Hi and welcome to CS and the world of photography! 1000D is a very good beginner's camera and i'm pretty sure that there are many of us here who had or still own the camera. It will perform adequately well until you reach a stage where you think you need some upgrade etc. I wouldn't agree on the phrase " it's the photographer that matters " cos having gone thru the beginning stage, I know how sometimes one can be restricted due to equipments. However, i would you not to rush into buying stuff that you dun really need cos they dun really come cheap ! For the matter...some of the stuff i bought during my 1000D days which i think was worthy are:
1) Tripod ( Brand: Benro - cheap and decent performing )
2) Extra batt and grip ( i bought my 3rd party batts and didn't had any problems - 1000D is light and the grip with the weight of the 2 batts will make the cam feel more stable and solid )
3) Remote switch ( also 3rd party - very useful for night shots / fireworks / long exposure )
4) Flash ( also 3rd party - i bought Sunpak PZ42 which proves to be very reliable and accurate )
5) 50mm F1.8 MKll - this lens is one of the cheapest prime lens ard and it will provide you with great quality pics especially for portraits/babies/low light ambience.
6) Wide/Zoom lens - which you had both - the kit lens provided is also a pretty good piece of lens and will serve you well especially for landscaping/street shooting. You will however need alot of parctice on your zoom cos i had that lens too and at the 300mm end, it's quite difficult to get a steady shot handheld and even so i usually have to up the shutter speed to at least 1/500 and abv
Finally, hang ard CS more and you will benefit from the various postings be it on equipments or photo taking. Do not be discouraged if your initial photos do not turn out too favourable cos it's probably becos you are not familiar with the settings or techniques. Give yourself time and i believe as long as your passion is there.....you will improve in good time!
There used to be a CLUB 1000D here on CS but was merged with CLUB 450D and now known as COP. Here's a link to the older 1000d threads and hopefully while going thru the postings it will provide you with more knowledge on 1000D and what most newbies faced when they first started.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452301