Hi,
I would say DS2.6 is draining to be around. He is not unhappy but is always mentally active. He is not over-emotional for his age, and not hyperactive physically. He is also able to self-entertain for long periods now, but not at all before 18 months old (was a awful lot of work as a baby). He is very busy in a fine motor way and talks non-stop. In public he is less openly talkative and also his speech is still a bit unclear, so we are in a grace period there. Car seats, strollers, grocery cart seats, staying on a blanket at the park, all have always been deeply uncomfortable for him. He feels easily constrained.
I have a profoundly gifted brother who was a very easy baby (the kind that does sit on a blanket at the park playing with a little pile of toys and smiling beatifically, for hours on end) and he never changed. He went from that to calmly self-entertaining by building large block structures, reading, etc, and then to easy-going humor-filled and happy adult. Just a very placid person. So it is possible but comes with its own set of challenges (getting them to do anything).
Polly
