now for the same reason, however it doesn't seem to stop his ability from progressing and now he is writing sentences unassisted from time to time.
Reading happened at 5 when he when he saw how useful a skill it was for my partner's child (who read at 3 but is the same age as my son). He's now just six and has gone from reading fairly basic Dr Suess to Harry Potter in 2 months without any instruction from me beyond answering his questions. He's played on a few reading programs on the internet, but he mostly practised his read on environmental print.
What an interesting thread. I've never been one to compare my child to others as a general rule, but somehow it is comforting to read of similar children to mine.
