Awww, CONGRATS on your new baby! You sound in love already.
If she is open to being in the crate (ie, comfortable) - I wouldn't hesitate to use it! Many dogs/puppies are not amenable to using a crate - they go out of their minds, and for those kiddos - I don't necessarily support crate training if it's torturing them. But for kiddos who are fine with it - yes, DO IT.
Be careful w/ letting her roam too much bc puppies will pee exactly wherever they are, if they have to go...so be aware of this.
For date night, a playpen would probably be fine.
This might have some good info for you, btw:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ent-guide.html