My ds (angel/textbook baby) was born on 6-16 and just recently he has been able to stay up about 1.5-2 hrs. Two hours is pushing it. He begins to yawn much earlier but I was finding that if I put him down too soon, he did not nap very long. So, when he first shows me he's tired, we stop doing our activity and go into his room for quiet time. We listen to soft music and read some books. He gets squirmy on my lap so I put him on a blanket and then lay next to him with the books. Or I put him in his swing and put his laundry away and talk or sing quietly. Just something to push the time a little. If he is extremely fussy then I get him to bed, but I try to atleast have him up 1.5 hours.
He is now eating every 4 hours so I am striving for two hours of awake time and two hours of a nap. It doesn't always work! Sometimes for the last half an hour of awake time we are just walking around looking at things. I find I have to pretty much keep his attention or he will get fussy. We always end awake time with quiet play in his room.
All I know is if he goes down too early then he won't sleep long. And even though I have to re-settle him sometimes half way through, he has been taking good naps. Which leaves me time to get stuff done
I hope this helps! I can't speak for spirited/touchy babies but I have read that they can be overstimulated pretty quickly so maybe they can not stay up as long...?