Hi there. If I choose automatic downloads for paid apps, will apple give us notice whether we want to download this or not? Thank you

No. Automatic means just that, it does it without asking. You're not given any sort of notice to approve a download on a case-by-case basis, at least none I've ever seen. If you want control over what downloads, choose them manually by going to the Purchases area of the iTunes Store and downloading what you wish. For more details on that process, see:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519

Regards.