I just picked up my first DSLR a month ago. Being my first I was hesitant to spend too much, so I picked up a 550D (T2i). So far I've been loving it. I'm still a complete novice in controlling the camera, but I'm learning a lot. It has all the features and more than I need now. Perhaps in a few years there will be features that I'll really want on a new body, but I should be fine for a few years at least.

As for the size of it, to fit my average hands I added a battery grip. At the advice of a "prosumer", as Canon likes to call them, I bought a generic one from Amazon, with 4 generic batteries for $65 US. Definitely makes my hands fit better on the body.