Which dslr should I invest in? I'm a beginner but want to buy a camera that will last?

I plan to take photos of my children and nature settings. I have about 1000.00 to spend. I have been leaning towards Nikon instead of Canon. I just want to know, which dslr is best for a beginner that wants to work towards professional photography. One main factor for me is, the close picture with blurred background. Any help would be great.

Both Nikon and Canon are good choices. I've only ever used Nikon (because that's what my dad started me on back in the days of film) You can always re-use the lenses later when you upgrade to a better body.

The close picture with blurred background is an effect you get with a longer lens (most kits come with a shorter lens, so you'll probably have to buy it separately)

Not the camera, but the lens(es) that you will want to invest in.

Start with any of the Nikon (if that is what you prefer), and take a photography class so you will be ahead of your hardware.

The blurred background you're talking - this depends on the aperture setting. See

put to use like these

Nikons are very reliable and are a strong brand to invest in. They also have wide variety to choose from, i'm doing a course in photography and all i use is my nikon D5000.It was a really good investment.
The effect your talking about is a macro setting, you can find this usually as a little flower icon on most cameras and you can purchase macro lenses to inhanse the quality of the photo and the effect.

Pooky has give a great answer.
for beginner, maybe Nikon D3100 or Nikon D7000 is great. But for blurred backgroud, you must buy lens with big aperture.
I don't know if D7000 can use auto focus with AF-D lens. Nikon AF-D 50mm 1.8 will be perfect lens for blurred background